Project Code:	MDFP-01-012
Area:	Applied Research
Sponsor:	Manning Diversified Forest

The primary goal/objective of this Project was the improvement of ecosite mapping reliability through the test employment of airbourne scanning & global positioning equipment in an attempt to acquire higher quality spatially explicit terrain image and elevation data.

The initial work on this Project was carried out over the period of June 1998 to May 1999. Activities involved the airbourne scanning of two selected test sites, each approximately one-half a township in size, and located in the Manning and Whitecourt areas of the province.

Light Image Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) and Ortho-rectified Imagery were obtained for the entire Manning Area, but only partially completed for the Whitecourt Test Area due to image data acquisition problems. The data and individual maps produced for each area were made available to the respective sponsors.

The airbourne scanning equipment, under short-term lease from the USA, was only available for a very short period of time. This situation, along with the loss of key personnel resulted in a truncation of the Project. Results achieved to discontinuence of the Project are contained in a twelve page report entitled – "New Forest Planning Tools: Proof of Concept Research and Development", prepared by David H. McNabb and dated October 8th, 2002.

Keywords
Manning Diversified Forest Products
Ecological Land Classification
Ecosite Mapping
Enhanced Terrain Image & Elevation Data
Airbourne Scanning