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Abstract:
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In response to the traditional user question, "How much?", the Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) program of the USDA Forest Service annually reports design-based estimates of forest attributes for counties across the country. In response to the more recent "Where?" question, the FIA program makes sample data available via the internet, which is an adequate solution for large AOIs and applications that do not require exact plot locations. However, the vision for forest inventory has two components: unbiased, multivariate maps of sufficient spatial resolution for user applications and interactive access to the maps via a medium that does not try users' patience excessively. The presentation focuses on current techniques for realizing the vision, including nearest neighbor techniques, internet access, and fast, approximating algorithms.
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