Blog

Notes on forest inventory statistics, remote sensing, and the occasional tangent.

1. Understanding the FIA Plot

   Sep 26, 2026

   Learn the basics of FIA plot configurations and data through visualization. We describe the plot geometry, condition mapping, and tree measurements, the basics of which lead to the fundamental observations that inform estimates of forest resources produced by the inventory.

2. Model Unbiasedness

   Mar 28, 2020

   Model-based unbiasedness under a superpopulation model, visualized with a Monte-Carlo simulation of repeated population realizations.

3. Design Unbiasedness

   Mar 24, 2020

   What design unbiasedness means: a visual Monte-Carlo demonstration of the Horvitz-Thompson estimator under simple random sampling.