%0 Articles
%T Economic losses in forest management due to errors in inventory data
%A Ruotsalainen, Roope
%D 2021
%J Dissertationes Forestales
%V 2021
%N 318
%R doi:10.14214/df.318
%U http://dissertationesforestales.fi/article/10638
%X <p>The performance of a forest inventory is typically evaluated using error indices, such as root mean square error (RMSE) and the difference between means of observed and predicted attributes (MD). However, error indices or errors as such, do not fully reveal the practical usefulness of forest inventory data. Using erroneous inventory data as a basis for management planning may have harmful effects on forestry decision-making. Errors in inventory data can lead to the selection of management prescriptions that differ from the optimal prescriptions based on error-free data. Eventually, differences in the selected prescriptions result in losses in regard to the objectives set for the management. The main aim of this thesis was to assess the effects of inventory errors on forest management where the objective is to maximize the net present value (NPV) of timber production and carbon payments. The studies considered different combinations and levels of errors in forest stand attributes and evaluated the effect of errors on the optimality of management prescriptions based on the expected economic losses, which were measured in NPV. The results showed that expected losses depend on the error rate of those forest stand attributes, which are used to describe the present state of the forest in the planning system. In particular, the results indicated that errors in mean diameter can be more harmful than errors in the basal area. Increasing the sample size in a remote sensing-based forest inventory increased the accuracy of predicted stand attributes and decreased the expected losses. The inclusion of carbon payments in the maximization of NPV showed that the effect of errors on expected losses decreases when the carbon price increases. The findings of this thesis indicate that it is very important that the effects of inventory errors are considered in forest management planning.</p>