4
Chapter 1
The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry plays an important role
representing both developers and users of remote sensing in Finland, as the
field of competence of the Ministry includes agriculture, forestry, mapping
activities, game and fisheries as well as an important part of environmental
protection.
Finland has for natural reasons a long tradition in the remote mapping of
its forests, which started in the sixties using aerial photography. Main objects
of interest are forest inventory and planning, as well as the monitoring of
forest ecosystems. The work comprises the use of both satellite and airborne
imagery in operational activities. In this meeting, you will also hear about
the results of these activities.
When Finland joined the European Union, the application of remote
sensing to agriculture received a new impetus. Remote sensing is now being
used for controlling farmers’ declarations for EU support, and methods are
being developed for obtaining yearly crop yield estimates. In both cases the
work is being done in collaboration with the EU Commission and the Joint
Research Center.
The updating of small scale topographic maps using new high-resolution
satellite imagery is currently starting up in Finland, made possible by
progress in satellite technology. The use of satellites plays nowadays a very
central role in the geodetic measurements needed for mapping. During the
past ten years, Finland has started to very extensively use satellite
positioning (GPS) in mapping work. Significant resources are being
expended yearly on the development of mapping techniques and satellite
geodesy, which will ensure that our country has a modern map production
based on digital data. This again will offer good possibilities for Finnish
participation in the European harmonization of mapping and co-ordinate
systems in years to come.
Geographic information systems clearly offer the best possibility to
manage information on parts of the Earth’s surface. Both national and
international systems are needed, and these should be compatible. The
CORINE (Co-ordination of Information on the Environment) Land cover
program, being prepared in the European Union, and the Finnish national
land use maps serve as examples. In both cases, remote sensing is used to
enter up-to-date information into the system, which would be very hard to
obtain by any other means. Thus, remote sensing is becoming an important
technique for obtaining input data for geographic information systems as
well as for various geophysical models. However, one should be aware that
GIS-systems are useful only if the data in it is accurate both in location and
in content. You, in your research work, will strive to make these items of
information as accurate as possible.
Chapter 1
The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry plays an important role
representing both developers and users of remote sensing in Finland, as the
field of competence of the Ministry includes agriculture, forestry, mapping
activities, game and fisheries as well as an important part of environmental
protection.
Finland has for natural reasons a long tradition in the remote mapping of
its forests, which started in the sixties using aerial photography. Main objects
of interest are forest inventory and planning, as well as the monitoring of
forest ecosystems. The work comprises the use of both satellite and airborne
imagery in operational activities. In this meeting, you will also hear about
the results of these activities.
When Finland joined the European Union, the application of remote
sensing to agriculture received a new impetus. Remote sensing is now being
used for controlling farmers’ declarations for EU support, and methods are
being developed for obtaining yearly crop yield estimates. In both cases the
work is being done in collaboration with the EU Commission and the Joint
Research Center.
The updating of small scale topographic maps using new high-resolution
satellite imagery is currently starting up in Finland, made possible by
progress in satellite technology. The use of satellites plays nowadays a very
central role in the geodetic measurements needed for mapping. During the
past ten years, Finland has started to very extensively use satellite
positioning (GPS) in mapping work. Significant resources are being
expended yearly on the development of mapping techniques and satellite
geodesy, which will ensure that our country has a modern map production
based on digital data. This again will offer good possibilities for Finnish
participation in the European harmonization of mapping and co-ordinate
systems in years to come.
Geographic information systems clearly offer the best possibility to
manage information on parts of the Earth’s surface. Both national and
international systems are needed, and these should be compatible. The
CORINE (Co-ordination of Information on the Environment) Land cover
program, being prepared in the European Union, and the Finnish national
land use maps serve as examples. In both cases, remote sensing is used to
enter up-to-date information into the system, which would be very hard to
obtain by any other means. Thus, remote sensing is becoming an important
technique for obtaining input data for geographic information systems as
well as for various geophysical models. However, one should be aware that
GIS-systems are useful only if the data in it is accurate both in location and
in content. You, in your research work, will strive to make these items of
information as accurate as possible.