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27/11/2010
Map of damage caused by the Klaus cyclone
South-west France is still suffering from the aftermath of Cyclone Klaus, which caused considerable damage in the area on January 24th, 2009. On Géoportail you can see the map of estimated forest damage compiled by the French National Forestry Inventory (IFN).
The storm that took place on January 24th, 2009
Cyclone Klaus affected around 700,000 hectares (about 420,000 acres) of private and state-owned forest , in the Aquitaine, Midi-Pyrénées and Languedoc-Roussillon regions.
With maximum gusts of over 140 km/h, forest formations in the South-West, particularly those in the Landes area, suffered considerable damage: 170,000 hectares (420,000 acres) 60% destroyed, 43 million cubic metres of damage.
> Cyclone Klaus (January 2009): map of forest damage
Compilation of the map
Cyclone damage in the Landes forest was mapped using SPOT satellite images at decametric resolution.
Automatic comparisons were made of images recorded before and after the storm so as to detect any changes. The ‘post-storm’ images selected were taken in February 2009 and cover almost all the affected zone (apart from the extreme south-west of the Landes region).
IFN photo-interpreters, accustomed to infrared image cartography and extremely familiar with the Landes forest environment, then checked the results to eliminate any confusion between areas affected by the cyclone and those that had been cleared previously.
In addition, the National Forest Inventory has also conducted a large number of surveys of sample plots (zones where the tree stands are known and described) in production forests. Feedback concerning the 3,000 sample plots listed during inventory programmes conducted between 2005-2008, has enabled a combined estimate to be made of the surface areas and volumes of wood involved. The rapid feedback thus obtained has also made it possible to verify the kinds of damage defined by automatic processing.
Find out more:: you can find out all about the method used to compile the map on the IFN website..
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About the IFNThe French National Forestry Inventory (IFN) was created in 1958 to improve understanding of the potential of French forested areas. It is a state administrative establishment supervised by the ministry responsible for forests.
The organisation is responsible for maintaining a permanent inventory of French forest resources, independently of any property issues (article R 521-1 of the French Forestry Code). |
