Weighted estimators for forest inventory mapped plots

摘要

Forest inventory data are often summarized in tabular format where rows and columns represent levels of categorical variables. It is generally desirable to constrain tables based on different categories to sum to common totals. It may also be desirable to develop a system that incorporates stratification. Weights can be assigned to inventory plots to achieve these goals with weighted estimators. The justification for weighting is presented here along with approaches for defining reasonable weights. A weighted estimator is developed to constrain tables derived from mapped plot data to add to common totals.