Summary
Since 1999, Forest Service research has discovered and applied efficient and informative ways to monitor forest fragmentation and landscape patterns using land cover maps at national to global scales. Researchers developed specialized software to support Forest Service Resources Planning Act and sustainability assessments, but it was not feasible to transfer that software to a global community of users. Aresearch collaboration between the Forest Service’s Eastern Forest Environmental Threat Assessment Center and the European Commission Joint Research Center established in 2003 has now achieved that technology transfer. Researchers have incorporated Forest Service software and algorithms to conduct a full range of multi-scale data analyses and assessments that have been used in official U.S. assessments into the latest version of the GuidosToolbox (available at http://forest.jrc.ec.europa.eu/download/software/guidos/). With a global user base of approximately 20,000, the GuidosToolbox offers a free, user-friendly alternative to commercial software that is typically not available in the developing world, with extensive online training for U.S. assessment protocols and software support provided by the European Commission.
