%0 Complex remote sensing-assisted forest surveys – Discussion article
%T Statistical considerations for enhanced forest resource mapping
%A Franceschi, Sara
%A Pisani, Caterina
%A Fattorini, Lorenzo
%A Corona, Piermaria
%D 2025
%J Silva Fennica
%V 59
%N 2
%R doi:10.14214/sf.24063
%U https://silvafennica.fi/article/24063
%X <p>This paper examines forest resource mapping from a statistical perspective, highlighting the opportunity to use a design-based approach to ensure inferential congruency with the estimation of averages and totals of forest attributes. Traditionally, in forest surveys estimates of averages and totals are obtained using design-unbiased estimators, with known variance expressions that can be easily estimated using standard sampling methodologies. The paper emphasizes the prominent role of <i>k</i>NN and Random Forest techniques in forest mapping while addressing the methodological limitations identified over more than thirty years of forest literature in efforts to estimate map precision. The critical importance of design-based map consistency, often overlooked in forest literature, is discussed and clarified, demonstrating that it allows for the development of design-based estimators of map precision through bootstrap resampling from the estimated maps.</p>