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CREATING FOREST INFORMATION SYSTEM: A CASE STUDY FOR ISTANBUL 
KURTKEMERI FOREST ADMINISTRATION 
F. Kurtcebe 
Yildiz Technical University (YTU), Department of Geodetic and Photogrammetric Engineering, 
34349 Besiktas Istanbul, Turkey - filizkurtcebe@yahoo.com 
PS YF 
KEY WORDS: Forestry, GIS, Spatial, Technology, Thematic 
ABSTRACT: 
Nowadays technology becomes part of our lives. We can use technology in every kind of profession. Everyday we make lots of 
decisions and during this period we have to think about all physical conditions, human factors, financial problems, the results of our 
decisions in long period etc... Technology helps us in different ways. One is Geographis Information Systems (GIS). We can 
process both spatial and non-spatial data together. We can make queries-analysis or change informations. So we can be faster, more 
effective and economic in our works. 
The aim of the study is creating a forest information system to help problems and duties of forests. Forests are very important 
treasures for all of the world. They are like world's lungs and ours too. Forests are spread out wide areas. That makes harder to 
protect and do other duties about them. We need a good system to follow all steps of works or to find where the problem is. 
Geographic Information Systems help us at the moment. First i decided my working area, it is Kurtkemeri Forest Administration. 1 
had some meetings in this place. I took some paper maps (1:5000). I tried to understand their needs, problems, take informations to 
use in system. I used MapInfo Professional 6.0 version in this study. I decided to use polygon for “stand areas" and line for “roads”. 
Then the map digitized in AutoCAD and translated to MapInfo Professional 6.0. I enclosed the areas, modified tables for attributes. 
I entered for all areas these attributes. When you click on the area you can see these informations. I also did some queries on 
informations. The results of queries can be seen on the screen as a table and we also can see on the map. It is possible to make some 
thematic maps up to your needs in Maplnfo Professional 6.0. So in this study a thematic map about stand areas was created. 
As a result after this study in Kurtkemeri Forest Administration, if this kind of studies cover all forest areas, it will be so easy to 
reach informations, realize and solve the problems, see different informations together and it helps us to decide in a right and fast 
way. 
1. INTRODUCTION a methodology is necessary and it can be summerized in three 
steps (Figure 1) : 
A geographic information system “GIS” is a computer based 
information system that enables capture, modelling, l. Sytem Analysis 
manipulation, retrieval, analysis and presentation of 2. Sytem Design 
geographically referenced data. 3. Sytem Implementation 
Sytem Analysis is the most important part that is why you have 
to analyse the needs, requirements, problems in current system 
(if exists) of geospatial data users. 
GIS has five components Sytem Design is a method for determining what changes must 
as shown in the figure: be made to an organization's current environment in order for 
e Software an information system to achieve its purposc. 
e Hardware Sytem Implementation; the things are in first and second steps, 
e Data become something that really works in this step. It is easy to 
e Methods understand the missing and mistakes of system and also: 
e People 
e Geospatial and nonspatial data access 
e Topology creation, 
e Point, line, surface layers access, 
e Controls about system. 
  
It was decided to create a GIS about forests that are treasures 
of the world. There are so many complicated duties about 
forests. A useful system is needed to follow all steps of work 
and to give better and faster decisions. The working area is 
Kurtkemeri Forest Administration-Istanbul. In all steps of GIS, 
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