The Public Enterprise Sachsenforst and the Geodata Infrastructure of the Free State Saxony
Written by Andreas Hergert
The Free State of Saxony in Germany has been developing a forest management system that has evolved into the Saxon Forest Geographical Information System (FGIS). The system not only supports forestry but it integrates tightly into the wider Saxony Spatial Data Infrastructure (SDI). Both government agencies and citizens can access the system, sharing information and collaborating together. As a state-of-the-art forest and SDI development, this system is now looking to expand its GIS capabilities in other innovative ways.
Sachsenforst
– Motor of multifunctional forestry in Saxony
The
Public Enterprise Sachsenforst operates as State Forest
Administration and state-run forest and service enterprise in the
Free State Saxony. The State borders on Poland and the Czech Republic in
the east of Germany and forests cover about 28 percent of the land area. It is responsible for the commercial enterprises relating to the sustainable production and supply of timber and the support of
private forest owners in managing their own forests.
Figure 1: Forests in the Free State Saxony
Sachsenforst also provides support in silvicultural strategy, timber harvesting and
marketing, and in the application of tree harvesting machines in the
forest. In
fulfilling its function as forest authority, Sachsenforst supervises
forest owners and visiters regarding the compliance with forest and
game regulations and laws.
In
forestry as in other land management practices the main issue is the
careful and sustainable management of natural and renewable
resources. Along with financial interests forest management has to
consider ecological aspects and public interests. Frequently the
respect for the manifold nature protection and recreation functions
of forests, e.g. for rare seminatural habitats or recreational forest
close to urban areas, sometimes requires the waiving of yields and
profits.
Figure 2: Forest Organisation Structure (Administrative districts) of the Free State Saxony presented in FGIS_online, the Web GIS Solution of the Public Enterprise Sachsenfrost.
Geoinformation
– Basis of decision making in Forestry
Most
of the responsibilities and workflows in forest management and forest
administration directly or indirectly rely on geoinformation. Both in
analog and digital form, they play a decisive role. In the management
sector as well as in the administrative sector always the following
questions have to be answered:
Where
a certain forest area is located (municipality, local subdistrict,
coordinates)?
What
attributes does a forest area have (stocking, total standing, age,
site, soil and climate)?
What
topological relations exist between forest areas and other area
categories (e.g. nature reserves, forest biotopes, forest
functions)?
Who
does the forest area belong to (forest ownership, parcel)?
By
which routes the forest area is accessible (forest road network,
clearing roads, logistics)
In
order to answer these questions not only pure forest management
data are needed. Spatial data is also provided by tand
survey (e.g. topographical maps, cadastral data, aerial
photographs) and thematic data from other state and federal agencies
play an important role, particularly from the field of environment,
agriculture and nature conservancy.
In
return Sachsenforst provides the municipalties, district
administrations as well as other state agencies with forest data.
In order to optimize these processes of data exchange, the Spatial
Data Infrastructure of the Free State Saxony (SDI Saxony) is expanded
– not only in the context of the European INSPIRE activities.
Figure 3: FGIS-online System Architecture
The
Saxon Forest Geographical Information System (FGIS) – Forest
geodata management in the Public Enterprise Sachsenforst
The
forest data collected by Sachsenforst is predominantly data of
forest area objects with its specific properties, like tree species,
age, total standing, increment etc. This data is collected on the
basis of forest management planning, a kind of business inventory,
and then digitized and maintained through several IT and GIS
proceedings. Further forest and mapping procedures, such as site
investigation, forest biotope mapping and forest damage inventory,
feed the wider pool of forest information. Geographic and non
geographic data are managed in separate databases and are only
combined for publication and investigation.
The
entirety of forest geodata and software components of the Public
Enterprise Sachsenforst, which are required for data collection and
maintenance, form the Forest Geographical Information System (FGIS).
Since 1994 the Unix-based ArcINFO workstation by ESRI is applied as
the GIS basic software. The coverage data format and the file-based
ArcStorm database has proved its worth and are used for data
digitization and map production to this day. But these days are
numbered, because the transition to modern ArcGIS-Technology
and ArcSDE database are currently in progress.
Figure 4: Participants and central nodes of the Saxon GDI.
FGIS
data and data of external suppliers are processed and refined by GIS
specialists and cartographers according to forest requirements in
various shapes to supporting foresters and administration agencies in
doing their work. The traditional media to convey geoinformation are
paper maps. Once they were printed in high circulation and
distributed.
This
was followed by the introduction of locally installed GIS desktop
applications, such as ArcView and ArcExplorer by ESRI. Now
foresters are able to perform individual data exploration and
analysis as well as making individual work maps.
But
the installation and maintenance of local applications on a multitude
of computers as well as transportation and updating of data via DVD
or network connections make high demands on logistics and human
resources. Hence Sachsenforst focuses on web based solutions and the
use of web services for several years. So a Web GIS application and a
web based metadata information system (MIS) were developed and
introduced.
FGIS_online
– The map and inquiry platform for foresters
In
2005 the developement of FGIS-online, a Service-oriented Web GIS
solution, was started. Step by step all forest relevant spatial
data has been optimized for the publication via web technologies. On
the basis of mapserver software the data was published via map
services and embedded in FGIS_online. In this manner forest geodata
and geoinformation are accessible for all employees. The advantages
of the web application are:
The
program can be run on every computer within the intranet without
previous installation (only a web browser is needed)
Software
and data can be maintained and updated on central servers
Data
is always up-to-date, because it is embedded via web services
directly from the data provider
Presentation
of state-wide datasets is no problem (Free State Saxony)
The
use and maintenance of secondary stored resp. foreign data can be
reduced (data derives directly from the servers of other state
agencies – e.g. as aerial photographs web service by the state
surveying agency)
Restrictions
for the use of FGIS-online, and web solution in general, arise on
some forest field offices, which are situated afar from cities. Due
to the non-existence of high-speed data cables in these areas, those
offices are connected to the company intranet through 128
kbps-connections. The poor work performance, resulting from that, is
the reason why desktop applications here are still dominant.
The
functional range of FGIS-online was designed according to the special
requirements of foresters. Therefore prospective users were involved
in the development of the conceptual design of this software.
FGIS-online offers the following options:
Visualization
and Inquiry of forest relevant Geodata on the monitor screen
Integration
and use of map services of other data providers of the GDI Saxony
Designing
and printing maps for administrative tasks and the outdoor work
Search
for objects (e.g. forest area objects and parcels) via gazetteers
and navigation to these objects in the map
Inquiry
and research in the meta data catalogs of the free state Saxony
(GeoMIS.Sachsen) and the Public Enterprise Sachsenforst
(GeoMIS.Forst) with the option to embed services in FGIS-online
Drawing
and Editing of individual user objects in the map and storage in the
database (user themes)
Drawing
and Editing of forest business objects in the map and storage in
the database (state-wide business themes, e.g. forest damage
objects)
Storage
of individual map views in the database on the basis of OGC Standard
Web Map Context Files (WMC)
Integration
of business databases and Generation of business reports
FGIS-online
has modular and service-oriented system architecture and consists of
a multitude of components. Along with ESRI basic software (ArcIMS and
ArcSDE) components of the sdi.suite framework by con terra (a GIS
solution company from Münster, Germany) are used. The latter consequently
focus on OGC-conform Interfaces and provide extended functionality
for the integration of geodata and metadata services from Spatial
Data Infrastructures.
Furthermore
FGIS_online uses Open Source components, such as Geoserver, that
provides functionalities for the integration of gazetteers and
geometry editing on the basis of OGC-WFS services.
Figure 5: Sachsenatlas and GeoMIS.Sachsen – Central Web Portals of the Saxon GDI.
The
forestal Metadata Informationsystem GeoMIS.Forst
In
order to retain control over a variety of geodata with varying
thematic and topicality and to provide easy access to available data
to all users, Sachsenforst is about to develop the forest metadata
information system GeoMIS.Forst. It is designed as a web-application
and bases on the product terraCatalog by the company con terra.
GeoMIS.Forst manages metadata using ISO standards. As
Database management system Postgres is used. Now, after the system
environment has been completely installed and configured, step by
step metadata for all vector and raster data have to be collected and
published by the editors responsible.
GeoMIS.Forst
provides users with the following functionalities:
Collection
of Metadata on the basis of ISO-Standards 19119 and 19115
Publication
of internal (only for Sachsenforst in the intranet) and public
metadata (for the GDI Saxony in the internet) via OGC CSW-interface
(Catalog Service Web)
Integration
of found data at a click of a button in ArcGIS
Integration
of found data at a click of a button in FGIS_online
Because
the web clients of FGIS-online and GeoMIS.Forst derive from the same
product line, both solutions feature high interoperability. On the
one hand you can search for services in the GeoMIS.Forst catalog
through FGIS-online and visualize them in FGIS-online mapClient. On
the other hand you can inquire GeoMIS.Forst directly and start
FGIS-online at the click of the button with a certain service
visualized.
Exchange
and Sharing of Geodata within the Saxon Geodata Infrastructure (GDI
Saxony)
Among
others working on the basis of the European INSPIRE-Directive, the Geodata
Infrastructure of Germany and the Free State Saxony are making
progress. The idea of a GDI is: The various originators of geodata,
such as state agencies and municipalities, publish their geodata and
metadata in the form of Services according to Open Geospatial
Consortium standards (OGC standards). In Saxony those services are
binded into the central internet portals Sachsenatlas (for geodata) and
GeoMIS.Sachsen (for metadata) and can be shared by state agencies,
citizens and commercial users. In addition the integration in
individual GIS applications can be performed.
Within
the Free State of Saxony the exchange and sharing of geoinformation
via Web Map Services (OGC WMS standard) works fine. After
initial “growing pains” and performance problems arising
by the new technology, map services are now a stable alternative to
the physical exchange of datasets. They feed numerous Web-GIS
solutions of the Public Administration, such as FGIS-online of the
Public Enterprise Sachsenforst.
Figure
6: Workflow – Sachsenforst as provider of information and services
for its employees and the GDI Saxony.
The
central Saxon web client Sachsenatlas functions as platform
for the publication of OGC map services of the various state
administrations and is used by the public. All public Saxon map
services can be accessed, arbitrarily combined and queried through
Sachsenatlas.
Also
Sachseforst currently publishes two map services on the internet, the
WMS “Forests in Saxony” and “Bridle Paths in Saxony”. Further
map services, covering forest functions, forest biotopes etc., will
be published soon. The service “Forests in Saxony” e.g. contains
information on the current forest cover of the Free State Saxony as
well as on forest administrative divisions and forest
classifications. The service “Bridle Paths in Saxony” contains
data on the current Saxon bridle path network. Both services can be
viewed though Sachenatlas or embedded in individual applications.
In
order to stay up to date with the availability of existing geodata
and services in the Free State of Saxony, the central metadata portal
GeoMIS.Sachsen can be queried. It provides metadata on geodata
of the Saxon administration according to the ISO Standards 19119 and
19115.
For
instance searching for the keyword “forest” (in German: Wald)
results in several found geodatasets, services and applications of
Sachsenforst. These metadatasets include a brief description of a
data resource regarding thematic, spatial reference system, contact
information and e.g. an URL to access services.
The
Sachsenatlas additionally provides the opportunity to find and bind
services out of the GeoMIS.Sachsen catalog.
An
additional Saxon GDI portal, which is currently being developed, is
the Geoshop Portal. On the basis of the WPOS standard (WPOS stands
for Web Pricing and Ordering Service) data and services of the Saxon
administration will be offered and available here.
Sachsenforst
as an Active Member of the GDI Saxony
Sachsenforst
is both a service producing and a service consuming member of the GDI
Saxony. Sachsenforst publishes numerous map services on topic forest
in the intranet of the Free State Saxony (The Saxon intranet is
called Info Highway and connects all state administration facilities
of Saxony).
Currently two map services are available in the World Wide Web. These
services can be used by other state agencies and municipalities by
integrating them into their GIS applications. Furthermore
Sachsenforst provides a CSW catalog service on the intranet. The
public metadata portal GeoMIS.Sachsen can access this service
(GeoMIS.Forst) via the CSW-Interface and harvest forest metadata
that is declared as public. Those metadata then will be available on
the internet by a “distributed search” functionality of
GeoMIS.Sachsen.
In
return Sachsenforst uses GeoMIS.Sachsen and embeds map services of
the State Surveying Agency, the State Agency for Environment and
Geology and other state administrations in FGIS_online.
Figure
7: Workflow – Sachsenforst as consumer of information and services
of the GDI Saxony.
Between
the Public Enterprise Sachsenforst and the Saxon GDI the following
services and applications regarding workflows exist:
Consequent
usage of services of the Saxon GDI in the forestal Web GIS
FGIS_online
Publication
of relevant metadata via a OGC-conform catalog service (CSW) on the
Saxon Info Highway on the basis of GeoMIS.Forst
Publication
of OGC-conform map Services (WMS) on the internet and of ArcIMS
services on the intranet (ArcIMS Services provide extended
functionality but are not a open standard. Hence, they are only used
business-internally.
Query
of GeoMIS.Sachsen for new Services within the GDI Saxony and its
manual integration in FGIS_online
Within
the GDI Saxony OGC Web Feature Services (WFS) currently doesn’t
play an important role for the publication of geodata, yet. But
within the next few years this situation will probably change and a
considerable increase will occur. This is because WFS services
provide an extended functionality (similar to ArcIMS services) on a
basis of an open standard.
New
Demands on a Future Geodata Infrastructure
In
forestry as in other land management practices people traditionally
not only work in the office. A bulk of work has to be done outdoors
in the forest, where often no network connections are available. This
is because in areas far away from cities the mobile phone network has
substantial gaps. So web applications and the usage of web services
from the GDI Saxony have limited work capability here.
That
implicates that for the mobile field geodata still has to be
obtained, copied and physically stored on a multitude of devices. WMS
services are not accessible outdoors and offline. Thus mobile devices
can not yet benefit from geodata infrastructures to the full extent.
There are no OGC standards that support data caching and
transactional editing functions to be used offline. So we’ll wait
and see what the future development will provide in this field.
Within
the next few years also Sachsenforst has to meet the challenge to put
geoinformation as well as data querying and editing functions on
mobile devices, such as PDAs or Tablet PCs. Foresters and
administrative stuff have to be supplied with an efficient technology
to support their business and administrative tasks (e.g. timber
accountancy and timber logistics).
As
a forester working in the field of geoinformatics you become aware
of, how different the time categories of forests and geoinformatics
are. A forest generation develops over about 100 years and is then
displaced by a new generation. Compared with a geoinformation system,
this process only takes tenth part of the time.
Andreas Hergert - Referent WebGIS-Entwicklung / FGIS-online,
Staatsbetrieb Sachsenforst,
Abteilung Finanzmanagement/
Forstliche Informationssysteme
Referat fgis/ Kartographie/ Vermessung. More Information: www.sachsenforst.de
Email:
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The Free State of Saxony in Germany has been developing a forest management system that has evolved into the Saxon Forest Geographical Information System (FGIS). The system not only supports forestry but it integrates tightly into the wider Saxony Spatial Data Infrastructure (SDI). Both government agencies and citizens can access the system, sharing information and collaborating together. As a state-of-the-art forest and SDI development, this system is now looking to expand its GIS capabilities in other innovative ways.
Figure 1: Forests in the Free State Saxony
Figure 2: Forest Organisation Structure (Administrative districts) of the Free State Saxony presented in FGIS_online, the Web GIS Solution of the Public Enterprise Sachsenfrost.
Figure 3: FGIS-online System Architecture
Figure 4: Participants and central nodes of the Saxon GDI.
Figure 5: Sachsenatlas and GeoMIS.Sachsen – Central Web Portals of the Saxon GDI.
