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Assessing accuracy of forest cover information on historical maps

Publication date: 24.11.2016

Geographical Studies, 2016, Issue 146, pp. 7 - 18

https://doi.org/10.4467/20833113PG.16.014.5544

Authors

,
Urs Gimmi
Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL Zürcherstrasse 111, CH-8903 Birmensdorf, Switzerland
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,
Christian Ginzler
Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL Zürcherstrasse 111, CH-8903 Birmensdorf, Switzerland
All publications →
,
Matthias Müller
Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL Zürcherstrasse 111, CH-8903 Birmensdorf, Switzerland
All publications →
Achilleas Psomas
Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL Zürcherstrasse 111, CH-8903 Birmensdorf, Switzerland
All publications →

Titles

Assessing accuracy of forest cover information on historical maps

Abstract

Assessing the uncertainty of historical map information is a prerequisite for using this source type for land cover reconstructions. We assessed the accuracy of forest cover information from 1930 / 1940 Swiss topographic maps ( Siegfried maps ) by comparing them with forest cover gained from orthophotos and terrestrial photos from the same period. Orthophotos were considered to contain the true forest cover information and consequently inconsistencies between historical maps and orthophotos were considered as true errors ( overor underestimation of the forest cover on the map ). Terrestrial photos reflect the surveyors perspective in the field and we therefore used this source type to develop hypotheses on potential reasons for inaccuracy of map information. Generalized linear models were used to test the hypotheses. The results confirmed our expectation that disagreement between maps is more likely to occur near forest edges, at higher altitudes and in less accessible and visible areas. Contrary to our expectations terrain slope did not play a significant role to explain surprisingly high rates of inaccuracy occurred in forest core areas.

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Information

Information: Geographical Studies, 2016, Issue 146, pp. 7 - 18

Article type: Original article

Titles:

Polish:

Assessing accuracy of forest cover information on historical maps

English:

Assessing accuracy of forest cover information on historical maps

Authors

Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL Zürcherstrasse 111, CH-8903 Birmensdorf, Switzerland

Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL Zürcherstrasse 111, CH-8903 Birmensdorf, Switzerland

Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL Zürcherstrasse 111, CH-8903 Birmensdorf, Switzerland

Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL Zürcherstrasse 111, CH-8903 Birmensdorf, Switzerland

Published at: 24.11.2016

Article status: Open

Licence: None

Percentage share of authors:

Urs Gimmi (Author) - 25%
Christian Ginzler (Author) - 25%
Matthias Müller (Author) - 25%
Achilleas Psomas (Author) - 25%

Article corrections:

-

Publication languages:

English