Forest Service Software Goes Global
Since 1999, Forest Service research has discovered and applied efficient and informative ways to monitor forest fragmentation and landscape patterns using land cover maps at national to global scale. Researchers developed specialized software to support Forest Service Resources Planning Act (RPA) and Sustainability assessments, but it was not feasible to transfer that software to a global community of users. An Eastern Threat Center research collaboration with the European Commission Joint Research Center that was first established in 2003 has now achieved that technology transfer. Researchers have incorporated Forest Service software and algorithms to conduct a full range of multi-scale data analyses and assessments, as they are used in official U.S. assessments, into the latest version of the GuidosToolbox. With a global user base of approximately 20,000 and extensively supported by online training documents, the GuidosToolbox offers a free, user-friendly alternative to commercial software that is typically not available in the developing world, with online training for U.S. assessment protocols and software support provided by the European Commission.
Pictured: The GuidosToolbox offers a free, user-friendly alternative to commercial software. Users across the globe can apply the tools to monitor forest fragmentation and landscape patterns at any scale.
Related publication:
Forest Service Partners/Collaborators: Forest Inventory and Analysis (Research and Development), Resources Planning Act staff area (Research and Development), and Forest Health Monitoring
External Partners/Collaborators: European Commission Joint Research Centre
Contact: Kurt Riitters, research ecologist, kurt.h.riitters@usda.gov
