The paper mainly outlined the various efforts by which the forest resource inventory methods were improved in recent 20 years. These include, the estimation of forest stock, the area of the fragmentary woodland, and the research method of forest canopy density and the compilation of forest dynamic maps. Especially, after the methods mentioned above being applied in the practical forest resource inventory and analyzed on the basis of benefit, the suggestions on improving present inventory system were proposed. Furthermore, the development on the assessment and monitoring of the forest ecological environment and the forest disaster by means of remote sensing was mentioned.

In the light of the mentioned above, the forest remote sensing perspective of the 21 st century in China was predicted. The author putted forward to the main developing directions on forest remote sensing of the next century in China.

1 To include all kinds of new technology and form new technology system and join up with international

.The industrialization of remote sensing technology and guiding it into laws and regulations.

.The integration inventory system of GIS, GPS and RS.

.The assessment and application of new information resource, and the fusion of information.

.To unify the criterions (such as the forest classification system, inventory method) and join up with international, and share information.

2 To study the macroscopic conditions and functions through utilizing the superiority of the remote sensing

.The influences of the large scale forest distribution to the environment such as the temperature field, the soil condition and soil conservation, the local climate and hydrology condition, the relationship between the forest distribution on global scale and environment and the study of the function of forest from a new angle.

.The monitoring method of forest community of large scale such as low-resolution satellite data being calibrated by high resolution satellite data, the quantitative expression on the difference of the forest spatial arrangement.

.The expression and prediction of macroscopic forest phenomenon (such as community changing, the growth and decline of the forest resources, the forest disaster). The supporting model was provided for GIS and the foundation was offered for the disaster precaution as well as the reasonable distribution of the forest.

3 To integrate with the forest management

.The management precautions were monitored by utilizing the characteristic of the good temporal resolution about the space remote sensing data, and real-time renewing GIS data.

.With the emergence of the high-resolution satellite data and the development of high spectrum technology, the remote sensing expression of the forest details was probed. For example the discrimination of the varieties of species, the structure of the forest, canopy density and the possibility of estimating other stand description factors, so the advanced management to the forest and developing of sustainable forestry could be possible.