Forest Sciences Commons^™

Accuracy Assessment Of Perimeter And Area Calculations Using Consumer-Grade Gps Units In Southern Forests, Daniel Unger, I-Kuai Hung, Yanli Zhang, Jeffrey Parker, David Kulhavy, Dean W. Coble

Faculty Publications

Field foresters have long required a method of accurate measurement of perimeter and area during forest management activities. Perimeter and area assessments that can be derived from individual waypoints collected via global positioning system (GPS) units can be an expensive endeavor. A question of concern for practicing foresters is as the cost of GPS units increase does the accuracy of waypoints and any derived perimeter and area assessments also increase? This research evaluated whether the dynamic collection of waypoints using consumer-grade GPS units ranging from $50 to $700 provide a sufficient level of accuracy for the calculation of perimeter and …