Using 3-D Landscape

Visualization to Simulate
Forest Management Impacts

David J. Buckley
Pacific Meridian
Resources

Joseph K. Berry

Berry & Associates

Craig Ulbright

Software Developer

Landscape Structure
Analysis/Visualization
Web Site:

www.innovativegis.com
To find out more
about Landscape
Structure
Analysis and
Visualization,
visit our Web
Site.
You will find a
wide array of
information

(Berry)

Landscape Visualization (3-D

Rendering)

Integration of existing technologies

Commercial GIS software
has limited capabilities for
realistic 3-D visualization
Scientific visualization
software is readily available but
at individual plot/stand level only
Virtual reality techniques are
increasingly used in computer games
and film making.

Non-traditional GIS techniques

3-D object rendering (trees, soil, buildings)
Map animation (2-D and 3-D)
Linking video/photos to maps

3-D Object Rendering (USFS SVS, 6/97)

Multimedia GIS
GIS

(Berry)

3-D Visualization Approaches

SportsTracker (MapTrek, 9/98)

Image Draping -- is
an established technique in
GIS. Draping a topographic
or thematic map onto a 3-D
terrain surface is effective but
relies on abstract colors,
shading and symbols. Draping
a satellite image, such as a
digital orthophoto, results in
good surface texture and can
produce visualizations suitable
for depicting landscape-scale
vegetation patterns. However,
the 3-D nature of landscape
objects are not depicted and
severe pixelization occurs in
the foreground.

3-D Analyst (ESRI, 9/98)

10m SPOT using ArcTIN (ESRI, 6/95)

(Berry)

3-D Visualization Approaches

(continued)

Video Imaging -- is a computer technique that "cuts-and-pastes

digital photographic images to represent changes on the landscape. This
approach produces high quality visualization output, but it is very manually
intensive, contains no direct geo-referencing to a GIS database and often
suffers from the artistic/subjective nature of the creation process.

(Imaging Systems Lab, Brian Orland, Director, University of Illinois, Dept. of Landscape
Left image is an actual photo of western spruce budworm damage in the Deschutes NF, Oregon. Right image depicts what the
same place might look like 5 years after the dead/damaged trees are removed. The diseased trees are manually erased from the
scene and background trees and shrubs are inserted pasted in their place.

(Berry)

3-D Visualization Approaches

(continued)
-- combines video-imaging techniques
with geometric registration, typically undertaken within a GIS. It's rarely used
on a production basis, due to the difficulty in accurately geo-referencing the
photographic video image with the 3-D perspective framework (wire-frames)
generated by the GIS system.

Geometric Video Imaging

Geometric Modeling --

Virtual Forest (Innovative Gis, 9/98)

builds a 3-D geometric

representation of individual
landscape features, such as trees,
represented as geometric objects
(simple cones or complex tree
shapes). The individual objects are
assembled to create a forest stand
or landscape view depicting the
perspective from a given viewpoint.
3-D Rendering utilizes GIS
inventories of tree types and
densities.
Virtual Reality
SmartForest (Orland, 9/98)

(Berry)

3-D Rendering: Tree Design

3-D object design (trees)
The Tree Designer
is used to build custom 3-D tree
symbols that represent forest
components, such as different
species, multi-age trees,
seasonal effects, shrubs, and
snags

3-D trees with several sun angles are

created and stored as bit mapped images for
polygon rendering

(Berry)

Landscape Visualization
(Rendering Technique)

Step 1) 3-D Terrain

Surface
Step 4) Tree
Objects

Pouring the Trees

Step 2) Polygon
Containers
Step 5) Final
Composition

Laying the Carpet

Step 3) Surface
Texture
Step 6)
Atmospheric
Effects

(Berry)

Landscape Visualization (Rend

Rendered Scene

GIS dB

Tree Symbol
%Maturity
#Trees

Landscape Visualization (GIS

Rendering)

(Berry)

Landscape Visualization (GIS

Rendering)

(Berry)

Landscape Visualization (GIS

Rendering)

(Berry)

Visualizing Forest Conditions

changing
the
landscapes
carpet and
objects

Before Fire

After Fire

Summer

Winter

After Snowfall

(Berry)

Landscape Visualization (Case

Study 1)

with classified forest

polygons
Darker boundary lines
identify forest parcels
used for 3-D rendered
scenes

Species
Stocking
Height/age
Ground Cover

(Berry)

Landscape Visualization (Case

Study 1)
This is a general image of the watershed surrounding the primary lake showing
harvest blocks. Texture Mapping is used to provide a realistic sky and lake
surface as well as underlying colors for the blocks. Note the different species in
the foreground stands (bottom left). This represents a multi-species stand.

Target

Observer

(Berry)

Landscape Visualization (Case

Study 1)
This view provides a ridge viewpoint overlooking the lake and adjoining harvest
blocks. Note that there is little distinction in density of trees for the nonproductive stands that cap the ridge areas compared to stands classified as
productive on the hillsides. A rock slide also appears in this view in the lower
right.

Target

Observer

(Berry)

Landscape Visualization (Case

Study 1)
Trees have been reduced by 50% and re-planted for the non-productive stands
that cap the ridges. Different textures have also been applied to the nonproductive stands and the harvest blocks to aid in their distinction. Note the
different underlying colors for the blocks in the valley at the end of the lake
and the non-productive, less dense stands on the higher elevations.

Target

Observer

(Berry)

Landscape Visualization (Case

Study 1)

This image presents a 'boat' viewpoint from the middle of the lake. The
viewpoint is directly above the primary lake looking down the valley towards the
harvest blocks.

Observer

Target

(Berry)

Landscape Visualization (Case

Study 1)

This image illustrates how fog and haze can be used to add more realism to a
forested visualization. Note the enhancement of the ridge in the foreground on
the right side of the image.

Observer

Target

(Berry)

Virtual Fly-By
Animation provides an added dimension to 3-D visualization
movement in space and time

rapidly sequencing a
series of 3-D renderings
creates a sense of
movement
Fly-By

(Berry)

Rendering Fidelity
Data Richness
determines the fidelity
of a landscape rendering.
Ground cover and tree
objects are assigned to
polygons based on inferred
forest conditions (limited
data richness)
through detailed forest
inventories (robust data
richness)

UPSHOT!!! 3-D rendering introduces a new element to map accuracy

1) Spatial Accuracy (positional), 2) Thematic Accuracy (classification)
and 3) Rendering Fidelity (cartographic)

(Berry)

3-D Rendering Summary

The integration of GIS and
visualization technologies provides
an operational

platform for natural

resource professionals and general

public to consider the aesthetic
impacts of landscape alternatives.
point and click data retrieval

The striking realism of the rendered visualizations enhance

communication of management plans in a more effective form.
Future developments will extend these capabilities
to a fully integrated view allowing interactive query of the 3-D rendered
scene... Point-and-Click for text/data summaries

(Berry)

Landscape Visualization (Case

Study 2)
Analysis of topographic information, provincial forest inventory and Landsat
imagery of the Redfish Creek watershed near Nelson, BC, was used to derive
landscape characteristics.
Band 5

Band 4
Band 3

(Berry)

Landscape Visualization (Case

Study 2)
Most Similar Neighbor analysis using canonical correlation was applied to find
the best correspondence between the intensively inventoried subset of the
landscape, about 20-25% of stands, and a less intensively sampled classified
remotely sensed image
(ESSA Technologies, Vancouver, BC)

the classified
map was
combined with the
DEM and an older
Aerial photo
interpreted derived
inventory, to
generate an
updated inventory
(1999) for each
forest stand.

(Berry)

Landscape Visualization (Case

Study 2)
Study area landscape with draped texture map, hydrography is in blue, roads in
brown and primary forest stands in gold (3,699 polygons). Key viewpoint
locations and orientation are identified.

(Pacific Meridian Resources, Fort Collins, CO)

(Berry)

Landscape Visualization (Case

Study 2)
The new inventory was then modeled using the Prognosis Model

growing trees, predicting mortality, establishing regeneration,

predicting non-tree vegetation development, performing
management activities, and calculating tree volumes

to simulate the landscape for 50 years under different management regimes.

Viewpoint 2

Initial
Conditions
1999

Unmanaged
2049

Patch-Cutting Balanced Regime 2049

2049

Viewpoint 3

Initial
Conditions
1999

Unmanaged
2049

Patch-Cutting Balanced Regime 2049

(Berry)
2049

Viewpoint 3 , Initial
Conditions 1999

(Berry)

Viewpoint 3 , Unmanaged
2049

(Berry)

Viewpoint 3 , Patch-Cutting
2049

(Berry)

Viewpoint 3 Balanced
Regime 2049

(Berry)

Example Project

Using Advanced 3-D Visualization

Techniques to Assess Historical
Forested Landscapes
GIS Applications in Forestry and
Resource Management

Landscape
Visualization
Summary
GIS technology provides a new environment for more effectively
communicating landscape characteristics and conditions-moves maps beyond abstraction to realism.

3-D Rendering enables users to visualize

forest inventory data and simulate...

what could be.

Video Mapping enables capture data and

images within its actual spatial context...

what is.

(Berry)

Landscape Visualization (Video

Mapping)

Documenting real-world conditions

Multimedia GIS
can be used to document
actual conditions.
Video Mapping georegisters
Streaming Video
Still Images
Audio
Text
Data
of existing landscape
characteristics
High Rendering Fidelity

(Berry)

Landscape Visualization (Video

Mapping)

VMS200 by Red Hen

Systems

Image
ry
organi
zed by
When
and
Where

GPS coordinates are

stamped directly on the
video tape every second
a database linking the
GPS coordinates and tape
position is automatically
generated and used to
construct a map of
imagery locations.

(Berry)

Going Beyond Landscape

Visualization
Landscape Structure Analysis provides
information on the patterns and arrangements
of landscape features

puzzle pieces.

GIS Modeling provides a wealth of

analytical tools that characterize spatial
relationships...

spatial interaction and

context.

(Berry)

Unabashed Plug for Map-ematics

Surface Modeling

Spatial Analysis