GPS Applications in Forest Operations.

Forest management activities related to removal and regeneration of important tree species has benefited by the accessibility of the Global Positioning System (GPS).  The application of GPS has permitted users to determine positional data for estimation of static locations of relevant forest attributes or dynamic estimation of machine movements within a harvest or tillage operation.  GPS derived data has been utilized in determination of machine movements in a harvest operation to develop traffic intensity maps, calculation of time studies and productivity data associated with forest operations, and  estimating fuel efficiency and power requirements for tillage operations.  In addition, GPS derived data has provided researchers with the ability to evaluate soil impacts that result from forest operations through the integration of GPS data with location information to evaluate soil compaction and erosion potential in the forest tract.  The results of relevant studies will be highlighted to illustrate GPS applications.