Abstract

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An accurate assessment of forest and tree resources is needed and very essential for formulating sound forest management strategies and decision-making (sustainable management).Inventory is central to forest management and it helps to address forest degradation and deforestation while increasing indirect benefits to people and the environment; without forest inventory, forest management would not be sustainable since there would not be sufficient information for planning and implementation. The key role of forest inventory in sustainable forest management cannot be under-rated and includes provisions of information used to develop Predictive Equations (models) used for decision-making and sustainable forest management; provides information for site management, silviculture (thinning), fixing of rotation age, timber harvests; provides information for site quality assessment (site index), et cetera. For a sustainable world forest and its resources to be managed as meeting the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. However, there is need for information on forest resources and wildlife. Inventory which has been a vital tool in the management of forests for sustainable production through the information gathered, help the foresters to establish and managed forests properly with ease for sustainable development to mankind. Forest inventory information is obtained from measurements of individual trees or stand used in assessing tree and forest resources; provides qualitative and quantitative information on extent, state, use, management of the resources and enhances forest planning. The information may be obtained from measurements taken from ground or on remote sensing imagery.

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