Epsilon Archive for Student Projects

Abstract

An important challenge in Swedish forestry is to avoid harming ancient and historical remains. In addition to already known objects, there might be numerous remains yet to be discovered.
The aim of this study was to analyse the possibility for developing a GIS tool that could be used to predict the probability of finding unregistered remains based on the site characteristics registered in the compartment description. Sveaskog has been the cooperating partner. They wanted to focus on historical remains of Sami culture in Norrbotten and provided data from their estates within this area.
The study has identified which site characteristics are common in the stands where registered remains are located. These characteristics are: vegetation type, soil type, soil moisture class, slope gradient, surface structure and altitude.
Based on site characteristics, different criteria have been developed and used to create a filter which has been applied to all stands within the municipality of Arvidsjaur. The hypothesis was that the filter could be used to find stands with a certain type of remains. When using the filter to identify stands containing Sami-settlements, it becomes evident that the probability of identifying those stands increased.
The conclusion is that the filter based on site characteristics can function as an important complement to find unregistered remains.