STIPSI - A Sampling Simulator for Forest Stands and Forest Areas

User Group

The STIPSI sampling simulator is primarily designed for the education of forestry students and the training of forest practitioners. It can also be used for research purposes for solutions to methodological problems of sampling methods.
Through the support of the learning process via modern communication and information technology, the computer program STIPSI is an example for E-learning in forestry education. The application of the simulator in connection with practical exercises in forest measurement teaching and inventory methods has proved advantageous. In conclusion, as an online-teaching module it provides the students with the possibility for self-study to repeat the lessons learned and deepen their knowledge on their own time schedule.

A second application area of the simulator is the training of forest surveyor. With theory and experience with representative sampling methods for stand and unit inventories, the most trusted user group is above all those who test alternative sampling designs in stand types characteristic of the inventory region. Self-confidence and security with conducting stand-wise and unit-wise inventories in the field should be established with the experience and knowledge gained from the computer program.

In conclusion, the sampling simulator can be an additional decision support for the few trusted officers of a forest administration, with a planned reorganization of stand-wise into unit-wise sampling inventory as a result of a redirection of the forestry institution, with sampling theory.

Development History

The E-Learning module is an update of an already developed STIPSI sampling simulator from the middle of the 1960's on a then computer of the University of Freiburg (IBM 7040). The original punch card oriented computer program was further developed into several chronologically sequential versions to today's status. The development went from a central workstation with messenger service for punch cards and result lists from back then, to a decentralized web-based online-access of today. After literature research at the end of the 1960's, the concern was with the simulator being the first fully elaborated forestry computer program for teaching and training purposes. It was first applied to forest measurement related exercises for forestry students at the University of Freiburg in WS 1968/69 and for a long time, since 1970, for the advanced training of forest valuators of the state forest management of Baden-Württemberg.

A further milestone in the development of STIPSI meant the redesign of the software package in 2005. This includes, among other things, the improvement of the user friendliness through graphical illustration of the steps as well as an optimal presentation of the results. With the enhancement of a module to allow for the simulation of sampling at the level of a forest enterprise, an emerging trend in Germany but also within the countries of the EU. The target internationality of the program is aided by the recreated possibility for the simple creation of a multilingual user interface.

STIPSI - Development and Project Staff

¹ Name of the program author is underlined