Development of a GIS-based model for urban forest management

In a short term scientific mission to the University of Algarve, Portugal during August and September 2013, Ilze Jankovska from the Latvia University of Agriculture explored Portugies experience on ways to increase ecological services of natural forest in the light of recreational demands. Collaboration was initiated on development of a GIS-based model to predict successional trends in hemiboreal Scot’s pine forests of Riga city via regeneration in canopy gaps. The GIS model will potentially predict forest landscape dynamics, which will serve to improve forest management methods for promotion of ecological services in urban forest use for recreation.

Ilze Jankovska