Sustainable Forest Management (SFM) Toolbox

Forest Inventory

The Forest Inventory Module is intended for people involved in the collection of data on forest resources. It provides insights into the types and purposes of forest inventories and sets out the main steps in conducting them, from measurement methods to data collection.

The module provides basic and more detailed information on forest inventory, as well as links to forest inventory tools and case studies of effective forest inventories.

Soil carbon monitoring in Tanzania
29 January 2015
Deforestation and forest degradation in developing countries account for nearly 20% of green house gas emissions worldwide, which is why estimating and reducing these emissions has become a key goal for the international community as the Rio+20 conference on sustainable development in June draws closer. One country attempting to do...
Results of the National Forest Inventory in Nicaragua (2007-2008) - Part 1
29 January 2015
The video (in Spanish) provides a summary of the National Forest Inventory carried out in Nicaragua during 2007-2008. Images and interviews present details of the activities connected to FAOs support to National Forest Monitoring and Assessment programme.
Results of the National Forest Inventory in Nicaragua (2007-2008) - Part 2
29 January 2015
The video (in Spanish) provides a summary of the National Forest Inventory carried out in Nicaragua during 2007-2008. Images and interviews present details of the activities connected to FAO's support to National Forest Monitoring and Assessment programme.
Mapping forests - The path to green growth
27 January 2015
A vibrant forestry industry can mean a brighter future for nations that pursue modern, sustainable forestry management practices: more and better jobs; lower environmental impact; a carbon neutral industry; and a renewable, sustainable approach to economic development. Viet Nam is receiving help to achieve these very goals from Finland's government...
Estimating tropical forest carbon stocks using existing inventory data
02 October 2014
There is a high level of interest in measuring the quantity of carbon in tropical forests as a result of the development of initiatives such as REDD+ (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation), that aim to provide funding for achieving the preservation of these ecosystems. Ground-based forest inventories remain an...
Estimating biomass and biomass change of tropical forests: a primer
19 June 2014
The document presents: (1) methods for estimating biomass density of tropical forests or tree formations using existing data, (2) examples of calculations on how the different methodologies are used, (3) describe primary data and measurement requirements, (4) present biomass density estimates for many tropical countries using the methods given....
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