701-1671-00L  Sampling Techniques for Forest Inventories

SemesterAutumn Semester 2016
LecturersD. Mandallaz
Periodicityyearly recurring course
Language of instructionEnglish


AbstractIntroduction to design and model assisted sampling theory for finite populations as well as to the infinite population model for forest inventory. Two-phase two-stage forest inventories with simple or cluster sampling. Small area estimation. Presentation of the Swiss National Inventory.
Short introduction to Kriging techniques.
ObjectiveStudents should have a good understanding of the concepts of general sampling theory in a modern framework. They should also master the specific problems arising in forest inventory and be able, if necessary, to read more specialized books or research papers.
ContentInclusion probabilities. Horwitz-Thompson estimates. Simple random sampling. Stratified sampling. PPS sampling and multi-stage sampling. Model assisted procedures. Formalism of sampling theory in forest inventory. One-phase simple and cluster sampling schemes. Two-phase two-sampling schemes. Model-dependent and model assisted procedures. Small area estimation. Kriging techniques. The Swiss National Forest Inventory.
Lecture notesSampling techniques for forest inventories. Daniel Mandallaz, Chapman and Hall. A free electronic copy of the book is also available. A PDF file containing parts of the book will be mailed to the participants
LiteratureSampling methods for multiresource forest inventory. H.T. Schreuder, T.G. Gregoire, G.B. Wood, 1993, Wiley.
Model assisted survey sampling, C.E. Särndal, B. Swenson, J. Wretman, 2003, Springer.
Sampling methods, remote sensing and GIS multisource forest inventory
M. Köhl, S. Magnussen, M. Marchetti, 2006, Springer.
Sampling techniques for forest inventories, Daniel Mandallaz, 2007, Chapman and Hall.
T.G. Gregoire, H.T. Valentine. Sampling strategies for natural resources and the environment, Chapman and Hall.
Prerequisites / NoticeA simulation software will be used throughtout the lectures to illustrate the theoretical developments. Upon request a half day field demonstration can be organized at the WSL outside the lecture time. A repetitorium for the exam is also offered.