Geographic
Information Systems
Applications in Natural Resource Management
1
Second Edition
Geographic
Information Systems
Applications in Natural Resource Management
Michael G. Wing
Pete Bettinger
OXFORD
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at lil
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Librnry and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Puhlic:1 lioll
Publication
Wing. Mid13d
M ichael G
Gcogr.tphic
Geographic information synems:
SYSWllS : applications in forestry and n:1IlIral
nafUr.l.1
Michael
resources management J/ M ichael G.
G. W
Wing
ing & Pete I3cltinger.
Pele Benin ger.- -lnd c:d..
2nd cd
1. for~try- Remme
I. Forests and forestry- Remote sensing.
)cllSing. 2. ;uur.aJ r('~urccs-Rcmou:
alura.! resources-Re mme
sensing. systems. I. Beltinger.
J . Geographic information systellls.
sensin g. 3. rete. 1962- II. Title.
Ben inger. Pete. Title:..
Primed
Print cd in C
Canada
an ada
3
Contents
Preface xv
Objectives 2
What is a Geographic Infonnation System? 3
A Brief History of GIS 4
Why Use GIS in Natural Resource Management Organizations? 7
GIS Technology 8
Data collection processes and inpuc devices 8
Manual map digirizing 10
Scanning 10
Remme sensing II
Phologrammerry 13
Field data collection 1G
Dara s[Qrage rechnology 19
D.ta ma nip ulation and display 19
O utput Devices 20
Prinrers and ploners 20
Screen displays 21
Grap hic images 22
Tabular outpur 22
G IS software programs 22
Summary 24
Applications 24
References 25
4
vi Contents
Objectives 27
The Shope and Size of the Earth 27
Ellipsoids, Geoids, and Datums 28
The Geographical Coordinate System 30
Map Projections 32
Common Types of Map Projections 33
Planar Coordinate Systems 34
GIS Database Structures 38
Raster data srruc[Ure 38
Sa«llite imagery 38
Digital elev'Hio n models 39
Digital orthophotographs 39
Digital raster graphics 40
ar io nal Map Accuracy Standards 43
Vector data st ru cture 44
Topology 45
Comparing raster and vector data structures 47
Alternative data S(fuc£ures 48
Triangular Irregular Nerwork 48
D ynam ic segmentat ion ofli near nerworks 49
Regions 50
Metadata 50
Obtaining Spatial Data 50
Scale and Resolution of Spatial Databases 51
Summary 51
Applications 52
References 53
Objectives 54
Acquiring GIS Databases 55
Creating GIS Databases 57
Editing GIS Databases 59
Editing anribuccs 60
Editing spatial position 61
5
Contents vii
Objectives 71
Map Components 72
Symbology 72
Direction 73
Scale 74
Legend 74
Locational inset 75
N eadine 76
Annotation 76
Typography 76
Color and contrast 77
AnciHary information 78
Caveats and disclaimers 79
Map Types 80
Reference maps 80
Thematic maps 81
O,her types of maps 84
The DeSign Loop 85
Common Map Problems 85
Summary 86
Applications 87
References 88
Objectives 90
6
viii Contents
Summary 102
Applications 103
References 105
Objectives 106
The Process of Clipping Landscape Features 107
Obtaining information about vegetation reso urces within riparian zones 109
Obtaining informati on about soil resources within an ownership 110
Obtaining information about roads within a forest III
Obtaining information about streams within a forest I 13
Summary 116
Applications I 16
References 118
7
Contents ix
Objectives 119
How a Buffer Process Works 120
Buffering Streams and Creating Riparian Areas 122
Fixed-width buffers 123
Variable-width buffers 123
Buffering Owl Nest Locations 124
Buffering the Inside of Landscape Features 125
Buffering Concentric Rings around Landscape Features 125
Buffering Shorelines 126
Other Reasons for Using Buffering Processes 127
Summary 128
Applications 128
References 130
Objectives 132
Combining Landscape Features 132
Contiguous, similar landscape features 135
Multiple spatial rep resentations within a single landscape feature o r record 136
Overlapping polygo ns 137
Splitting Landscape Features 138
Merging GIS Databases 140
Determinin g how much land area is unrestricted 140
Summary 142
Applications 142
References 143
Objectives 144
Joining Non-spatial Databases with GIS Databases 145
One-to-one join processes 145
One-to-many joi ns 147
8
x Contents
Objectives 157
The Need for Keeping GIS Databases Updated 158
Example 1: Updating a forest stand GIS database managed by a forest
management company 159
Exam ple 2: Updating a streams GIS database managed by a state agency 160
Updating an Existing GIS Database by Adding New Landscape Features 161
Updating a stands GIS database 161
Updating a trails GIS database 162
Updating an Existing GIS Database by Modifying Existing Landscape
Features and Attributes 166
Ed_iring the spatial position of landscape features using digitaJ
ortbophotographs 166
Updating the tabular 3rrribures using a join process 167
Summary 167
Applications 168
References 169
Objectives 170
Intersect Processes 171
Identity Processes 174
Union Processes 175
Incorporating Point and Line GIS Databases into an Overlay Analysis 178
Applying Overlay Techniques to Point and Line Databases 179
Additional Overlay Considerations 180
9
Contents xi
xl
Summary 181
Applications 182
References 183
Objectives 184
Land Classification 185
Recreation Opportunity Spectrum 188
Habitat Suitability Model with a Road Edge Effect 191
Summary 193
Applications 194
References 19S
195
Objectives 197
Digital Elevation
ElevaHon Models (DEMs) 197
Elevation Contours 198
Shaded Relief Maps 200
Slope Class Maps 20 I
Interaction with Vector GIS Databases
Interarnon 202
Viewshed Analysis 20S
205
Watershed Delineation 208
Summary 210
Applications 211
References 212
Objectives 213
Raster Data Analysis 213
Raster Analysis Software Parameters 213
Functions
Distance Funrnons 214
Statistical Summary Search Functions
Funrnons 21S
215
Density Functions 216
10
xii Contents
Contents
Raster Reclassilication
Reclassification 217
Raster Map Algebra 218
Database Structure Conversions 218
Getting Started with the ArcGIS Spatial Analyst 219
Determining the Most Efficient Route to a Destination 220
Creating a Density Surface for the Number of Trees Per Acre 221
Summary 223
Applications 223
References 224
Chapter 15 Trends
Tre nds in GIS Technology 226
Objectives 226
Integrated Raster/Vector
RasterNector Software 226
Linkage of GI
GISS Databases with Auxiliary Digital Data 227
High Resolution GIS Databases 228
Distribution of GIS Capabilities to Field Offices 229
Web-based Geograpruc
Geographic Information Systems 230
Data Retrieval via the Internet 230
Portable Devices to Capture, Display, and Update GIS Data 231
Standards for the Exchange of GIS Databases 231
Legal Issues Related to GIS 232
GIS Interoperability and Open Internet Access 234
GIS Education 234
Summary 235
Applications 235
Re ferences
References 235
Chapter 16 Institutional C
Challenges
halle nges and Opportunitie
Opportunitiess Related to GIS 237
Objectives 237
Sharing GIS Databases with Other Natural Resource Organizations 237
Sharing GIS Databases within a Natural Resource Organization 239
11
Contents xiii
Objectives 245
Current Certification Programs 246
The NCEES Model Law 247
The Need for GIS Certification and Licensing 248
GIS Community Response to Certification and Licensing 249
MAPPS Lawsuit 249
Summary 251
Applications 251
References 251
Index 264
12
List of Tables
G~ogrtlphic Infonnatioll
T
r-r-his
or
his second edition of Gtogmphic
1. Mnnagtmt!1lt.
Management is intended
or campmer
Infonnatiol1 Sysums: Applications
SysuJns: AppL
inrended for inrroducrory courses in geographic information systems
computer applications Ihat add ress (opics
that address copies relared
related TO
Natural Rtsourct
icatiolls ill NOITlml
management. The
emphasis of the rhe book is on geogrdphical informacion systems (G
geographical information app lications in naru -~
(C IS) applications
fal resource
ral reso urce managemelli.
management. GIS GIS rools
lOols are now considered core tec hnologies for natural
corC' technologies
resource organiZ.1rions
organizations and have b«ome become parr pare of daY-fo-day activities in many pans of dlC
day-co-day acrivities rhe
world. In addirion.
addition , many narural
natural resou
reso urcerce programs in higher education require [hat sru- S[U-
comple[(~ at least
dents comple[e
dems leasl one course rha tha lt comai signific.1nt rre'llmem
contai ns significant rrearmenr of GIS. We provide
derailed discussions and examples of GIS opera
orGIS rions such as querying, buffering, clipping,
o perations cl ipping,
and overlay ana lysis (and ot
analysis 01 hers), as well as background information on the history of GIS, GIS.
database creation
creation,, ediring,
editing, acquisition. and map development. T he 3pplicarions
The applicarions provided
in this
rhis book can be exrended
extended (0 to any region in the rhe wo rld. altho
world, ugh the
although rhe prima ry emphasis
primary
is on Nonh
North America.
America, as 3S portrayed by numerous examples of narural natural resource management
scenarios.
scenariOS.
The conreOiS
contents of rhisthis book were determined largely (hrough through our experiences
ex periences in na[Ural
natural
resource management and research. research, as well as our ex(ensive
extensive instructional experience over
lhe
rhe previous decade. Many appiic.1lions
applications similar to the ones
ro (he oncs we presenr
present in this book have
been performed by natural resource resou rce professionals (as well as by the aurhors) authors) as parr of their
normal job (askstasks in private oorganizadons
rganizations and public ag('ncies.agencies.
goa l of this book is to introduce Sludent
The goal students,. field personnel.
personnel, biologists, aand orher
nd other
natural resource
n31l1ral resou rce professionals to [he mOSt
ro the most common GIS applica rions ti ons and principles asso-
3SS0-
ciared
ciated with managing naturaJ natural resources.
resou rces. Therefore.
Therefore, the book focuses mainly on GIS appli-
cal-ions r:uher Ihan
cations J'<uher than ono n GIS theory. We would be remiss, however, if we did not nor provide
some background on the history, history. technology, and theory that defines GIS. Consequen tl y, y.
the first pan of the book provides a brier b rief background on many of those areas as well as
map development;
development; it is nOl nor all-inclusive.
all- inclusive. however.
however, as we wish (0 focus the rhe [ext
text on
o n GIS
G IS
applications
applicarions in natural resource management.managemenL For a broader rreatmem rrearmem of GIS G IS conceprs.
concepts.
other resources are recommended.
recommended , including more general GIS ,IS books or User Gu Guides s~
ides spe-
(0 CI
cific [0 software
GIS sofrwa re packages.
With that in mind.
Wirh mind, who comprises rhe audience of this book? Students. Student.s, field person-
nel, biologists. and other natural resourc('
nel. biologis[s. resource professionals (and their managers) who work in
narural resource-relared fidds. but where GIS
resou rce- rel ated fields. G IS is perhaps not nor (heir
their primary job responsibil·
responsibil-
icy. People
ity. Peo ple who already
al ready serve as GIS analystS.
ana lysts, coordinacors,
coordinators. or technicians wililikdy hnd
will likely find
many of the topics
rhe to presenred in this book co
pics presented to be familiar.
F..miliar. We try to focus on topics a
rry co nd
and
applic3t'ions
applications used commonly
common ly by field fidd professionals, dlOse rhar
professio nals, [hose rhal are essemiallO
essemial ro lhdr
their man
man-·
agemem
agement needs. There are aa variecy variety of resources {hat char delve deeper inro into various subjecl
subject
areas of GIS [harrhal will undoubledly
undoubtedly be of va lue ro to GIS analysrs.
analysts. coordi mllor . and techni-
coo rdinators.
cians. In ou ourr experienc('!\
expe ri ences these resources rarely rare ly eonsis[enriy
consistently focus on 011 naruml
narural resoure('
resource
14
xvi
xvi Preface
applicarions
app typicall [0 field pro
li ca ti o ns typica protessionals
fessionals associated with federal. tede ral, stare, p rovincial,
sta te. provi ncial. or pri-
vare
V(ltC' narural
natural resource organizations.
organizatio ns.
To illustrare
illustrate the applications
applicarions of otG. IS to natural
narural resource managemelH,
management. we have: have provided
tourr sets ot
fOll of GGISI databases. The flrsr first ser
set reterences rhe hypotherical
re fere nces the hypotimical D Daniel
aniel Picken
Pickett lo toresr,
rest.
one rharthar may be fa m iliar
fami li ar toro {"hose
those wh who )ulve taken cou
o have manage melH. as it
rses in foresr m3nagemenr,
co urses ir is
one
ont' of th thee landsca pes lIsed used to illustrare managemem alrern
iliustr.Hc management atives in the book Fort'st
alternatives Foust
Mfl1Jflgtmt11l (D
Mal/agflllcm (Davis et al..
avis e[ aI., 2001) . The second set references reterences a fictional fores, foresl called the
Brown T racr. The Brown Tract representS
Trace represe ms a more realistic landscape and includes a digi-
[al
,al oonhophorograph
nh opho togrn ph so that th ar users can acrually
acrllally see rhe resources being managed
so< the managed.. The thi rd
T he third
dara se
da(:l Setr represems
represents land uscs askarchewan. while rhe founh represe
uses in Saskarchewan, rep resentsnt s milliocarions
mill locations
and counties
cou m ies of the southern US.
rhe sourhern U . These databases were derived from aem acrual GIS
al G data, bur
IS data.
were modified significantly
signi fican tl y by the dl C' authors to m make them suitable use in th
suitab le fo r lise thiiss texr.
tocr. Each
E...1ch
of these sets of Gl
ot GIS data can be accessed through a websire websi(e has hosredred by rega n State
by Oregon [ate
University (hrrp:/ /www.fo resrry.o tegonstate.edu/gisbook).
Univers ity (lmp:llwww.forestry.o regollsrare.edu/gisbook).
Parr 1I provides readers not nor on ly with
wirh ,herhe hhistory
isrory and development of GIS. GIS, bur also with
a common
co mmon la nguage and pers pecrive on
perspecrive on C IS. Too ootten
GIS. ften people us usining g GIS have lirrle for- tor-
ma
mall training;
rraining; instead
insre:ld ., they gainga in knowledge and skills skil ls through lrial-and-error applications,
Irial-and-erro r applications.
shorr
sho rr cocourses,
urses, o r ththrough
rough orher other means. We \Vlc do nor wa want m to discourage
[0 disco urage the rhe effons
efio n s otof self·
selt-
mOl
m a l iva ted GIS IIsers;
red CIS users; however,
however. they usuall y have an abridged
rhey usually ab ridged perspective oonn the rhe his
history
lOry of
C I . how and why dara
GIS, srructures are diffe
data strucrures rent, and in othe
difFerenr. otherr rel
reiared
ated mpies.
topics. We ho hope rhat
pe (hat
communication
com munication among naru naruml ral resource professionals as iI' ir rda
reiares
tes to ro GIS
GIS processes and a nd
requests
rC'1uests will rhu s be imp
w ill thus improvedroved with a more mo re thorough
rhoro ugh pers pective,pec rive. allowing
allowi ng work lasks rasks [0 to
accomplis
be acco mplishedhed more efficie ntly. nrl y.
Pan 2 emphasizes GIS ope rations rario ns and introduces
inrroduccs reade r~.ldc rs lO
ro many ot the most power-
of the:
ful and com
ful commonly used GIS
monly lIsed GIS app lica lications
tions in narura
namrall resource
reso urce ma nagemenr. Each chaprer cha pu~r
in Pan
Pa rr 2 inr roduces GIS tech niq
im roclllces ues, an
niques, and d [he
thenn provides app licatio ns related
applicatio relared to ro rhe
the tech-
rech-
niques. The T he co nceprs introduced in Part
concepts Pan 2 are initially
inirially related (Q to the managemenr
mana ge ment and use
vec(Q r GIS d:uabases.
of vecto darabases. The concepts build upon upo n themselves,
themselves. and culm culminare symhc~
ina te in a synthe-
sis of advanced analyses presemed presented in chaprer C hap ters 13 and 14 prov
chapter 12. Chaprers provide
ide [rearments
rreat ments
raste r GIS
of raster GIS database uses in narural naru ral reso
resource
urce managemenl.
m:m age menr.
Pan 3 of the
Parr rhe book introduces a number of ropics related w
wpies relared to the
rhe tre
rre nds in the use ot of GlGIS
in nanarural resource
lUra) resou rce management,
manage ment. {he challenges and opponunities
rhe chaJlenges Faced by those o rgani-
o ppo rruni li es faced
'latio des iring to use GIS
za[io ns desiring ,IS to ass isr in dec ision-mak
isio n-making ing processes, and the rh e o ngoing and
ongoing
contentious
cOl1len[ious issues relared related 10 certification
to ce licensi ng of CIS
rrifl ca rio n and licensing GIS users.
use rs. The appendices
appe nd ices ot rhe
of the
book provide users with wirh :'a1 glossary of [erms, terms, a summary of organ o rgan izations
iz.u ions and acade academic mi c
journals
journ als associated wirh with (he use of GIS.
Ihe lise GIS, and refereferences
rences [0 lhe devdopers
(0 {he developers ot of the most co
rhe mOSt com- m-
mon GIS sofrwa softwa re prog
progra rams.
ms.
This book is dedicated (Q
Tbis to those students
studems who have chall challenged
enged LIS us to ddevelop
evelo p course-
cO ll r.se-
wo rk thar rhat relares directlyy 'to0 [he
rei ates directl r..ks (hat
rhe GIS tasks tha t they will likely perform .5
willlikcly as natural
narural resource
manage rs.
References
Davis. L.S .• Johnson.
.• Johnso n. K.N .• Bellinge r. rP.S
Berringer. ....• & H owa rd. T.E. (200
oward. 1). Form
(2001). Form lIIaul/gem",/:
mOllogelllellf:
To slistain ~colqgicfll, tconomic,
sustain tcological. t rvl/omie, and socifllvfllues
find socia/ (4(h ed.
llaluts (4th ed .).
). New York: McGraw- H ilI.
McG raw-HilI.
15
Part 1
Introduction to Geographic
Information Systems, Spatial
Databases, and Map Design
16
Chapter 1
Geographic Information Systems (G IS) are now core tech- managers {Q consider rhe impacts of d ifferenr policies o r
nology fo r many natu ral resource o rganizatio ns and are act ions in a more efficienr manner, usually savi ng time
also app lied in disci plines throughout society. The initial and money.
applications of GIS that demo nstrated so me of rhe power For ma ny na[Ural resou rce ma nagement o rganiza-
and potential of (his spacial technology, however, were tions, G IS has beco me a n irreplacea ble rool to assis t in
within namra! resou rce applications (Wing & Beninger, [he day-to-d ay manage menr of la nd , wate r, an d ot her
2003). In one ofrhe firsr papers on the use of GIS in nar- resources. The applica ti o ns of GIS vary widel y amo ng
ural resource manageme nr, de Sreiguer and Giles (1981) o rganiza tions and may ra nge from usin g GIS primarily as
describe the potenrial uses of GIS in naru ra l resou rce man- a mapping tool to lIsing C IS to model pol icy aire rn atives
agemenr. In adapting o ne of their inrroducrory remarks [0 rhat may impact landscape fearures during rh e nexr 100
rhe presenr day, you will find rhe releva nce of G IS ro nar- years and beyo nd. Rega rdless of how a narural reso urce
lIfal resou rce management clearly sta red: manage menr o rga nizat io n plans to use G IS, understand-
ing rhe potential appl ica ti ons of C IS to na tural reso urce
A natural reso urce ma nage r is often ca ll ed upon to manage menr is essenrial for natural resource profession-
selecr an area of land to designate as cririca l wildlife als. This text is designed to int roduce readers to GIS con-
habir3r, as a pmenria l area to implemem a timber cepts an d princi ples a nd to provide exam ples of how [0
harvest, or as an area to reco mmend a silviculrural apply rhi s knowledge in a narural reso urce manage ment
rrear mem, o r to evalu ate a landscape under a lterna- co nrex[. The introdu cto ry chapler begins by describ in g
rive managemem policies. The manager desc ribes the rools an d technol ogy thar co mpri se a GIS, and illus-
(0 (he GIS the charac teristics of the ideal a rea in rrari ng why G IS has beco m e so impo rtalll for many
terms of forest s(fu cwrai cond itions, soils, or o rganizat ions. A brief hi slOry of the evo lu tion of G IS a nd
(Opograph y. Within seco nds the manage r receives identification of significanr conr ribmors to G IS develop-
gra phic a nd rabu lar infor matio n ro loca re the ment is then provided. Toward the end of this chapter
a ppropriate man age ment area s, or to co mpare rh e key co mpo nent of any successful G IS (s parial dara ) is
alre rn ative policies. (de Stei g uer & G iles, 198 1, discussed.
p. 734)
Objectives
Obviollsly, natura l reso urce managers ca n perfo rm th e
sa me task of idenr ifYi ng appropriate managemenr areas o r This chapter represenrs an introdu ction to GIS concepts,
of analyzi ng policies by examining se ts of paper o r myla r roo ls, technology, history, and significant co ntribu rors.
maps, bur rhe process beco mes mu ch mo re efficienr 'lOd Given that the focus of this book is on rh e appl icatio ns of
acc urate when perfo rmed with G IS. Furrher, analyses of C IS ro natu ral reso urce mana ge ment, what is provided in
the impact of alternative policies are faci litated , allo wing (his c hap te r is a co nden sed version of these [opics.
17
Chapler
Chapter 1 Geographic Inlormabon
Informafion Systems 3
Nevenheless, ar the
Nevertheless. at rhe co nclusion
nclu sion of this cha
chapte r, readers
pter. sparial categorization
spatial categorizarion and analysis analys is is applicab
applicable le (Qto many
should understand and be able to discllss
discuss the perrinent societal issues and problems.
as peas of the following topics:
aspeclS rop ics: Regardless of how a GIS is perceived pe rceived or used. it the
il is (he
inlegraliion
imegrar on of Ihe rhe various rools and services ,hat
variolls (ools rhat leads (0 to
1.
I. [he
the reasons why GIS usc: IS pr~valenl
use is prevalenr in
In natural a successful GIS. Although other ot her sofrware
software programs per-
resource management. form GIS-like
liS-like tasks
rasks (e.g., darabase management,
manilgemCnt, graphics,
graphics.
rhe evolution of the development of GIS technology
22.. the computer ass
or compurer assiSted
isred drafting [CAD] [CAD) software),
sofrwa re). a GIS is
and key figu res.
figures. unique in its ability (0
irs abiLiry to allow lIsers users to
ro create.
crC'dtC, maintain.
maintain,
3. the common spatial data collecrion techniques
tech niqu es and and
:lnd ana lyzelyu geographic or o r spa
spatial data. The term sp
rial dara. atial
spatial
input devices rhat are available,
inpur available. d ata implies that thar a database not nor only describes landscape
4. the commo n GIS G IS OUlptH
omput processes thar are rypical
typical in features
fe-dlures (e.g., candidon, composirion.
(e.g .• condition. composition, SUUClUre stru cture of
natural
narural resource managemenr,
man:l gemellt. a nd forests), bur
forests). but also includes a geographic reference (0 co where
5.
- rhe broad rypes orGIof G IS sofrwa re tim
software rhar are avai lable.
la ble. Features can be found. A GIS allows you to manipulare
features manipulate
and display spatia
:tnd data so fllat
sp:niall d:lIa that quesrions
questions regarding a
What is a Geographic resource a nd its conditions am can be answered. A GIS. when
Information System? used properly. capable of analyzing
properly, is cap.ble ana lyzing a la large
rge volume of
spatial
spa rial data quickly and providing graphical graphical and tabular
geographic
A geog' raphic information sy system
tern consisrs of the necessary results. A GIS GIS stores
sto res spa
spatial
rial data in a digital database file; file;
rools and services lO
{ools ro allow you to collecr,
collect, organize. manip- rhe database
the darabase tile file may be ref<rred
referred to using a numbe numberr of
ulate, inrerprer,
interpret. and display geographic
geogrJphic information. A GIS terms including (hemes.
{erlllS th emes. maps.maps, cove rs, rabies, laye
covers. layers.rs, or
is more {han than JUSt tlit':
rhe h'lrdware
hardware and software softwa re familiar
hlmiliar (Q to GIS databases. The: The terminology for referring (Q to a GIS
mosr people; it extends
most exte nds to lhe the staff who operate the sys- database varies depending on the GI
darabase GIS soFrware
software program
rem, the
tem. r.he databases,
dat.bases. [he the physical facilities,
fuci lities. and lhe the o rgani-
rgan i- being used and, and. in some cases, the: the vers
ve rsiion me
on of the sofrware
sofrwa re
zational commirment
commitmelll necessary {O ro make ir it all work. A GI GIS being used. In most GIS programs, similar land-
.IS software programs.
can be defined by how it is used (e.g (e.g.,.• a land informarion
information featu res are mainraincd
scape fearures mainrained in a single GIS database. For
,IS da[abasc.
system,
sysrcm. a narural
natural resou
resourcerce managemenr infor matio n sys-
management information instance.
insrance. YOli mighr might have a soils G IS database thar that co con~ n-
tem), by what it comainscontains (spadaJly
(sparially distincr
distinct fearurcs.
features, acriv-
activ- tains
rains rhe soil characteristics
characterisrics of:1 of a landscape.
landscape, ita hydrographic
ities.
iciest or events defined as points. points, lines.
lines, polygons,
polygons. or raster database [hat rhal shows rhe locations of rivers and lakes,
the 10C3rions lakes. or a
grid cells),
cells). by itsirs capabilities
capabiliries (a powerful set SCI of 1001s
tools for wildlife GIS daraba databasee Iha(
that contains the me nest locatio
ioc31ions ns of a
collecting. sroring. retrieving. transforming,
collccling. storing, rransforming. and displ:tying
displaying single species or a group of species of animals. CIS GIS allows
all ows
spa rial dara)
sparial data)., or by ils its role in an organization
organizarion (a (~ map pro- the integration :lnd and simultaneous examination of multiple mulriple
syste m . a spadal
duction sysrem. spatial aanalysis
nal ysis system. a system sysl~m for G IS databases through rhrough a process described as ove rl ay
overlay
assisting in making decisions regard regardin ingg basic geographic
geograph ic analysis. Overlay analyses analy~s allow us (0 to determine how fea- fea~
quesrions such as: Where is it? What is il?
questions it? Why is it (Ures
tures in onc one darabase
darabase: relate spatially to anorher
(Q fearures in another
mere?). The co
(here?). core
re component of a GIS however is ...a dara- data- database,
da rabase, aand nd provide liS us a<1 powerful means of supporting
base Ihar
thar contains
conmins a geographic camponelll.
componenr. We wi willll dis- la ndscape mapping and invatigation.
landscape investigation. Overlay analysis.
cuss geographic dara data in more detail shordy. described in further derail dem il )Herlal er in this book, represems
represenrs
GIS can also be defined as geograph geographic ic info rmation
information [he essence of whar what many considerco nside r to ro be {he
Ihe main role of
scie nce (GIScience). GIScience involves the identification
science idemiflcation GIS in natural
nalUral resource management: the rhe abiliry 10 to com-
and srudy of issues that are rdated 10 ro GIS .1 use, affect its ils tWO or more GIS
b ine (wo Gl databases inco datab~lse I(h
inlo a si ngle database at
hat
implementation, and that
implemenr:uion. lhar arise from iu irs applicarion
applic;l(ion demonstrates
demonsu: ues {heir (heir spa rial connecriviry.
spatial connccriviry.
(Goodchi
(Goodchild. ld, 1992). In short.
short, GIScience both borh encourages GIS is related to a number of other lields Relds and
dnd disci-
users 10
lIsers understand the benefits of GIS tec
(0 IInderstand rec hn ology in pro- plines,
pline • including computer compute r aided drafring drafting (CAD),
(CAD). com- om-
viding a powerful set of ana lysis (ools tools and encourages puter carrography. database
pucer cartography. darabase m<lnagement.
managemem, srarislics.
sraristics, and
users roto view Iherhe techno
rechno logy as pan of a broader discipline sensing. In filet.
remOte sensing.
remole FaCt, GIS bolh both comains
coma_ins and rdies relies on
prommcs
rh:H promo
that geographical
tes geogmp hiC'JI th inking a nd problem solvi ng
thinking certain
cerr aspects from
.. in aspec(s rrom each of these fields. and thus is closely
strJtegies as being useful to sociery.
strategies society. The development
deveiopmem of related (0 eac h of them.
to each rhem. However,
However. the diflerence
difference between
bef\veen
GIScience is an outgrowth of the faCt FaCt that
rhac GIS tec hnology
technology G
GISIS and dny any of these orher o ther aallied
llied fields
Relds is notable. For
is avai lable 10 ro more users todayroday than ever before. before, and [hat that example, mosl
example. most CAD software programs have rudimentary
18
4 Part 1 Introduclion to Geographic Information Systems, Spatial Databases, and Map Design
In many ways. college and university srudems are ar rive on campus, you will have to find a parking space,
examp les of a living, breat hing GIS. Each day YOli ven- and then walk another roure to get to your hrsr class.
{Ufe from your home inro rhe world. and make deci- Of course, you might have decided rhat the rroubles
sions about where you are going. how you will get wirh parking make riding a bike (Q campus more
rhere, and w hat YOLI will do when you arrive. For attractive, bur then you will still need to design a rome
instance, as a rypical srudenr. you probably have a route for the bike trip. The choices you make just to get to
that you usually rake [0 campus. Chances 3rc that you school in the morning require you to analyze muhiple
have designed this route over rime and based on your layers of spatial informarion abom you r presenr loca-
experiences. so thar you can arrive as quickly and easily tio n, you r desti nation, and rhe interven ing influential
as possible. Perhaps you have included a stop ar your factors. In shon, as you solve your daily rransponation
favorite coffee shop in your roure. If you have a e.u, challenge, you are acring as a GI S. This rype of exam-
rhen you might e1eer to dr ive, and depending on the ple, in which location is a key component in decision
rime of day. you might alter your usual route (0 avoid making, can be applied (Q many activities that people
traffic. Road consrrllcrion may force you to alter your engage in, ranging from how best (Q cross the street, to
route for a few days or weeks. You will make orher navigating a downhill skiing or snowboarding course,
adjustments (Q avoid unfo reseen delays. Once you ro arranging trips to other counrries.
links [0 a database management system and are often lim- integrate G IS-like funcrional ity in some of their modu les.
ired in their abiliry (Q srore and analyze descripdve Finall y, rem ore sensing-related software programs gener-
information abom fearures, whereas GIS software pro- ally focus on the manipulation and management of rasrer
grams generally have srrong links (Q a database manage- GIS dara derived from satellites, scanners, or Olher photo.
menr system. CAD spadal modell ing ca pab ili ties are also g raph ic devices; rhey have a limired capabiliry ro handle
limited, whereas G IS conrains a wide variery of spatial vector GIS databases, which tend to be more commonly
modelling capabi liries (rhese will be examined in larer used within natural resource management organizations.
chaprers of this book). The field of compurer cartography
emphasizes map production, and while rhe databases used A Brief History of GIS
may be similar to those lIsed in GIS, computer cartogra-
phy generally purs less emphasis on rhe non-graphic As previously mentioned, GIS is uniq ue from other software
arrribures of spadal landscape fearures than does GIS. programs in its inregrat ive ability that enables you to
Database managemelH software programs have rhe abiliry process, catalog, map, and analyze spalial data. Spatial data
to store and manage locarion and attribure data of land- have been collected and maintained for millennia, with
scape fearures, bur rhey genera ll y lack the powe r ro display records of pro perry boundary surveys for raxarion purposes
the locations and characte risdcs of feamres. Visua l capa- in Egypr daring back ro abour 1400 Be. Ir is only wid,in
bi liries are fundamelHal qualities within most GIS, CAD, the pasr 40 years, however, th:u sociery has learned how to
and canography soff\vare programs. Statistical programs digitally capture. mainrain, and analyze spatial dara.
are lIsll<llly designed so thar users can quickly develop Although the term 'geographic information system' was firsr
summaries of data, such as averages, standard deviations, used in the 1960s, overlay analysis has been demonsrrared
or correlations that allow us to describe a large amount of through manual techniques for over 200 years. Overlay
data or to describe rhe relationship of a single variable to analysis is the process of analyz,ing mu ltiple layers of infor-
another. GIS soff\vare can usuall y not only accommodate mation simulta neously to address management issues. The
basic srarisrical operations, bm can show where rhe resu lts layers rep resent different rypes of information bur are reiared
of statistical operations are cenrered or located, and can to each orher in that the informadon is drawn from a com-
help visually determine whar other var iables may be of mon landscape area (Figure 1.1). GIS allows you to drape, or
interest in an ana lys is, Inte resti ngly, several of the more overlay, rhe layers on top of one anorher and to combine all
powerful and commonly used statistical packages now pans into a new, imegrared layer thar contains all or some of
19
Chapter 1 Geographic Information Systems 5
"
. ....-........ .
",
rhe pans of the original layers. depending on rhe rype of many of the compurarional processes used roday we re ini-
ove rlay selected by the user. rially developed in rhe 1980s, however, advancements in
The new inregrared layer allows liS to examine the spa- computer technology and rhe increasing availabil iry of GIS
rial relationsh ips of rhe in formation contained in rhe o ri g- darabases indicare orherwise. In addirion, a growing num-
inal layers. Although digitally-based GIS has been avail- ber of people throughollr sociery have heard of G IS {even
able for a relatively shorr period in his[Qry. (here is a though rhey may often confuse irs purpose w irh that of a
significanr hisrory of ana lysts using the overlay approach similar acronym, GPS [global positioning systems]} .
th rough manual techniques. During rhe American We provide a brief history below of rhe developmenr
Revolution, rhe French carrograph er Louis-Alexandre of'digitall y-based GIS, and note that many of irs advance-
Berrhier overlaid multiple maps to analyze (roop move- ments were made by innovarors and scienrisrs throughout
menrs (Wolf & Ghi lani, 2002). In 1854, Dr John Snow North America, During rhe 1960s, orga nizarions in the
conducted a spa rial analysis by compari ng rhe locations of Un ited States (i ncludin g the US Geological Survey and
cholera deaths ro well locations in London. His analysis rhe US Deparrment of Agriculture's Natural Resource
revealed rhar well warer drawn from specific wells was a Conservarion Service) began m create GIS darabases of
means of spreading cholera infecrions. The first wr inen topography and land cover ( Lon gley et aI. , 200 I).
description of how ro precisely combine multiple maps Srudents and resea rche rs began ro write compute r pro-
rhrough a manual overla y process appea red in a 1954 rex( grams and design hardware devices (such as the precursor
titled Town and Country Planning Textbook by Jacqueline ro roday's digitizing tab le) rhar would allow you (0 rrace
Tyrwhitt (Ste initz et aI. , 1976). In 1964, Ian McHarg the outlines of landscape fearures on hard co py thematic
described how ro lise a series of rransparent overlays m maps and rransfer them inro a digital formaL These early
derermine the suirabiliry of areas for developmenr in New programs were designed ro handle specific [asks and were
York 's Staren Island. By using a transparent overlay fo r ofren limited in scope. As programmers began ro bring
each layer of interest (soi ls, forests, parks, erc.) and black- these algorirhms rogerher ro creare more versatile, power-
in g-our rhe areas on each overlay rhar presented develop- fu l software programs. rhe era of com purer mapping
ment impedimems. the layers could be overlaid and rhe applications began. Early examples of mapp in g programs
final suitable areas defined. McHarg ( 1969) later pub- include IMGRID, CAM, and SYMAP (Clarke, 2001).
lished examples of hi s ove rl ay rechniques in his sem inal In conjuncrion with rhe developmenr of sofrware pro-
book, D~sign with Natllr~, which continues ro be sold grams. other organizarions began ro assemble GIS dara-
throughour the world. bases for mapping and analyz in g fearures of inreresr to
in rile early stages of the development of GIS rechnol- public agencies, The firsr example was rh e GIS darabase
ogy, rwo fac rs were evidenr: {here was little geograph ic or created by the US Centra l Intelligence Agency (CIA) and
spada I dam to work with, and rhe rechnology ro srore and was called rhe ' World Dara Bank', Spa rial layers in the
manipulate rh e dara was rudimentary (by mday's stan- GIS database included coas tlines. major ri ve rs. and poliri-
dards), Some may argue t har GIS technology has nor cal borders from arollnd the world, The US Census
evolved very much in the passing years simply because Bureau designed a merhodology for linking census info r-
20
6 Part 1 Introduction to Geographic Information Systems,
Systems, Spatial Databases,
Databases, and Map Design
maUDn to loca
mauon locatiotionsns in preparation
prepararion for the rhe 1970 US USGS has made features from finer-resolution 1:24,000
ce nsus. The 1970 US Censlis CenSllS was the ce nsus tbar
rhe first census that was scale maps ava ilable for small portions ponions or of rhe co um ry..
COUntry
mai
mailed,led, and rhe oonly nl y piece of information
informa tio n (har that was The USGS has si since
nce become a worldwide leader in map-
returned
rerurned [0 reference
to refe lacarion of rhe respo
rence rhe location ndem was
respondem ping land cover resources reso urces and making maps avai ava ilable
lable in
rhe address.
add ress. The Ce nsus Bureau.
Census Bureau, however. was faced with borh hardcopy and digital format.
both
rhe challenge of matching marching [he rhe response
respo nse addaddresses
resses (Q to a map To manage and analyze
a nd ana lyze spatial datadara for their jurisdic-
jurisdi -
so that
char rhe spa spatiariall di srributi ons of responses could
disrriburi co uld be £ions.
lions. CanadCanadian ian and US orga organizations
nizations began co to develop
mapped and aanalyzed. nalyzed. The Census Bureau developed a sofn.
sofrwa ... are
re programs in the rhe 1960s. One of the th e most
mosr ambi-
system
sYSlem known as DIME (Dua (Duall lnd Ind epe nd ndent
en r Map tious
rio us and noteworthy of these rhese systems was the rhe Canada
Encoding) in response respo nse to (Q this challenge. which nor
rhis challenge, nm only Geographic
Geograph ic Informat io n System (eGIs), (eGIS), which, in 1964,
creared
created digiral reco rds of all srreets,
digi ta l records streets, burbm also associared
associated was
\vas created
creared under (he the guidance of Roger Tomlinson. Tom linson. A
addresses [a ro srreer locarions. The DIM E system
st reet locations. syste m allowed chance mee ting. on a p!;H1e,
chan ce meering, plane. between
berween Tom Tomlinsonli nson and
rhe Censlis
Censlls Bureau [Q (Q understand
understa nd which streets st reets were con- Canada 's MinisterMiniste r of Agriculture
Agriculrure resulted in Tomlinson
nected to which orher
necred other srreets,
streets, and wha wharl lanclsc;-t
landscape pe features
fealUres overseei ng the rhe creation of a national
narional etTon
effort ro inventory
were
we re adjacent to each sstreer. T his method of associating
tree!. This Canada's land resources, resources. and developing ~Ia sofrwa softwa re pro-
the digital represemarions
n:presemarions of landsca landscape pe features (Q orher
to other gram to quanr ifY existing aanndd potential
ro 'luantiry porelllia l land lIses. uses. The
nd sca pe featu res was a c ri
la ndscape ritical advance
rical advan ce because it if CG GISIS is recognized as being the first na t io ional-level
nal -level G GIS.
IS.
enabled the idenrifi ca [ionn of spadaJ
idenrificado spacial relationships within a and thusthu s Tomlinson continues to ra receive recognition
recogn irion as
digital enviro nment.
envi ronment. a GIS pioneer for his effo eilo rts.
rts, Other early landmark efforts efforrs
descriptionn or characterization of the
The descriptio th e spatial rela- evo lution of GIS in
in the evolution include
clude the developmem of the
ttio
io nships between
berween landscape features feat ures in a G GIS
IS database is Land Use and Narural Natural Resource
Resou rce In ventory System
Invenrory
refe rred [Q
referred to as topology. Topology is an imporra importam nr con-
CO I1- (LUN R) in New York
(LUNR) Yo rk in 1967, aand nd the
rhe development of
cept with respect to GIS ap applications
plicatio ns anda nd will be discussed Minnesota Land
the MinneSOta La nd Management System (MLM IS) in
in more detail in chaprer chapter 2. T o pology manages objects
Topology 1969.
and requires objects to be organized
requ ires objecrs orga ni zed and analyzed accord- The success of these rhese early systems
sysrems and need for furrher further
ing to ro their location and with respect respecr widl
with proximiry
proximity to ro refinements we re recog
refinemenrs recognized
ni zed by a groupgrou p of facultyfaculry and <lnd
otherr objects.
othe objecrs. The topological characteristics of dara data students
scude m s 3r ar Harvard Unive rsity's Laborarory for
H a rvard University's
structu res -allow
Structures allow a determinacion.
determinatio n, for example, example. of how Computer
Com puter Graphics and Spa ti al Analysis. The group set
patial Set
water travels
warer rravels through a stream necwo network. rk, the con nectinectiviry
vity forth to create a versatile versad le GIS IS that would map and track
of roads in a forest to other roads.
ro orher road s, or dl thee idemification
id cnrificar ion of loca tions like the DIME system, while
locations wh ile possessing the rhe land
forest stands
sta nds [halthat share a border with other othe r fores
forestt stands.
stand s. measuremenr
measmemclH sstrengths the eGIs.
rre ngclts of rhe CG IS. From rhis effort the
[h is effon rhe
These relationships form the rhe basis of many resource Odyssey GI GIS (containin
(co ntainin g modules named after parts of
analyses thaI that take locationa
locationall posidon
position into imo account in Homer's epic work, The Odyssey) emerged in 1977, t 977, anddnd
problem solvi solving ng techniques.
rcchniques. pioneered rhe lise use ofo f a dara
data strucrure
St ru cture known as trhe he
The DIME syste m was the rhe predecessor to T IGER aarc/node.
rc/node, or vecrar vector data Slructure.
struct ure. We w wiillll discuss
di scuss the
(To pologicall y Integrated Geog Geographic
ra phic Encod ing in g and
a nd vector data structure in more marc detail in the rhe neX[ chapte r.
next chapter,
Referen cin g System)
Referencing ysrem) files. which were inrroduced inr roduced by the however, it is importantimportanr [to0 nore nOte matthat the
rhe specifics of the
US Census Bureau in 1988, aand still used today [0
nd are sdJl to Odyssey vector vecror structure were first published by Peucker
distribute spacially-referenced
d istribute spatially- re ferenced ce nsus and boundary data. an d Ch
and ri s man (1975) and tthe
Chrisman he S[f uc ture
struc rure conrinues
co ntinues to
The avai labil ity of TIGER flfi les
lability ies was insrrumemal
instrumental in pro- influence the design of mode
inAuence modern G IS sof('\.va
rn GIS software re programs.
mo tin g GIS use in the US.
mOting Geologica l Surv<y
U . The US Geological Survey Jack D Daangermond,
ngermon d, a H arvard arv-d rd Lab student, founded the
(USGS) made an addirional additional imporram
important conr cont ributi
ri butionon {Q to Environmental
Envi ronmental Systems Research Insr iwte (ESRI
Resea rch Insritllte (ESRI)) in
spatial dara availabiliry
data availab iliry when they began digitizing d igitizi ng fea-Fea- 1969. and earlie earlierr versions of ArcView and Arclnfo-the
tu res from irs
lUres its II:: I 00,000 scale ha hardrd copy maps in the rhe early most widely
mosr widel y used deskrap
desktop and workst'Jtion
workstarion GIS software
1980s. Spatial
Sparia l data from fro m these
rhese maps were mad e available ava il able programs-were
pro grams-were based on the Odyssey vecto vec rorr da datata st ru
ruc-
c-
as digital line ggraphs rap hs (DLGs) thar, tha t, like the T TIGER
IGER and ture. A
[Ure. rcln fo. in fact,
Arclnfo. fact. was introduced in 1981 198 1,, markjng
marking
DIME sysrems,
systems. were also sto red in a file format that rhat the first major commercial venru venlu re into
inro the developmenr
developrnel1l
allowed the [O to pology of obje",objectS [0 to be characterized. The GIS
GIS technology. Both of these rhese GIS packages have been sig-
format was restructured in the
file formal rhe early 1990s, and the ndy rew
nifica ntly rewrinen
rinen in term s of com puter purer code supporr support
21
t Geographic InformaMn
Chapter 1 Information Systems 7
tlnd
a nd user
use r illlerfacc;
ilHerface; they rhey are now offered ofTered as differenr expecr suppOrt and lrdining training rdated
rel ared to
ro specific (;15
G IS soft-
licenses within ArcGI
lice nses wirhin ArcGIS.. ware programs,
programs. and expect expecr [hat(ha[ sofnvare
softwa re will be mosdy
The 1980s also wimessedwitnessed [he the proliferation
proli femion of [he rhe micro- perfected
perrecred by [he rhe ririme
me of irs release [Q ro [he
rhe general public.
general publ ic.
compmer. mday's version of rhe
com purer, coday's the personal computer
compucer (PC). Funher,
Further, as GIS .1 dalabases
darabases are a re shared
sha red amongsr organiza-
In response.
response, sofrware manufacmrers
manufacrure rs began to [0 produce GI. GIS lions. rhe need ro standardiu
tions, standardize da[a dara fo rmars
rm ars is evidem,
evident,
sofrwa
softwa re programs thar rhar could operareoperate on the microcom·
rhe microcom- because dara Iransformarions
transformations ca cann require an exrensive
purer (see Appendix
Appe nd ix C for a list Ii" of GIGIS sofrware manuF..c-
manu",c- commirmem
commirmenr of resou rces and may lead to ro flawed
Aawed results
rurers) . In 1986,
[urers). 1986. Maplnfo CorporarionCo rporation was for med. and
formed, if no
nO{r done correctly.
correcdy.
subsequently
subsequemly developed [he rhe world's firsr major deskrop desktop vec- Society iis forrunate
Sociery fonunare roday,today. on one hand. ro have a vari- va ri-
mr
tor GIGIS software
sof[Ware program for the rhe Pc.PC. Soon afte rwards.
afre rwards, eryof
ery of GIS sofrware programs from which to choose. On
.IS software
raster GIS soff\vare
rasrer programs. such as IDRJ
sof£\vare programs, IORISI, I. began co to Ihe orher
the mher hand,
ha nd. evaluating
eval uari ng which of these programs beSt best
appear.
appea r. Some orne software
softwa re programs, such as the me raster GIS su its the
rhe needs of a narunaruralral resource
reso urce managemenr
management organi-
program GRA GRASS, S. utilize:
utilize a software architectuarchirecmre re thai
rhal was zation is problema
zarion problematic. ric. This faCtmct posed a significant
significam chal·
chal-
developed for workstation
works[3rion computer platforms. lenge even in the crea cre-cllion this book. Since each oorgan-
rio n of (his rgan~
Other
Orher significant deveiopmelHsdevelopments in GIS included rhe izatio
izarionl1 (narural
(nar ural resOllrce managemenl., as well as
resource managemem
cmergence
eme rge nce of Gl -related conferences and publications.
GIS-relared academic) may lise use a different GIS sof£\vare
software program,
program. we
The first AuroCano Conference was held in 1974 and decided (0 design {his rhis book
boo k as a general reference
refe rence for
helped [0 to establish
esrablish ,he rhe GIS research agenda. One ne of [helhe describing.
describing, in genera
generall., [he
lhe rypical
ry pical types of or GIS :1pplic:l-
applica-
first
firsr compilations
compilarions of avajlable available mapping programs was tions
rions ",ced
Faced by field-level professio
professionals nals associa,ed with nat-
assoc ia red wirh
published by the rhe International
Internationa l Geog raphical Union in ural resource management organizations.
organizarions. T herefore, spe-
Therefore,
1974. BmicBasic Rmdillgs
Readings ill G~ograpbic Information
in Geographic Infomuuion Systems- Sysum.s-- cific
cifi C examples of how to ro address
ad dress each
eac h applica rion
application
a collecrion
collection of papers thar rhat discussed GI G IS technology-\va_
rechnology-was described in rhis book. book, [hose
rhose lha,rhar are related
relared (0to specific
published in 1984. 1984, and inl in 1986
986 [herhe first
firsr textbook wrinen GIS software programs. will be made 3vailabl<
sof£\va re programs, ava ilable through
spe ifically for GIS.
specifically GIS, Principln
Principles of Geographic
C<ogrllphic Informnrioll
Infonnanoll other
orher means (e.g .• a book-related
(e.g., book-relared websire at al W\,VW.
www.
'YSUIIIS for Land R~souras
Systtms Resources ASJ(JJm~m
Assessmelll was published roresrry.orego nsrare.edu/gisbook).
fores[ry.oregonsra[e.edu/gisbook).
(Burrough.
(Bu rrou gh, 1986). Finally, Fi nally. [hethe firsr GIS- related
rel a[ed academic
journal. the
journal, rhe In ternational
ternatio nal Journal of Geographic G~ograp"i(' Why Use GIS in Natural Resource
Sci~I1U. was
Information Scinlce, \ V'dS publishc:d
published in 1987. Management Organizations?
Mo
More re recenriy,
recently. Intern
In te rn eter technology
rechnol ogy has adva nced (co 0
Microsoft's Terra TerraServer crver is similar in this rhis respect. mated and repeated,
repeated. reducing a lengrhyl~nglllY drafting exercise
exe rcise
MapQuesr.
MapQuesr , perhaps [he the most widely used geograp hic hi c to only
[0 on ly a few short
sho rr minUles
minmes and li kely producing far fa r more
o nl ine. is now similar in {his
locator online. rhis respect as well. reliable resuils. In addition.
resuirs. In addir ion, GIS allows
all ows some processes (to0
The history of GIS continues
orGI conrinues to evolve. with GIS uscrs users be accomplished that rhat wou
would ld normally [ax taX a person's ana-
providing
pro vid ing a number of challenges. chal lenges. GIS users. for example,
G IS users, example. lyTica l abiliries.
lytica example, a~ n:ttur..tl
abilir ies. For example. narural resource manage-
have the ability
abi li ty to inlluenc< [he
ro influence the development of GIS .IS soft- ment
menr organization in the sourhernsouthern US considering a fertil- fe rcil-
wa re program features. As new and challenging
W3rc challengin g naruralnatural ization project,
izadon pro ject, yet operaring with a limited budget.
operd(ing wirh budget, may
resource
reso urce management
managemenl issues arise. ari se, users identify
use rs identi fY and pro- need to locate those
ro loc3re dlOSC forested arca5
areas (sra
(sta nds) thal
rhar would ben-ben -
pose processes and fu functnctions
ions that
rhat will make [he rhe (asktask of efit
efir mosr in rerms of rhe (he growth
growrh of rhe forest fert i1-
From a fen
foresr from il-
.111;tlyz.ing
analyzing pOlcmia
porenriall nalUr:.ll
narural resouresourcerce decisions more eAl- effi- ization application
appli carion in order to efficient use of their
ro make efficiem
ciem aCClIr:He . In addir
ciCIll and accurare. ion. GIS IIsers
addirion, users increasingly bud get. Irf you were to :1
budget. $Sume lh:H
assume rh ar rhe sta must be
s[a nds musr
22
8 Part 1 Introduction to Geographic Information Systems.
Systems, Spatial Databases.
Databases, and Map Design
additionally
you 3dditiona lly consider that thar manyman y I1:ltural
natural resource expens in all GIS-related !echnologies.
sidered experts technologies, fam iliariry
F..milia ri ry
management organizations desire new employees to have with the various components
componenrs may help understand
hdp you undersrand
a G IS background.
background, lbe rhe advantages
advanrages for ,hose those involved in the components
how rhe componenrs are integrated.
nalural m ~m agemenl to
naLUral resource managemem ro be famifamiliar ith the
liar w idl
pQ[ential uses of GI
potential G IS are clear. This fami liariry shou ld
F..miliariry Data collection processes
include the [he ability to communicare
communicate using us ing basic GIS- GI ~ and input devices
reiared terminology and
rei31ed a nd the[he abi liry
lity toro perform basic GI CIS
processes,
processes. such as viewing data dara and making maps of fea- tea- Despite (he
Despire sofrwa re ,
the rapid advances of GIS hardware and sofrware.
mres of interesr.
cures interest. one of the
rhe primary challenges
ch311enges for
fOf organizations using GIS
I
23
Chapter 1 Geographic Information Systems 9
of measu rements. For insrance, if the measurements Figure 1.2 Examples of accuracy and precision. Pan A shows accur:HC
and precise locations of €lara aro und rhe circle centcr; Pan B shows
relared ro a property bou ndary were measured multiple predse bUi nor vcry accurare dar. ; Pan C shows acc urau~ bur not very
rimes wilh a sophisticated surveyi ng insrrumenr and rhe precise data; and Part D sho...., neither precise nor :accurate d:ata around
the circle center.
resu lting va riario n amo ng measu rem ents was small , YOli
could rhen describe rhe measuremems as being relarively
precise.
Acc u.racy refers ro rhe abiliry of a meas urement to rime, rhe accuracy of rh e measuremenrs is aboUt 2.3 X
describe a landscape feature's [ru e lacarion. size, or condi- 0 .1 foot = 0.23 foot off of the value you might have
[ion. Accuracy is typically described in rerms of a range o r expecred wirh an unbroken rape. You could exp ress the
varia nce [hat derails a duesho ld within which we would relative precision of rhe measurements as (232.7 - 232.5)
expect to find the likely value. The assessmem of accuracy 1 232.6 = I: 1, 163 and the relative accuracy of [he tape as
anemprs to answe r rhe following question: H ow close are 0.1 I 100.0 = I: 1,000. One advantage of using rel ative
the measurements to their t rue val ue? Examples of accu- accuracy is rhar it prov ides an assessmenr of rhe expecred
racy levels include distance meas uremems of ± 0.5 m or porrion of erro r given some measu red amount. This
angle measuremenrs of ± 1 seco nd. Yo u can have meas- allows for lhe reladve comparison of rhese errors berween
uremenrs rhat a re borh highl y precise a nd acc urare differenr measured irems and locations. Relative accuracy
(Figu re 1.2, rarr A), highly precise without being very can also provide a means of stating o r assessing re<Juired
accu rare (Figure 1.2, Pan B), nor very precise. bm accu- o r mi nimal mappin g accuracies. The U Federal
rare (Figure 1.2. Pan C), or neirher precise nor accurate Geodetic Contro l Subcommittee (FG e S) (J 984) and
(Figu re 1.2, rart D). N a tural Resources Canada (J 978) fo llow this practice
Accuracy and precision may also be stared in relative whereby rhe relar ive precision ca n be carego ri zed as
terms. Suppose rhe lengrh of a sr ream is measured (\vice acceptable or unacceprable. given a desired measuremenr
wirh a I ~O-foo t meral rape, resulr ing in measurements of accuracy.
232.7 and 232.5 feet. The average length of the srream is It is important rhar G IS use rs are aware of [he disrin c-
232.6 feet. If the meta l tape was previously broken, say at tion berween precision and accu racy. parricularly when
the I O-foot mark. a nd spliced back rogerher, reducing rhe co nside ring rhe value of using a C IS database in an analy-
dfecr ive lengrh of the rape (Q 99.9 feel , (he rel at ive aCCll- sis fh ar leads lO a management decis ion . These terms,
racy and precision of (he measuremenrs can be calcu lated. despire [heir com mon usage. imply information about dif-
Since rhe tape was used about 2.3 rimes when measuring fe renr qu alifies of a measuremen( o r acriviry. Alrhough
Ihe stream, and the broken part of rhe rape was used each acc ura cy and p recisio n impl y differenr cha rac rerisrics,
24
10 Part 1 Introduction 10 Geographic Information Systems, Spatial Databases, and Map Design
many lise these te rms inrerchangeably and. as a resu lt, ro human error and variarion. Today, digitizing is sti ll a
incorrecdy. necessary function for many namral resource manage-
There are many ways (0 create and co ll ect data, and all menr organizations bur reli ance on this technique has dra-
methods require va rying degrees of skill and organiza- matically decreased as orher dara collection merhods have
donal commit menr, The following sec rions describe some emerged or become refin ed.
of rhe most commo n medlOds for creatin g GIS databases.
Scanning
Manual map digitizing Scann ing involves rhe exam ination of maps by a com-
The abi lity (0 manually encode vecto r maps using a digi- puter process dlat seeks to ident ify (a nd convert to digital
tizing tab le (Figure 1.3) and associated software has been form) changes in map colo r or rone. which idemi fy land-
ava ilable since the late I 960s. Paper o r mylar maps are scape fearures. Flat-bed scanne rs allow a picture or map,
raped down to a digitizing rabie, in which is embedded a such as an aerial pho(Qgraph o r a to pographic map. to be
fine mesh of copper wire. Known reference points on rhe co nvened ro a digita l form. The resuhing images a re
maps are idclHified using rhe digitizing table 's ' puck' described by rhe rasrer data srrucCllre, and include pixels
(s imilar ro a compurer mouse), which sends a signal ro rhe or grid cells that may be encoded (o r attribured) dilter-
wire mesh within rhe rable. Once rhe referen ce poincs enriy. depending o n how the scanne r imerprets the color
have been idemiried, all orher landscape fearures can be or rone of each feature. Scanners (Figu re 1.4) generally
encoded in a Cartesian coord inare sysrem and related ro move systematically across a picture or map. and record
rhe reference poinrs. For poim fe-drures. rhis requires lin- rhe reAecrance values of the (Ones or colo rs for each grid
ing up the cross-hairs of the puck wirh the poim locarions cell. Scanned images rend ro look very much like rhe pic-
and identifying rhe points. For line and polygon fearures. tures or maps that were scanned, yer there is lIsually some
ir involves rracing rhe boundaries of rhe lines or polygon difference in qualifY due [0 the size of the g rid cells
boundaries. noring each c hange in a line's direcrion. assumed in rhe sca nning process, rhe qualiry of the pic-
Features can be recorded with eithe r 'srream mode' o r (Ure or map. or the qualiry of rhe scan ner.
' poinr mode' referencing processes. In stream mode. the
spa rial locatio n of the digitizing puck is recorded ar either
regular time intervals (e.g., every seco nd) or regular dis-
ranees inrervals (e.g., every 0.25 inch). In poinr mode, rhe
spalia llocario n of rhe digirizing puck. and hence rhe loca-
rion oflandsca pe fe'drures. is recorded every time a button
on rhe puck is pushed.
Manual digitizing of maps can be a redious process
and. like many orher tasks thar are done by hand. subjecr
- --- ~-~ .
Figun 1.3 Digitizing table:. Figure 1.4 Small format JCln n~r.
25
Chapter t Geographic Information Systems 11
A second method of scan ni ng involves the use of d ig- Thematic Mapper™ series can capture wide swaths of rhe
iral cameras. An array of phoroderectors located within Earth's su rface ( 185 km, or 115 miles), and rhus have rhe
digital cameras allows you to caprure and store an image. potencial to reco rd vast amounts of informarion over a
The images are saved with a raster data srructure and can shorr time period. The launching and operation of sa tel-
be tra nsfe rred ro a computer system and rhen used in a lires for dara collection has increasingly been cond ucted by
manner si mil ar to the sca nned images mentioned above. private o rganizations, and as a result many different forms
DigitaJ cameras can be synchron ized with CPS rece ive rs so ofhighly accurate and precise data are becoming available,
that a coordinare value and elevation a re potenrially asso- such as the I In resolurion IKONOS satell ite data (Land
ciared with each image. Info Worldwide Mappi ng, LLC, 2006). Alrhough rhese
advances in remote sensing technology have in creased the
Remote sensing variety of products available to cons um ers, the cOSt of
Remote sensing involves rhe use of a sensor that is nOt in acq uiring and processing sa tellite-collected data is sri II pro-
physical contact with its subject of interest (Avery & hibirive for many organizarions.
Berlin , 1992). Ir can include a wide variery of rechniques, D igiral cameras ca n be mounred on airplanes (Figu re
and in faCt, capturing images with a digitaJ camera rheorer- 1.5) , and can genera ll y p rovide higher reso lurion images
ically uses remme sensing technology, since the camera is than that provided by satellites, yet rhis distincrio n is get-
nor necessarily in contact with the image being co ll ecred ring less clear with each passing year. It is also possible to
(the landscape). However, when discussing remore sensing mount digiral cameras on smaller, remore cont rolled a ir-
technology in natural resource ma nagemem, the use of crafr, and to synch ro nize color or infrared photograp hy
satellites or cameras mounted on airplanes is frequently with CPS measuremems. This coupli ng of technology
referenced. Remore sensing devices capture electromag- may become more widespread in the futu re.
netic energy, generated by the sun or perhaps by some A relarively new rechnology called LiDAR (light derec-
other device, such as a radar eminer, that is reflected off of tion and ranging) has emerged that allows for rhe collec-
landscape features. Most sa tellite senso rs a re designed to tion of ropographic or elevation data . LiDAR sysrems are
record the reflectance of light or heat from objects on the rypically mounred on an aircralT (although ground-based
Earth 's surface. These e1ectromagneric reflecrances are plat fo rms are also used), and include a laser, an inertial
reco rded by rhe sensors in terms of their wavelength of navigation sysrem, a CPS receiver, and an on-board com-
energy, as described by rhe e1ectromagneric specrrum. The purer fo r dara processing. LiDAR measuremenr rechnol-
electromagnetic wavelengths are then convened to a digi- ogy allows scienriscs [0 remotely sense and create digital
(al formar and transmirred back to a computer for process- models oflandscape features such as vegera ti on, ropogra-
in g and inte rpolation. Satelli tes such as rhe Landsat phy, and strucru res. LiDAR techno logy has been applied
On-board computer
[0 natural resources (Q meas ure foresl ca no py str ucrure, tial nav iga tion sys rem [racks [he irregul arities of rhe ai r-
inventory, and bio mass (Reutebuch et aI., 2005). LiDAR crdft's Aight path and att itude (yaw, pitch, and roll) and all
airborne lase r sca nnin g invo lves directing discrete pulses informarion is collected and processed by the on-boa rd
of light onro a landscape in o rder ro rerurn rhe posirions com puter. Up to 150,000 pulses per second ca n be gener-
and dimen sions orJandscape features. ated with contemporary LiDAR systems (YII et aI., 2006).
A LiDAR lighr pulse is emined from a u ansmi [(er as rhe This rapid pulse rate leads to LiDAR databases of hundreds
aircraft moves and rravds unli l it reac hes a solid o bject of gigabytes for even modest sized areas (e.g. 4,000 hal .
(Figure 1.6). Depending on the type, density, and reAec- Image p rocessin g sofr""are can convert rhe millions of
ci viry of 3n o bject, the li ght pulse is either refl ected back ro rerurn pulses rhat are ryp ical of LiDAR da ta projects into
an airborne se nsor o r conrinues (0 deflect off of other twO and rhree-dimensional represenrarions of lan dscape
objeclS unril it reaches a solid surface. such as [he ground. characrerisrics including streams, roads, an d vegetation.
T ypica lly, up [Q fou r reflecred va lues ca n be retu rned from In addition ro posirion a nd heigh t measuremelHs, rhe
a si ngle pulse. T he combi nation of repear (e(Urns ca n be reflecrance inrensiry of each LiDAR pulse is measured and
fused with orher multiple reru m pulses [Q create a rhree- sro red with rhe geo-referenced information. Researchers
dim ens io nal visuali za cio n of la ndscape fearures. The have rece nrly recognized (har rhe sr ren gdl of reflecrance
round-trip lravel rime of individual lighr pulses is meas- inrensiry values can pOlenrially provide descriptive info r-
ured and sro red by an airborne se nsor rhar is coo rdin ared marion abom landscape features. Reflecra nce intensity is
w irh an o n-board globa l posi t ioning system (C PS) . By the rat io o f srre ngdl of ('he refl ected pulse ro thal of the
comparing rhe rerum rime ro rhe speed of light, rhe d is- emined pulse. The reAecra nce inrensiry informarion is a
ra nce ro the gro und or the landsca pe fear ure ca n be calcu- spectral signa[ure and ca n be used [0 derermine the na[ure
laled. The couplin g of pu lse se nso r and CPS measurements of landscape objens. There are few pu blished studi es of
res ults in the geo-referenci ng of retu rn pulses so thar coor- usi ng LiDAR reflectance inrensiry values for na rural
dinates (lo ngilllde and latitude) and height (elevat ion) are resou rce appl ications bur researchers ha ve used LiDAR ro
assoc iared with each returned pulse. In addition, rhe iner- investigare differences between con ife ro us and deciduous
laser ~
scanner
28
..
24
20
§: 16
;:
~ 12
'"
8
4
0
0 50 100
Number of laser shots
Figun 1.6 LiDAR system o n ai rcraft (cou rtes)' Dr Jason Drake. US Forest Service ).
27
Chapter 1 Geographic Information Systems 13
In ou r sociery, electromagnetic energy is generated by amounr of time ir rakes for rhe energy (Q rerurn; rhese
a va ri ety of sou rces, including su nl amps, fi res, are defined as acrive techn iques. The enti re range of
microwaves, radio [Owers, rada r detectors. and lase rs. electromagnetic energy is known as rhe electromag-
Devices or techniques for capturing this e nergy can neric spectru m. The range of electromagneric ene rgy
~ characterized as passive or act ive. Passive data cap- humans can see is ca lled the visible porrion of the
[Ure techn iques. suc h as aer ial photography o r elecrromagneric specrr um , which co nta ins wave-
LandsarTM, record electromagnetic energy that is nat- lengrhs between 0.4 and 0.7 mm. Other portions of
urally emitted or reAected. The most obvious narural the spectrum that are nOt visible to hum a ns include
producer of e1ecrromagneric energy is the sun. The rhe cosmic, ultravioler , infrared, microwave, and
sun produces eiecrromagneric energy at multiple radar wavelengths. Mosr digital imagery developed
wavelengrhs, some of which a re visible to the human from remore sensi ng devices makes use of rhe visible
eye. Devices that employ rada r or lase r rec hn o logy and infrared portions (0.4- 0.9 mm) of the elecrro-
(fansmir elecrromagnecic e nergy a nd record rhe magnetic spect rum .
rrees (So ng et aI., 2002) and <0 dete rmin e rree healrh meas u re ment of features capt ured on photogra phs.
(McCombs et aI. , 2003). While these prior research find- Phorog rammetry requires a firm understanding of pho-
ings have had modeSt success in app lyi ng LiDAR tography, stro ng quantit3rive skills, and ar rimes, creariv-
reAectance intensities, the more powerful emitters and iry; successful interpretacio n so metimes becomes an a rt.
sensors that are rypical of contemporary LiDAR equip- Phorogrammerry offers several advantages ove r
mell[ may provide descriptive information such as tree ground-based dara collectio n techniques. Usi ng airc rafts,
species and healrh, land cove r rype, o r eype of structure phorographs ca n be ta ken of a reas at heiglHs th at mi ght
fo r mapped positions. ordinarily be inaccessible by orhe r devices. Large la nd -
LiDAR has shown great porenrial in foresrry a nd naru- scape areas can be capru red. creati ng a permanent reco rd
ral resou rce applica rions, nOt only in generating high-res- of a reso urce ar the time of data collection. Photographs
o lution digital elevation models (DEMs), but also in meas- can also be used for hisrorical resea rch because it is rela-
uring stand strucrural co nd itions. Although the COSt of tively easy [0 reexamine a ph otograph, as opposed to
acquiring LiDAR data is still prohibitive for many o rgani- reviewing a field survey of a reso urce, which genera ll y is
zations. large areas can lx Aown ar a COSt of abom $ 1 per d ifficulr to reproduce. The accuracy. speed of acquisir ion,
acre; COS[5 are expected to decrease in th e furure. a nd cos r of photog ra mmer ri c products are consra nri y
improv ing, thus phorogra mmerry remains a popular
Photogramme t ry mer hod for collecting spatial dara an d for the creation of
Phorogram metry is perhaps the primary method used for GIS darabases. Digital methods ofcapruring images, how-
rhe creation of spacial data in forestry and narural resource ever, are steadil y rep lacing those rha t use phowgraphic
management, alr hough LiDAR acquisition is gaining film.
steadily in its app lication. Within the US, many of the The mOS t crucial physical co mpo nenr of phorogra m-
products produced by the US Geological Survey (USGS), merry is the photographic system utilized. Single lens
including elevation surfaces and other represemarions of cameras are most common, a nd a rypical frame measures
natural resources, were derived from phorogrammerric 23 X 23 cm (9 X 9 in.). The camera lens is held ar a fixed
techniques. Photogrammetry ca n be defined as the act of distance, o r focal length, from rhe frame. Knowing this
collecting measuremenrs from rhe image of an object o r distance is critical in facili tating furu re measu rements
resource. T his tech n ique dates back to the mid-nine- from photOgraphs (Figure 1.7) . The most common focal
teemh century. soon after the first phorograph was cre- length is 152.4 mm (6 in.), bur orher lengths are also used
ated (Wolf & Dewitt, 2000). Through va ri ous tec h- (90, 210, and 305 mm ). Photogra phic images a re cap-
niques, pholOg rammetry fac ilitates the interpretatio n and (ured when a shuner near (he lens is opened, momemarily
28
14 Part 1 Introduction to Geographic Information Systems, Spatial Databases, and Map Design
30
16 Part 1 Introductioo to Geographic Information Systems, Spatial Databases, and Map Design
relief displacemenr inherent in rhe phorographs is mini- measurementS a re s{Qred in a digiral dambase. In some
mized. and measurements of landscape fearures can be cases, these measuremenrs can be highly accurate, provid-
taken direcdy from rhe orrhophomgraph withom the ing positions that are within centimeters, or less, of their
need ro r displacement corrections. To create a digital [rue locarions va lues. Total S[3rions a nd laser range find-
orthophomgraph, scanned aerial phomgraphs an d digital ers (Figure 1.11) are examples of tools that make ir possi-
e leva tion models (OEMs) are required . Orrhophoro- ble for field crews to sigh t and 's hoor' d istant o bjects.
graphs a nd DEMs a rc discussed in mo re derail in Typically, these insrrumenrs require thar a reflective sur-
cha pter 2. face be placed on the object of inrerest so that a beam can
be projeC[ed onro the surface and returned for measure-
Field data collection ment. Measurements include not only horizontal dis-
Field coll ectio n techniques for the c rearion of G IS data- rances and a ngles, bur also rhe elevation difference from
bases have adva nced tremendously over rhe past 20 yea rs rh e ins trument's position. Aurom arica lly storing rhe
and a re now fully enmeshed in rhe digital age. measuremenrs within the surveying instruments elimi-
Increasingl y, field dara collection processes in natural nares rhe potenrial errors rh ar may a ri se when data
reso urce e nvironm enrs are using digital data collection recorded by hand on field forms is transferred to a G IS
techniques (Wing & Kellogg, 2004) . Field collection database.
techniques were once limited [0 m anu a l [ools that Another technology [har ha s become bmh more
required physical skill on the part of the operamr and, affordable and more useable in recent yea rs is that of
depending on rhe ins trument, technica l compete ncy global positio ning systems (GPS). GPS requires [har a
equivalenr to that possessed by a p rofessiona l land sur- receiver, locared on the Earth's surface, collect and record
veyor (Kavanagh & Bird, 2000) . Field c rews would lise sign als transmitted by satellites o rbiting the Earth (Figure
meral or synthetic rapes co measure distances between 1.12). Many narural resource professionals conside r GPS
objects. and clinometers or level guns [0 determine gradi- receivers ro be a source of frusrrar ion but recenr evidence
ents and elevation differences. Approximate angles co uld suggests (har so me GPS receivers are ca pable of reliably
be derermined from compass readings, and more precise collec ting measuremelHs under ca nopy. The com mon
a ngl e measurements were calcula ted from rransirs or limiring factor for GPS appl ica tion s in narural resources
rheodolites. Measurements were recorded in field nore- has been that lines-of-s iglu between GPS rece ivers on-(he-
books a nd processed in an office se ning. Post-process in g ground and space-based satellite sysrcms have been
and adjustment of the data we re almost always necessary obscured by ca nopy co ndition s. [Opographic barriers. or
{Q ensure [har data collection and insrrumenr errors were some combi nation thereof.
acco tllHed for and balanced (hroughom rhe measure- A GPS receive r calculates a position by being ab le to
ments. These practices a re sri ll com mon and approp riate receive signals from at leas t four sa tellites, wid1 more sa rel-
tOday fo r many field crews who are invo lved in collectin g
spada l data for forestry and natural resource purposes.
Alth ough technica l competency with d igita l instru-
mentarion and an understanding of measuremenr error
and co rrections a re necessa ry skills for field crews using
this techno logy, spatia l data can be collected and
processed wiLh an efficiency and precisio n thar far sur-
passes other manual field measu remem techniques.
Electronic distance measu ring devices (EDMs) were first
developed abour 50 yea rs ago and represented a major
breakthrough in data collection (Wo lf & Ghilani, 2002).
These devices measure the amounr of time ir rook a beam
of electromagnetic energy to (ravel from an instrument, (0
a reflective su rface. and back. With (his information, a
distance ca n be calculated. Currenr technology includes
rhe abiliry IO nor only ca pture distance measurements.
bur also the angles berween objects. In addirion, th e Fig ure 1.11 Laser rangt" fi ndc r.
31
Chapter 1 Geographic Information Systems 17
Satellite
____ --------------~L.--
----~-:I-li~-t-h-er-r~----~~ Trail
location
32
18 Part 1 Introduction to Geographic Information Systems.
Systems, Spatial Databases.
Databases, and Map Design
forested
rorested enviro nmems; rhere
environments; there have been several studies on reported by Ithesehese srudies (S to 10m) may be acceptable
studies (5
,his
this issue. Sigrisr
igrist et 3J. (1999) found
er al. fo und positional accuracies for many natural
nalllral resou
resource
rce applications. consumer GP CPS
be"veen
belween 3.8 and 8.8 m durin during g leaf-off
leaf-ofT anda nd between
berween 12.3 receive r limitations,
receiver inability ro
limirarions, including the inabiliry to set mini-
and 25.6 m during leaf-on co conditions
nditions within a mixed mixed-- mum sa leltel lite qual iry
ity standards, the possibility of poinr
rhe possibiliry
hardwood forest during selective availabiliry. availability. Naesset aesser and different ial correccion
averaging. and rhe lack of dilTerenrial correction proce-
Jonmeister (2002) reported positional
Jonmdsler posidonal errors be[\veen berween 0.5 dures, mllsr
dures. must be co nsidered.
nsidered .
nd 5.6 m in sitka spruce (Pian
aand (Piun sitchmsis).
sitch",;;s). Liu (2002)
tested several mapping grade receivers under dense hard hard-- D ata
a ta slorage
sto rage technology
techn o logy
wood canopycano py and reponed averdge average posidonal
positional errors of Commonly, G
COlllmonly. GIS databases co
IS darabases nsist of large quanrities
consisr quantir ies of
4.0 ITI.m. Wing and Karsky (2005) found measuremenr measurement that muSt be slored
data thal
dala Stored and replicaled
r<plicated {'backed-up')
('backed-up') in a
accurf1cies berween 1I and 4 m depend
accuracies belWeen depending ing oon n the amount [hat allows easy access for CIS
system thar I managers an
and use rs
d users
canopy
of ca nopy closu re a nd tthe
clos ure he type of CPS configu ration. rarion. nafUra l resource managemenr
at nawraJ O1anagemem organization field offices.
BolSlad et
Bolstad aJ. (2005) twed
et oj. tesled a va variety
ri ery of mapping-grade Jusr a.1 few years ago magnetic rapes
JUSt tapes and magneric
magnetic disks
Grs
GPS receiver configurAtions
configurations :Ind and found accuracies
accurac ies bcrween
between were commonly used ro store
were: computer
sto re co mpmcr files on nerworks
networks
2.4 and 4.5 m under unde r forest canopy
ca no py in deciduous and red- aand nall comp
nd perso na urers (Burrough &
co mputers & McDonnell, 1998)
forests . Wing el
pine foresls. et al. (in
(i n press) tesred severalI mapp
resred severn mapping-ing- bur srorage technology continues
rechnology com to develop at a ra
inuc.s to rapid
pid
grade GPS con configurations
figura tions and determdeterminedined acc accuracies
uracies from pace.
POst-processed
post-processed da data 0 . 1 and 1.2 m in you
r. of 0.1 young foresr aand
ng forcsl nd Many people use oprical
optical storage
s{Qrage devices such as com-
closed canopy conditions, respect respectively.
ivel y. pact
pad discs (CD) and ddigital igiral versalile
versatile discs (OVO)
(DVD) as Stan-stan-
Consumer-grade GP GPS receivers are a re rhe
the leaS! accu rate
least accurare dard Storage techno
slorage tech logy. C
no logy. CDs
Ds generally can hold about
and most affordable of rhe C GPSPS g rades with receive receivers rs 650 MB of dala.data. and many personal compurers computers now con-
costing
cos between $50-
ring berween $50-$750.
$750_ This price range may ma y be rain CD
ram 0 ddrives
rives that allow users to ro both read and writ wriree to
ro
att ractive for many potential
anracrive porenrial lIsers bur several
users but seve ral disadvan-
d isadvan- CDs.
Ds. The read and wrile write speeds of CDs are proh ibirive ibitive for
tages
rages must be considered. Consumer-grade CPS GPS receivers GIS lIsers
CIS users who wo work rk wirh large GIS I databases. DVDs look
don't
don 't allow o operators
perators LO ro ser
se t minimum rluesholds rhresholds for very similar
imilar lOto CDs,
Os. al also com purer drive co
0 require a computer ro oper-
sa tellite
relli re signal qua li ty through rhrough the rhe establishmel1l
establishment of a are. and
ale, an d are sim ilar
il ar in speed. Many manufacturers
manufacrure rs now
minimum POOP level as a quality conlrol. camrol. Mission plan- ofTe r 'combo' drives w
offer whic
hichh can read and write bo(h both CD
ning software is usually nor included with wirh consumer GP CPS DVD formalS.
and OVo fo rmats. A DVO DVD can hold approximarely
approximately 4.5 CB GB
receivers and some so me do not enable users to conduct poilH poim dam,, with
of di1ta wi dl some varicries
va rieties being
bei ng able to stOre even more.
[0 store
averaging
ave rag in g to ro determine a single position. posicion. While most
Whil e mosl rnpid rC'ad
Recently, rapid read and write speeds (- (-10
10 ms) have been
co n urner GPS affo
consumer afford
rd users the ability LO to srore measure-
store mc:asure- achieved by many brands portable
b rands of port"db le exrernal
external hard drives.
menrs
me ll( S individually, a co common
mmon srorage limir limit of 500 enernal hard drives can be quickly connecled
These external connected to a
poinrs can limir
poims rhe amount of rime a.1 co
limit the consumer CPS
nsum e r GPS computer's
com purer's universal serial bus (USB)
(U B) port. They provide
receiver ca cann be used in the field befo re the rhe receive
receiverr mem- fast
fust backup and recovery, and can ca n also serve as an addi-
o ry is full.
ful l. Differential
Differentia l co correction
rreclion capab
capabiillities
ities through
th rough rional hard drive if
[ional needed. U
ir needed. keys. oorr whal
USBB keys, what some referrere r
data po posr-processing
(-processing techn techniques
iques are not generallgenerallyy avaavail-
il- ' thumb dri
to as 'rhumb drives' popular. inexpensive solu-
ves' are very popular,
able lO co nsumer grade CPS.
to consumer rions for rransponi
rransp rring ng 'smaller' « 2 CB) GB) darabascs.
databases. These
Like survey grade GPS receiver accuracy. consu consumer mer devices
devi ces are comparable in size (0 to a key-c
key-chain
hain and less,rhan
iess,rhan
G
CPSP receiver accu accuracy
racy in forested settings sc::rtings has been $50 in price for a large ca capacity
paciry (2 C GB)
B) version.
"crsion. It Ir wou ld
reponed
reported in previous srudies. studies. Wing er et al.
aJ. (2005) lesled
tested the
rhe not
nor seem unreasonab le tor for a GI
GIS wo works rat ion lO
rks larion ro include
inch lde
positionJI accurac ies and reliabiliry
posirional accuracies reliabil ity of six consumer
s ix co nsumer grade the
,he following data disk drives: CD and DVD co
rollowing dara combo
mbo drive,
CPS
GPS rece receivers
ivers within several different forest
se veral dirrerenr rypes an
lorest types andd large (100-200 CB) GB) eXlernal
external USB drive, add irional USB
additional
reponed me;:asurement accu rac ies wirhi
measure ment accuracies wi thinn 10 meters
mete rs of true drives for rransfer, and a 100-200 GBB inrerna
data transfer,
lor d3[a internall hard
posirion under dense conifer
position GIIlOPY and wi
co nifer canopy within
thin 5 merers
meters drive.
drive.
under partial canopy. depending
ca nopy. depend ing on the[he:: type of co consumer
nsumer
grade CPS receiver. Ave Average
rage accuracies
accumcies of o f' co nsu merr CPS
nsume GPS manipulation
D a ta manipula
Data ti o n and dis
di splay
play
be[\veen 6.5 and 7.
receivers between 7.11 m under dense primarily Persona l co
computers wo rksrations
mpurers and workstati nearlyy syn-
o ns are now nearl
hardwood c.mopies canopies were reponed by Bolstad Bolsrad er al. onymous in mean
meaning,
ing. although JUSt
jusr 10 ye'J
years ago [he
rsago the term
(200S). Althou gh lhe
(2005) . Although rypical reported average accuracies
the typical worksration implied rhe use of a UN UNIX (unip lexed info r-
IX {unip
34
20 Part 1 Introduction to Geographic Information Systems, Spatial Databases, and Map Design
1- •
A GIS wo rkstatio n usually includes a hi ghe r-e nd com- wou ld be beneficia l: rhe faster rhe processor, t he
purer with a fast processor and large amountS of RAM quicker a p rocess is complered. such as buffering o r
a nd imernai disk sto rage space. H oweve r, fo r the type overlayin g. In addir io n, 1 GB of RAJ"t is perhaps rhe
of wo rk pe rfor med by field for este rs an d natural m inimum RAM necessary to easily handle large pro-
resource m anagers, a typica l pe rsonal com puter (PC), cessing rasks. And finally, a 100-140 G B ha rd drive is
or even a laptop co mpmer, will gene rall y suffi ce to perhaps the minimum size necessary to srore GIS d ata-
facil irate rhe use of desktop G IS softwa re such as bases YO ll mi ght develo p and use over rhe useful life of
ArcG1S or Map ln fo. What are [he desired cha racrer is- a personal co mpllter (2-3 years). If LiDA R o r o rhe r
rics of a PC com pute r [hat might allow you to use la rge r-size G IS databases are to be used , the m inimum
d eskrop GIS sofrwa re ' Obviousl y a fasr processo r ha rd drive size mighr begin ar 200 GB.
35
Chapter 1 Geographic Information Systems 21
The main drawback with moSt primers is the format of paper, enable G IS users ro produce photograp hi c-qual ity
the ourpm. which is generall y limited to BIh" X II " or oucpur products. A tho rough examinarion at the needs at
1 I" X 14" media. Plouers allow GIS users to produce maps a n organization is warranted prior ro making a decisio n
of a variery of sizes (Ta ble 1.1 ). Plo([ers, however, are gen- rega rd ing an in vest ment in primers or plotters.
era ll y more expensive than primers. {hough they are now
ava ilable for prices beginning at $ \000; they also typically Screen displays
req uire special paper and ink cartridges. One way {Q ca re- A more rudimemary set of outp m products trom C IS are
gorize planers is to use a vecto r/ras ter analogy. Venor plot- those relared to rhe image displays YO ll can view on a
ters incl ude (hose termed as Aad>ed or drum. Vector plot- computer sc reen. These processes co nsist of capturing
ters draw lines using planing pens of differelll colors and inform atio n (data o r maps) d isplayed on [he sc reen at a
can prod uce some very precisely d rawn maps. Raster plot- computer and tempora rily sro rin g {he information in a
ters include those termed electrostatic, laser, ink jel, and digita l database. A number of methods a re avai lable to
warm wax. Electrostatic ploners use an a rray of elect ric ca pcu re co mp uter sc reen images. The resolution a nd
contaClS (> 100 per inch) that ap ply a charge ro paper, derail of rh e resulting captu red image, however, depends
which then co mes in CO IHacr with nega ri vely charged to ner on the method used for image ca pture. Screen displays are
to produce images. The technology that is used in laser and someti mes ca ptured and saved as image flies, and ar ot her
ink jet plotters is similar (0 thar in laser and ink jet prim- ti mes simp ly sto red in the com purer's 'clipboard', and
ers-each featu re on rhe map is drawn pixel by pi xel. thu s a re available for past in g into a variety of othe r soft-
Warm wax ploners are simila r to ink jet plouers bur rhe ware programs. Fo r exam ple, mOSt personal co mpmers
resultin g producrs have a glossy appeara nce. Some of these allow users [0 save what may be displayed on a compmer
primers and planers. in co njun ction with h igh-qu ality sc ree n by pressing (all at o nce) the Alt a nd Pmt Scm but-
rons on a compute r keyboa rd . This Stores (he entire
image di splayed o n th e sc ree n ro the compu ter's clip-
TABLE l.l Common sizes of map output
board, JUSt like if yo u we re copying text in a word pro-
from plotte rs
cessing prog ram. Then, YO ll ca n paste the ca ptu red image
Map siu D im t:RsiORs imo either a word processing or graphi cs softwa re pro-
ANSI A 805''' X 11.0" (2 16 mm x 279 mm) gram (Figure 1.15). One potential drawback is thar screen
ANSI B 11.0" x 1 7.0 ~ (279 mm x 432 nun)
~"'J.o .. , ..... _ .. _ _ ... ,_ ,::,x
ANSI C 17.0" X 22.0" (432 mm X SS9 mm) f"(.Oo~ _ _ ~ _ _
._...;;0
.-,-
ANSID 22.0" X 34.0" (559 mm X 864 nun)
ANSIE 34.0" X 44.0" (864 mm X 1118 mm)
o-
r
ANSI ~ 28.0" X 40.0" (7 11 mm X 1016 mm)
36
22 Part t Introduction to Geographic Information Systems, Spatial Databases, and Map Design
everything else fhar may be vis ible on [he scree n. These gif Graphics interchange format
images can be sro red in a w ide va riety of fo rm ats (Tab le jps JPEG Fil~ interchange format
1.2) depending on rhe availabili ry within [he GIS sofrware Macill{Qsh® PICT formal
PC'
program bein g used . H oweve r, transferring grap hi c PC paintbrush formal
images from one system (e.g., GIS) ro anot her (gra phics
png Ilo rtable network graphics form:J1
editing programs) or vice ve rsa ca n somerimes be prob-
lema dc because offo rm ar inconsistenc ies. In addition , [he
,g, Targa format
size of rhe resu lring graphic image files will vary depend- tif Tagged image file forl11:1.1
ing on the formar lIsed ro save rhe image. wmf Windows@ metafile formal
37
Chapter 1 Geographic Information Systems 23
GIS sofrware'
'PC GIS
considered 'I)C sofrware',. This distinction essen~
diS[incrion has essen- ing field dara data collecrion processes, o r La
collectio n processes. to perfo
performrm water-
riaJly d isappea red as wori<sration
tial ly disappeared workstarion GIS C IS sofrwa
sofrware re is now used delineation and ana
shed delinearion analysis
lysis processe
processes wirh with aDEM.
a OEM.
com purers using both Windows® and
oonn computer an d U UN IX opeT<lt~
operat- If
If,••afrer
fter pondering th rhese
ese issues.
issues, the rhe choi
choicece of a GIS
ing
in g systems. A contemporary
comemporary diSlincrion
distinction amongamo ng Gl GIS soft- sofnva
software re program r('mains remai ns unclear. perhaps choos choosingin g a
progra ms has
ware programs has emerged [hat" that also makes use of the GIS software
sofnva re program (har that seems co ro have the capabiliry
capabili ty to
term 'workstation'
'wo rkstation ' and cont raslS i[
comrasts it with 'desktop' systems. ex pand
txpan with tht
d wirh t he needs of an orga ni za tion would be a
o rganizarion
In {his
[his categorizacion, workstation GIS softwa
catego rization, worksrarion software re programs good de decisio n. Inc
ision. reasingly.
In creasingl ,IS software
y, GIS so ftware programs are a re
are rhose
,hose ,ha,
rh at include ,he the full range of ofGIGIS pprocesses
roc<sses ,ha,that desi gned in a modular manner.
designed ma nner, which allows users use rs coto
a ll ow lIsers
all users (0 to c reare.
reate, edit.
edi t, and
a nd analyze spatia spadall data.
d ata. purchase sepa rate software
separate sof['\vare modules intended [0 to work
Examples of full-fea,ured
full-featured worksr;"ion
workstation GIS sof,ware soflWa re pro- with a base GI GIS program
progra m.. Users then [hen purchase rhe the base
grams include Arclnfo and MGE Microsral Microstation. ion. Desklop
Desktop GIS program and oonly nl y tthose
hose modules Iha, that they deem
GIS
GIS softwa
sofrware re programs are considered
co nsidered 10 to be SCAled-down
scaled-down necessary..
necessary
versions of workstation
worlu(ation GIS GIS sofrware programs, possessing
software programs. Maintenaanncee cha rges are
Mainren a re also beco
becomingming more typicaJty pical
a portion
po rti on of ,he the rool GIS processes found in full-
roo Iss oorr GIS fo G IS soFtware
forr CIS software program prog rams, and are often overlooked
s. :Hld overloo ked
featured wo rkstation GI
worksradon GIS sonware
sof('\.va re programs. Examples when natu narural ra) resource managemem
managemenr organizations create
of deshop
desktop GIS solTware software prog rams incl include
ud e ArcView,
ArcView. rheir budgets. Users can either purchase annual a nnu al maime-
mainre-
Maplnfo, and
Maplnfo. a nd GeoMedia. A primary disrincrion disrin ction benveen
belwccn !lance suppOrt for a3 GIS
nance SUppOfl GIS software program, oorr pay for
workstation
worksCdlion and desktop GIS programs (beside their rheir asso- technical
techn ical sup pOrt as issues arist.
suppOrt arise. An annual fee is eas easier
ier to
ciared cose) COSt) has been rhe the abiliry
ability to ensure rh:H reb~
th at spatial rela- predict
pred ict,, and to include
in clude in rhe budge r, bur a per-incident
the budger, per-incidenr
ti o nships between
donships berween rhe the locadons
locuions described in GI GIS databases fee may resuh result in a lower lowe r [Oral cOSt (depending on rhe
roral COSt the
(the topology) remains trlle rrec£. Some desktop GIS
rrue o r co rrect. .IS amount of suppo
;1mounr su ppo rt rr a user needs).
needs). For some so me G software
IS softwa
GIS re
sofrware programs are limited in their abi li ry ty 10
to maintain
maimain maimena nce fees cover product upgrades, and
programs, mainrenance
lopological
topological relationships
relalionships wilhoul
without ,he rhe use of (and, (a nd, thrhere-
ere- so as nC\'V
new vers io ns of the
versions rhe sofrware
soflware are rel eased. rhey
released. they may
fore.. pu
fore purcrchase
hase of) addi
add itio nal sofrware
,ional software modu les. availa ble :H
be availd af no cosr ro [hose rhose wirh annua annuall maimenance
I n choosing
In choosi ng a GIS sofnva sof[ware re program. purchasers need agreements. As an alternative,
agreemems. al terna t ive, ononline
line GISGIS user suppOrt
to co nsider the
ro consider rhe price,
price. ,hethe GIS
GIS databases ro be man aged. groups
grou a re available
ps are avai lable for users with lilimil mired ed access ro rech-
tech-
and ,he the nexibiliry
Aexibility of rhe the softwa
soflWa re to ro perform the ,he likely nical support
nica1 suppOrt from the sofrware developer. Reliance Reli ance on
analyses required to to suppOrt managemenr decisions. The
SUppOf[ management grou ps ca n result
these groups res ulr in an inexpensive
inex pe nsive and ofte n rapid
price for lor most GIS GIS sonware
soflWare programs ranges from $500 resou rce for [hose
response resource with so
those wirh Frware and
sofrware <lnd hardware
for a ras ter-based deskrop
raSler-based desktop GIS sofrwaresofnva re program to ro well d ifficulties.
difficulries.
ove r $ 15,000
over 15.000 for a fnll-featured
fu ll-featured workstation
worksr.,ion GIS sonwa softwa re When eval eva luati
uating GIS software programs.
ng GIS programs, oorganizations
rganizations
program . Those on:l
progrJm. on a eight
tighr budgel
budger might
mighr cons
co nsider
ider a re rececmnr sho
shoulduld also conside
considerr the projected longevity of rhe the lise
use of
,micle
artic le by Berna Bernard rd and
an d Pri Prisley
sley (2005)
(2 005) ,ided
tided ' Digital
Digiral thee software.
rh sofrwa re. Ir Ir is expensive lO ro impl
implement maintain a
eme nt and maimain
Mapping Aherna,ives:
Alternatives: GIS GIS for rhe the Busy Foresrer'.
Forester'. This G IS system. Once a software
GIS sofrware selectio
selectionn has been made and
article compared
anicle abiliries of nine GIS
co mpared the abilities I software prod~ prod- a commirment
commitment by tht' rhe organ
o rgan izatio
iza(ionn to the sofrware
LO rhe softwa re has
nClS
ucts cosring
costing less lhan tha n $500. institutio nalized,, changing ro a di£fercl1l
been illsrirU[ionalized different GIS GIS software
The types of spalial darab..es LilOl
spatial databases that are access ible by a program is difficuh
difficult and expensive.
expe nsi ve. Organizations
O rganizations may not nor
GIS softwa
software re program should shou ld be carefu
ca refu lly evaluared
eva luated . For have a choice
cho ice in (his matte mane r- there.He
there are many exam ples of
examples
exa mple, if primarily raster GIS
example. GI daraba
databases es will be usod. used, the obsolescence of GIS GI sonware
softwa re programs.
programs, and th rhee subse-
ra srer-based GIS sofrware
perhaps a raslt"r-bdsed software program is mort' more quent elimination or
quenr of support
supporr (or for GIGIS software prog programs
rams
appropriate (as op
appropri"'" posed [0
opposed ro a GIS softwa re program rhar
GI sofrwa tha t (from rhe sofrwar<
softwa re developer) as new product products are devel-
focuses
foclIses on the development
o n {he develo pmenr and a nd maintenance
mai nrena nce of vcc vector
lor oped . However, organizations
oped. orga niz.1tions should consider [he the length
GIS.1. darabases). Finally. a considerarion
databases). Finally, co nsiderat io n of the ry pes of C
th e rypes GISIS time [hal
of rime that a G GIS I developer has been in business. business, and
processes likely 10 to be perform
pe rfo rmed ed is imporranr
impof[am in making attempt to gauge
artempt ga uge its irs future prospects.
furure prospe (5. GIS sofrware pro~
GIS software pro-
an informed
info rm ed purchase decision. exa mp le, GIS users
dec isio n. For example. ggra mss thar have been ava
ram lable for at
avaiilable ,H leas
leastt five yea rs rs,,
ma
mayy need to geo- geo-refe inrcrprcr, and classify satellite
refe rence, interpret, demonstrate conri co m inually
nuaJly growing sales. aod an d have wcll-
welI-
imagery. and
imagery, Jnd m:lyma y need to c reate Vector vecror GIS C IS databases
d3rabases es tablished . acdve
esrablished, active useruse r support
supporr gro ups. ups, might serve as cri· cri-
(e.g., roads or srreams) measuremenrs co
streams) from measurements llected
collec dur~
red dur- ceria
teria [0to consid
consider. er.
38
24 Part 1 Introduction to Geographic Information Systems, Spatial Databases, and Map Design
Summary
This introdu crory chapter described the history of GIS man agemenr iss ues will vary widely among organizations,
developmenr. why GIS is imporranr in natural resource however, und erstanding the capabilities and porcnria l use
management, and rhe wide variety of inpur and output of GIS is essenrial fo r na tura l resou rce management pro-
devices associated with G IS. In addidon. a num ber of fessionals. The following applications, as with those in
issues related (Q rhe selectio n and purchase of GIS sof{~ subsequenr chapte rs, are inrended ro provide srude nts
ware programs were ourlined; hopefully (his summary of with a taste of the typical types of GIS requestS posed to
issues will stimulate discussion amo ng those considering field fo reste rs. biologists. and other professio nals fami li ar
rhe development of a GIS system within a narural resource with GIS. who work in narural resource management field
organization. The applications of GIS to narural resource offices.
Applications
1.1 Developing the s pecifications for a GIS system. 1.4 History of GIS. While on vacation and VISlfll1g
You have been as ked by the Distr ict Manage r of you r nat- yo ur relatives. you find that the conversation around rhe
ural resource management o rga nization. Jane Lerner, ro dinner table has rurned to the rypes of work you perform
develop the specificat ions for a computer (Q be purchased in your role as a narural resource manager. Describe for
and used for, among other things, GIS analysis and map your relatives, many of whom have never heard of GIS,
production in a narura l resource managemenr orga niza - the orig in of G IS. how GIS has evo lved into irs current
tion field office. Use resources avai lable on the Internet to form. a nd how YOll mighr use GIS in narural resource
design a com purer sys rem (har would be ca pable of run - management.
ning deskrop GIS software in a forestry or natural resource
field office. 1.5 GIS pioneers. IdentifY and list the noteworrhy con-
a) What are the specifications of rhe compute r system tribut io ns of so meone who has made significant contri bu-
[hat you would recommend. and how much might tions to the development of GIS.
it cost?
b) If yoll r budget were limited to $2,500 (max imum), 1.6 GIS data. Identi fY and describe o ne of the GIS
how might your recommendation change? databases described in [his chapter thar contained data ror
c) You have been asked to decide whether marc RAM the resources of an entire counrry or for a portion of the
or video memory wou ld be a berrer investment for world.
a G IS com purer system. What is the difference
between these (wo types of memory and which 1.7 A question of scale. YOll measure the distance
would you select? between twO owl nests o n a 1:24,000 scale ropographic
map to be 6 cm. Whar is (he ac(Ual g round disrance
1.2 Terminology. The District Manager of you r nam - between the nesrs?
ral resource managemenr o rganization, Steve Sm ith, is
unEulliliar with a numbe r of terms related to GIS. H e has 1.8 Scale revis ited . YOli have measured (he distance
heard these term s distribllIed freely during staff meetings, bel"ween two campgrou nd s on a ropographic map to be
and during one of your weekJy reviews he asks you to help 2 cm . From a field vis it, you know that rhe co rresponding
him understand what they mean. Briefly describe for him g rou nd distance berween rhe campgrounds is 1 km. What
GIScience, [Opology. and overlay analysis. is th e sca le of the topographic map'
1.3 C haracterizing GIS software systems. Your super- 1.9 GIS software. List and briefly describe three GIS
visor, John Darling, has heard rhe terms 'workstation ' and softwa re packages (hat were avai lable prior to 1990.
' desktop ' GIS sofrware. bur remains confused about how
they diffe r. Explain to him the differences between the 1.10 Relat ive error. YOll measure the perimeter of a
twO types of GIS software. field plor wirh a meta l rape an d derermine a tota l
39
Chapler 1 Geographic Information Syslems 25
perimeter of 134.5 meters. Your instrllcror tells you that sem 'exact loeadons' on the Earth's surface. What advice
he used a (Otal station and determined rhar rhe (Oral would you offer her aboUT rhe measu rement accuracy of a
perimete r is actually 136.2 meters. $75 GPS receiver?
a) Whar is rhe closure error between your measure~
menr and yo ur insrrucror's? 1.14 Data input d evi ces. The Bu reau of Land Manage-
b) Whar is rhe relative precision of your meraJ tape ment has hired you as a fo restry technicia n. Your supervi-
measurements? sor is aware that you have a background in GIS. and asks
for your input regarding the technology that can be used
1.11 GIS d ata fro m above. You have been asked (Q to develop a vegetation GIS database. Describe th ree
develop a database of your counry that co ntains elevation options. and their srrengrhs and weaknesses in terms of
and landform informatio n. Whar are three remore se ns~ collecting data and developing a G IS database.
ing data co ll ectio n tech niques [har would be used (0
develop rhis database and what are rhe relative strengths 1. 15 Data dh play o ptions. It is Friday afternoon in a
and weaknesses of each ? narural resou rce organization's field office. As you are day~
dreaming abour the fo rthcoming weekend's events, your
1. 12 GIS d ata from the ground. You have been asked supervisor enters your office and rells you rhat he has a
(0 create a GIS database that conrains the boundaries of a meeting Monday morning with a neighboring landowner
set of tree stand boundaries in a research forest. Describe [0 describe rhe management alrernatives for a pordon of
th ree approaches (0 co ll ecting this data and the relative the forest you r organ izatio n manages. A fC\v graph ics that
strengths an d weaknesses of each approach. desc ribe rhe alrernatives under co nsideration would be
beneficial to the meeting, and maps are the obvious choice
1. 13 GPS consideration s. A friend of you rs has recendy of ourpur products to engage [he public. However, the
purchased a nC\v GPS receiver from a local departmelH color plo[[er in your office is not working. Describe three
Store for $75 and has told YOll that she is excited thar she m her methods for examin ing ourpur from GIS that mighr
will be able ro collect coo rdinates of fearures that repre~ be useful for your supervisor's Monday meeting.
References
Avery, T.E, & Berlin , G.L. ( 1992). Fllndammtais of Clarke, K.C. (200 I). Getting "aned with geographic infor-
remote Jeming and airphoto interpretation (5 th ed .). mation sy"",u (3 rd ed.). New Jersey: Prem ice H all, Inc.
New York: Macmillan Publishing Company. de Steiguer, J.E., & Giles, R.H. (1981). Introduction to
Berna rd , A.M. , & Prisley, S.P. (2005). Digital mappi ng compute ri zed la n d~i n fo r marion systems. JournaL of
alternatives: GIS for the busy forester. journal of Formry, 79,734-7.
Formry, 103(4), 163-8. Goodchild, M .F. (1992) . Geograph ical informatio n sci-
Bolsead, P., Je nks, A., Berkin, J., Horne, K. , & Reading, ence,lmernatiollaL jOlirnaL ofGeographiCtll lnformation
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Brown , T.L., & Lassoie, J.P. (1998). Entry-level compe- Kennedy, M. (2002). The global positioning system and
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geographical information sysums. Oxford: Oxford Leick, A. (2004). CPS ,at"li" survqing. Hoboken , NJ:
Universiry Press. John Wiley & Sons.
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26 Part 1 Introduclion
Introduction to Geographic Information Systems, Spatial Databases,
Databases, and Map
Map Design
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C IS:: An updared
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planra- o n a powerful management
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Wing. Kellogg, L.D . (2004). Locating and
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Nibbelink, N. N.P.P. (2007) . An assessment of geographic
geogra ph ic mobile mapping rechniques
techniques for forestry applicar ions.
applic.1rions.
informalion system (C
info rmarion sysrem (G IS) skills used by field-Ievd
field-level na(-
nal- C,ographic IlIformOlioll
C,ograpiJic IlIformatioll Srimm.
Scimm, 10(2).
10(2), I175-82.
5--.s2.
ural resollrce
lIral resource ma managers. Forestry. 105(7)'
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Wing, M.G A.• & Kellogg, L.D L.D.. (2005).
364-70. onsumer global pos
ons um er grade global positioning system
itio nin g syste (GI'S)
m (CPS)
Naesset. E.
NaesSCI, E.., & Jonmeister,
jonmeister. T. (2002). Assessing poilll poinr acc uracy and rel
reliabili ty. jOllrlllri
iability. jOllmal of Fomtry.
Fomtry, 103(4)
103(4),,
accuracy
accu racy of ot DGPS under
under fo foresr nopy
rest ca no dara
py before data 169-73.
acqu isition,
acqui ilion. in rh th e field.
fie ld , an
and d afrer postprocessing.
after postprocessing. Wing, M.G .,.• & Karsky.
Karsky, R. R. (2006). Standard
Srandard and real-
S{(lIIdi1lllVioll jot/mol of Forest
Scandinavian journal Foml R",orrh. 17, 3
ReunrriJ, 17. 351-8.
1-8. rime accumey
time accuracy and reliability of a map mapping-grade
ping-grade GI'S
CPS
arura l Resources Ca
Narural Canada. (1978).. SptcijicariollS
nada. (1978) Sptcificnli01lS olld
and rec- in a co niferous
conifero us western \Y/~Slem Journal
foresr. Western
wes[ern Oregon forest. journal
onmundntiom for control surll9s
OlmlltlldllliollJ surveys and Sf/TVt] markus.
Ilnd survey markers. Fomtry,. 21(4),
ofApplied FomlrJ' 2 1(4), 222-7.
Onawa, ON: Canada Centre
OWlwa. Cemre for fo r Remore
Remote Sensing. Wi ng, M.G
Wing. M.G.,.. & Sessions, J. j. (2007). Geosparial rechnol-
Geospatialleehnol-
Peucker, T,K
T.K..., & Chrisman.
Ch risman, N. (1975). Cartographic
C.nographic ogy ed ucllion. jOlinUlI
education. jourtlol ofFowtry.Formry. 105(4), 173-173-88..
dara Americoll Cartograph",
structures. Am"imll
data structures. Cllrrogrllpher. 2(1), 5--69.
55-69. W ing, M.G
Wing, M.G.,.. Eklund
Eklund., A A.,.. & K.rsky,
Karsky, R. (In press).
pres ).
Reutebuch, .E..
Reutebuch. .E., Andersen, H.-E., & McG.ughey,
McGaughey, R.J. R.j. H orizonra
Hori zonta l measure
measurement menr pe rformance of five map-
performance
(2005). Lighr
Ligh t detection
detectio n and rangi rangingng (Ll DAR): An
(L1DAR): pin g-grade GPS
ping-grade rece ive r co nfigurations
CPS receiver nfi gllradons in s(,vc:ral
seve ral
emerging rool
lool fo
forr multipl
muhiplee resource in venrory. Journal
invclHory.Joumal fore
foresred se((ings. W",,,"
ted se((ings. \\'It'SltrJI jOlmlol
jOllmal ofAppli_d
Applied Fomtry.
ofFomtry, 103(6),286--92.
ofFomrry, 103(6),286-92. Wolf. P.R .• & Dewitt, B.A.
Wolf, P.R., B.A. (2000). Elm,,,,,,
EI,mmts of pho-
Sample, V.A., Rin
Sample. ggold,, P.c..
Ringgold P.c., Block.
Block, N.E., & Giltmier.
Gil rmi er, 10grfllllllJelry:
togrfllllm,try: \\'Iilh
With applicatiollS
applicfllioJlS ill GIS (3rd
(3 rd ed.). New
j.W.
J. W. (1999). Forestry educarion:
education: .dapting
adapting toro the
rhe York: McGraw-H
McGraw-HilI. ilI.
ch.nging dem.nds. jOlmlll1
changing demands. jOllrnal of Foresrry.
Forestry, 97(9), 4-
4-10.
10. P.R.. & Ghil.n;'
Wolf. P.R.,
Wolf, Ghila ni, .0. (2002) (2002).. Elmtmurry
Elemmtary ",rory-
mrvry-
igrisr, P..
Sigrist, P., oppin. P.•, & Hermy.
oppin, P. Herm y, MM.. (I 999). Impact
(1999). Impac r orof illgo' An introduction
ing: geolnlllics (1
iutToduClioll to geomntics (I Olh
O[ h cd.).
ed.). Engle-
forest of CPS measu
Forest canopy on qualiry and accuracy ofcp. re-
measure- wood Cliffs,
ClilTs. NJ:
j: Prentice
Prenrice Hall,Hall , Inc.
ments. IIIf~r/lllfiolllll journal ofRemou
Imt'rnational Journal ~nsillg. 20( 18).
Remote Sensing. 18), Yu.
Yu , X,.
X., Hyyppii.
H yy ppa, J. j.,, Kukko.
Kukko, A. A.., Malramo,
Maltamo, M., M .. &
3595-610. Kaaninen , H. (2006). Change
Kaarlinen, Cha nge dete rion techniques
detection
ong. j.-H
Song, J.- H .,.• Han.
Han, S.-H
S.- H .,.• Yu,
Yu , K.. & Kim , Y.-I. (2002) .
K., fo r canopy heighl
height growrh
growth measurel1lC'I1[S
measuremems using air-
Assessing rhe
lhe possibi li ty of
possibiliry or land-cover classifica tion
classification dara. Phologrllmmtfrir
borne laser scanner dat:t. Engillt'l'ring
Photogrammetric Engineering
using
us ing UDAR inren siry data.
LIDAR intensiry dala. Inrernational
IlHern:uional Society
ociery of alld
fwd RtII,olt
Remote Stilling.
S""ing, 72( 12), 1339-48.
72(12), 1339--48.
41
Chapter 2
poi nr loeadons within a datum , rhe greater the potential M any agencies and organ izations th at are involved in
of rhe darum [Q acr as a reliable surface upon which you working with spatial dara in onh America use NAD27,
can reference other landscape features. NAD83, o r an adj usred NAD83 darum. A co mm on error
Hundreds of darums have been developed to describe among users of GIS, es pecial ly those who have acqui red
the Earth, many o f which are specific [0 a pani cular cou n- clara from a number of differen ce so urces, is in forgercing
try or region. Within Noreh America, [wo darums are to convert their darabases to a common da(Um. In rerrns
pro minenr: the arc h American Datum of 192 7 of co mpari son, in the US , landsca pe fe-d. rures re feren ced in
( AD2? ) an d rhe Norrh American Darum of 1983 barh AD2? and NAD83 will appea r up ro 40 m offser
(NA D83). Anothe r, WGS84, is co mmonl y used in co n- from each other in latitude and as many as 100 m off in
ju ncrion wir h GPS dara collecrion effom. The NAD83 longitude. T hese differences vary by region and may be
and WGS84 are very si m ilar, an d are sometimes used ha rd to derec r visually when using G IS to view large
interchangeably, although this practice may nor be suit- reso urce areas. Th is overs ighr ca n o bviou sly lead to inac-
able for applicarions tha t require high data accu racy lev- cu ra te analys is resulrs .
els; rh e NAD83 was designed fo r Norrh America whereas The discussion of da(U ms, {Q rhis poim , has focused
rhe WGS84 rakes a global approach in representing rhe on rhose relared to horizomal sur faces. When worki ng
Earlh . Differences berween AD83 and WGS84 a re in rhe wim elevation dara, such as a DEM , GIS users musr also be
neighborhood of 1 co 2 m within rhe conrerminous US. awa re thar daru ms have also been developed [Q desc ri be
The primary differe nces berween NAD2? and NAD83 rhe verrical dimension . A verrical datum allows us ro
darums are rhe number of longirude and latitude loca- derermine where '0' eievarion begins and rhe heighrs of
tions (hat we re measured (0 creare each darum , and rh e orher objecrs locared eirh er above o r below this poinr.
way in wh ich rhe measu red locario ns are re fere nced (0 rh e The Narional Geoderic Verrical Darum of 1929
surfa ce of rhe Ea rth . Abo ur 25,000 poinr locarions were ( GVD29) was esrablished from 26 gauging srarions in
lI sed to crea re rhe NAD27 datum , each of which was ref- rhe US an d Ca nada and was a direcr efTorr in determining
erenced to a cemrallocari o n- the Meades Carde Ran ch rhe posido n or mean sea level. The Norrh Ame rica n
loca ted in Kansas. Some 270,000 locatio ns were used (Q Vert ical Darum of 1988 (NAVD88) used addirional meas-
c reate rhe NA D83 datum. Instead of referencin g loca rion s uremenrs fro m a large numbe r of elevario n pro files (Q c re-
to a cem ralloca ri on on the Earrh 's surface, loeadons are ate a single sea level co mcol surface. Between 1929 and
referenced to the cem er of rhe Ea rth 's mass . The NAD83 1988, ove r 600,000 km oflevel profiles were com plered,
datum has become the preferred datum for use in No rth and changes that had occurred ro ex irin g elevation bench-
Ameri ca alrhough man y GIS databases co minue to co n- marks were (aken inro acco unr. These addirionai meas-
ra in landsca pe fearures described by rhe NA D2? datum. uremenrs and adjusrm en rs provided a m o re reliable
Geoids and ellipsoids are ohen associa red with a par- mea ns of esrabli shing eleva ti on surfaces and fo r rhi s rea-
ricular datum. For insrance, rhe Cla rke Ellipsoid of 1866 son NAVD88 has beco me (he preferred verrical darum.
was desi gned [0 describe rhe landsca pe fea tures of Nonh Elevarion d ifferences berween NGVD29 and NAV D88 in
Ame rica, and is co mm on ly used in conju ncr ion wit h rhe rhe US could di ffe r by as mu ch as 1.5 m in some areas.
NAD2? darum. Borh GRS80 a nd WGS84 rake a more
global app roach and are thus bener sui led for desc ribin g The Geographical
wo rldwi de sur Fd.ces. Wh ereas GRS8 0 is co mmonly associ- Coordinate System
ared wirh NAD83, WGS84 ca n be rhoughr o f as barh an
ell ipsoid and hor izomal datum. N ow thar a desc rip tio n of [he size and s hape or rhe
D atums are so metimes upd ared [Q renecr additio nal Earth's surface has been prese nted , an enri o n is rurned (Q
co mrol measuremems, shifrs in rhe Earrh's lan dm asses, or rhe merhods by w hic h landseape fea rures are locared on
dara co rrecrio ns. When a da tum is updated, the most rhe Earrh's surface. Rene D escartes. a sevenreenrh-cen-
recenr yea r in which data we re coHecred is often appe nded lU ry French marhematician and philosopher, devised one
ro rhe datum name. As an exa mple. AD83/91 would indi- of rhe fi rsr wrinen methods fo r loca ring landscape fe-d-
cal< rim rhe NAD83 darum has been adj usted wirh addi - (Ures o n a planar surface. D esca rres superi mposed rwo
rional dara rhar were collecred rhrough 199 1. These darum axes, o rienred perpendicular ro one anorher, with grada-
adjusrmenrs are o ften small (o n rhe order of cenrimerers, o r tions alo ng bot h axes to create eq ual distance inrervals
less) and are so merimes referred ro as darum realizatio ns. (Figure 2.4). The horizonral axis is rermed {he x-axis and
43
Chapter 2 GIS Databases: Map Projections, Structures, and Scale 31
7
2,6
6
y 5 0" latitude
3
30' 5,60' E
2
6,1
Pole and rhe equ ato r would be referen ced as 45· S. The
[he ve rr ical is [he y-axis. The (ocarian of any po int o n rhe equator and o rh er lines oflatitude that parallel the equa-
planar surface covered by rhis rype of gr id can be defined tor a re also called parallels.
wirh respec( to rhe inrerval lines that it inrersec(s or chat Altho ugh the axis of roratio n splits the Earth in half, a
ir most closely neighbors. This basis of determinin g loca- reference line must be established from which coord in ares
rion is known as a Ca rtes ian coo rcl inare sysrem . can srart. This reference line is referred ro as [he prime
The most common coo rdin ate system is rhe sysrem of meridian, and altho ugh there are dozens in exisrence, rhe
larirude and longirude. so meti mes refer red ro as rhe geo- most widely recogni zed prime meridi an circles rhe globe
graph ic coo rd inare sys tem . Although [his system can be while passing across the Brirish Royal Observdtory loca ted
rega rd ed as having x- and y-axes. angular measurements in Greenwich, En gland. Longiwde mea suremems a re
miller than distance-orienred imervals. esta blish rhe axes made from this reference line an d a re designared from 0°
and imcrsecrions. The geograp hic coordinate sysrem has ro 180°, in a wesrern o r eas rern di reccion. North America
an or igi n at rhe ce nrer of the Earth and co ncains a ser of is loca red in a regio n (h ar is wesr of rhe prime meridian
perpendicular Jines running rhrough the cemer [Q approx- and is correcrly described as falli ng inro an area o f nega-
imate the x- and y-axes of rhe Ca rtes ian coo rd inare sys- rive lon gi tud e (a ll areas rh ar ex tend wirh in 180° west of
rem. The o rienrario n of rhe perpendicular lin es is based rhe prime meridian) , alrhough many ma ps rhal are
on the rota ri an of rhe Earth . The Earth sp ins on an axis regional o r loca l with lIsually omir rhe negarive sig n.
rhat, if ex rended, coi ncides very closely wirh rhe Norrh Other lines tim pass through the Norrh and So uth Po les
Sta r (Polaris}-th is ax is is called the axis of rotarian. Th is (0 acr as guides a nd mark prominent longirude differences
ro rari o n axis di vides rhe Earrh in half [Q creare a line of from rhe prime meridian are simpl y called meridians. The
longitude that approx imares rhe y-axis. A line perpendi- co nce prual co ll ecrion o f meridians an d parallels superim-
cu lar to the lin e o f longitude fa lls a lo ng th e equatOr posed on the Ea rth 's surface is known as a grar.icule.
(Ea rth 's widest exrenr) ro crea re a line of lar itude that is The geogra phi c coo rdin a[e system ca n be used to
co nce pruall y si mil ar ro rhe x-axis. Laritudes are expressed locate any po int on [he Ea rth 's surFace. To achieve a hi gh
ro a maxi mum of 90°, in a no[(h o r sourh direction from level of precis io n wh en locating la nds cape fea rures,
Ihe equaror with the equamr deno[ing 0° (F igure 2.5) . degrees are funher subdivided imo minures and seconds.
Trave ll ing 90° norrh from the eq uaro r would leave YO ll ar There are 60 minutes (noted by ') wirhin each degree,
rhe mosr norrhern poi nt of rhe Eart h and would be noted and 60 seco nds (no red by") within each minme. A loca-
as 90· N. Sim ilarly a position half'vay between the South [ion rh ar is desc ribed as 38°30' laritude would ind icare a
44
34 Part t Introduction to Geographic Information Systems, Spatial Databases, and Map Design
distances and areas with in GIS softwa re. and rhey also is established for each zone so that the central meridian of
make manual calculations more cha1lenging. As a remedy each zone has an easting of 500,000 meters. This arrange-
to these ci rcums[3nces. false origin s or False castings can be menr ensures rhar all easrings are positive. and that areas
constructed to preve nt nega ti ve coordinates. This involves of zones can overlap, if needed. As the name implies, the
shifting rhe coo rdinate grid's numeric origin from the UTM coord inate system uses the Mercaro r projectio n ro
cemcr of a landscape ro rhe lower lefr corner (the fdrrhes( minimize distortion. The level of accu racy in the sysrem
poim west and so urh locatio n o f rhe landscape), o r JUSt is assumed ro be one part in every 2,500 (Robinson er aI. ,
outside rhe lower left corner, so that all areas of rhe land- 1995). Another ve rsion of the UTM is th e military grid
scape are IOC3ted east and north of rhe origi n. and can be version. The mili ta ry grid version utilizes many princi ples
represenred by positive coordinate va lues. of the UTM, yet di vid es each zone inro rows, and each
The most co mm o n coordinarc system in the US and row covers 8° oflatirude. Rows are denoted usi ng rhe let-
Ca nada is that of lhe U niversal Transverse Mercato r ters C ro X wirh X occupyi ng the no nhern lati tude
(UTM). which has even been lI sed to describe rhe surface between 72° and 84° latitude. The military UTM can be
of Mars (Cla rke, 200 I). T he UTM system has been used used to further define blocks of zones into 100,000 meter
for remOle sensi ng, foresrry, and topographic map appli- sq uares.
cations. and if has been used in many ocher countries duc. The state plane coo rdinate system (SPC) was devel-
in parr co its world-wide applicabili ty and relative simplic- oped in the 1930s by the US Coast and Geoderic Survey
ity. The UTM system d ivides rhe Earth into 60 vertical (k now n today as the US C hart an d Geodetic Survey),
lo nes, each zone covering 6° oflongirude. The zo nes 3re which crea ted a unique set of planar coordinates for each
numbered I-GO starring at 180 0 longirude (rhe inrerna- of the 50 Uni ted Srates. The SPC was originally designed
donal dare line) and proceeding eastward. The ren zones fo r land surveying purposes, so that location mo numems
lhac cover rhe conterminous US and Canada a re illus- co uld be permanently established. Unde r this system,
rrared in Figure 2.9. The system ex rends no rrh wa rd (0 mosr stares are spli t inro a smaller set of zones depending
84°N iarirude, and sourhward 80 0 S lari[t1cle. A uni versal o n rhe size and shape of rhe stare. For in sta nce, Florida
polar stereographic (UPS) grid system is used for th e polar has twO zones and Ca lifornia has four. The SPC system
regions. Coord in ares for each zone scan af rhe equator for uses eith er a Lambert's conforma l conic or Transverse
areas covering rhe nonhern hemisphere and at 80 0 S lari- Mercaror projection , the choice of which is usually influ-
tud e fo r areas in rhe southern hemisphere. A fa lse o rigin enced by rhe dimensions of the sta le (Lamben is lIsed for
'. .•
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22
•
F i g UJ"~ 2.9 UTM "lo n ~s and longitud~ lin~s for North A m~ rica.
46
36 Part 1 Introduction to Geographic Information Systems, Spatial Databases, and Map Design
large wcsr-eaS( dimensions relative to north-south) and and so on. The metes and bounds sysrem is inadequate
rhe dimensions of the zones of each srare. The level of roday because of the subjecrive and transiem narure of
accuracy of rhe SPC system is approximately olle parr in physical features; however, many of the original surveys
10,000. were described in this manner and can be seen in properry
Mosr of rhe o riginal surveys in the US and Canada maps associated with land surveyed prior ro abom 1830.
were described by metes (rhe act of metering. measuring, In some of [he original US colonies. metes and bounds
and ass igning by measure a straigh t course) and bounds (a were used in [he Head right systems char were developed
refe rence [0 general property boundaries), These were sys- [Q distribure land ro setders. Other more regular systems
tems of describing real esrare (hat wefe based on English of describing land, such as rhe lorrery system used [0
ammon Law, and involved describing rhe boundaries of describe abom two-thirds of the State of Georgia, fol-
by physical land feafllres such as streams, trees,
a property lowed (Cad le. 1991). Unforeseen problems wirh rhese
a.
First Standard Parallel North
T2N
R3E
Baseline
c
~
I~
:2 " Innial
,.
a; Point
~
u
.s
0:
6 5 4 3 2 1 NW1I4 NE 1/4
NE 1/4 NE 1/4
7 8 9 10 11 12 NW 114
SW 1/4 SE 1/4
18 17 16 15 14 13 NE 1/4 NE 1/4
19 20 21 22 23 24
N 1/2
SW 1/4
30 29 28 27 26 25 WII2 E 112
SE 114 SE 114
S 112
31 32 33 34 35 36
SW 1/4
Fig u r~ 2. 10 Origin (a), township (b). and ~ction (c) co mpon~nu of lh~ Public Land Su("\'~Y Syst~m.
47
Chapter
Chapter 2 GIS Databases: Map Projections.
Projections, Structures, and
and Scale
Scale 37
early
ea rly surveying systems included
includ ed ex((nsive
extensive fraud.
fraud . survey- miles
mi les square,
squa re, and is further
fu rther divided into
ineo sections,
secrions. with
ing
in g errors, a lack of consisrency
co nsisten cy in the surveying processes, each section measuring one o ne square mile; there are 36 sec-
m ilei {here
hostil ity fro
hostility from n~tives.
m nat ives. and
an d remoteness of the te rrain. As a
rhe (ccrain. cions wirhin
[ions within a rowns
wwnship.hip. Seccions
Sect ion s are numbered 1-36
resulr,
resu lt. several rectangul
reCtangular systems of describing land were
ar sysrems wore with [he
the 361h
36th secrion
sect ion being ar ar ,he
rhe lower righr-hand
lowe r ri glu-h and cor-
ranging
proposed, rangi ng from 6 or 7 square miles to ro 1,000 oror ner of a [Ownship.
ner [Qwnship. Sections
Sectio ns can
ca n be apportioned
appo rrioned inca in to
2,400 acres each (Ladell,
(Ladell , 1993). Thes< recrangular
These rectan gular lOWI1-
town- smaller
smalle r components
compo nems such as quanerquarter sections.
sectio ns. half sec-
ships were mea meant
nr CO facilitate
fO fac rhe development of com-
ilitate the tions,
tio ns, oorr quarrer quarter
quarrer seCTions.
sections. In {he
the naming conven-
co nve n-
munities (Srew:m,
(Stewart, 1979). tion, rhe
the smallest
smaJlesr component is named nrsc, first, starting
scarr ing with
Thee rectangular
Th recrangular US Public Publ ic Land
La nd Survey System rhe portion of a section
the porrion thai a piece of land resides,
secti o n rhar res id es, then
(PLSS) system was established
CSlablished in 1785 by ,he the US the rownship.
rownship, range, and name of the princ ipal meridian.
principal
Congress as a national
nalionaJ sys tem for the meas
system uremenr and
measuremenl An example would be the NWI/4, NE 114, Sec,ion
Ihe NWII4, Sectio n 17,
subdividing of public lands. Approximarely
Approximately 75 per cem
ce nt of T2N., R3W,
T2N R3W , M,
Mt Diablo Meridia
Meridian.
n. Use of ,he
[he recta
rec,angular
ngular
the U
US was subjeCt measuremenr by rhe PLSS. The
su bject to measurement system limired within CIS
systems is limited GIS to visualizing survey sysrem
sys rem
origina l 13 colonies, which com
origin.1 composed
posed a significanl
significant hold- themes. but it is likely.
themes, esp~cia ll y in namra
likely , especia narurall resource
reso urce
ing, were nor
not included in thi
[hiss system
sysrem because rhey
they had applicadons.
ap plicar ions, that you
you will encounter
enco umer th is system as your
this
already
al ready been invenroried
inventoried ,hrough
through meres and bounds sys- work wilh GIS progresses. This
wo rk wirh particularly
T his is particu larl y (Cue
true for
fo r
lems.
tems. InIn 1872 a similar
simil ar system, rhe Dominion Land
sysrem , the projects that
rhat involve
invo lve property
properry ownership issues., as most
ownersh ip issues
urvey. was creared for adminisrration
Survey, adm inisrrarion of the Dominion properry locarions
locations and boundar
boundariesies in areas covered
cove red by We me
Lands of western
L1nds weSlern Canada.
Ca nada. The objec' ives of
objectives o f ,Ihe
he PLSS aand
nd rectangular
rectangu lar systems
sys Lems are described
desc ribed using
us ing sections. tOWI1-
sections, tOwn-
Dominion Land Survey were [0
ro quantitatively
quanrirariveiy measure ships.
sh ips, ranges. and principal merid ians. At some poim
meridians. po int you
YO LI
Digital elevation models scanned) th at have been registered to a coo rd ina te system.
Digital elevation models (OEMs) are databases that con- The displacement com mon w aerial phowgraphs is usu-
min informacion abol![ the [O pography of a landscape. ally corrected through the use of precise positional data,
The grid cells in these data bases cama in measurements of OEMs, and information about the platform sensor (e.g.
elevation across a landscape (Figu re 2. 13). It is possible (0 camera system used). The majori ty of the US has been rep-
derive rerrai n models from OEMs char represent aspect, resented by d igital o rrho pitotograph y. created through a
gro und slope classes, and shaded relief maps. It is also mapping program sponsored by the US Geological urvey
possible co perform a wide va riery of rerrain-based analy- (USGS). Digital orrhophotographs are generally made
ses, such as landsca pe visualizario n o r wate rshed ana lysis. avai lable in porrions that match [he extent of USGS 7.5
Elevation data can be co Heered by a variery of mean s, Minute Series Quadrangle maps, and are often reFerred to
including sensors located on satellite or aerial platforms. as digital orrhophoro quadrangles (OOQs). Since the USGS
o r phorogrammercic techn iques chat use aerial phorogra- Quadrangle maps cover large grou nd areas (7.5 minutes of
phy in co njunction with CPS dara. Elevation data may lo ngitude and latitude). digital orrhophorographs have
also be collected from the bonom of wate r bodies such as been developed w cove r portions o f Quad rangle maps as
oceans, lakes. or screams, th ro ugh rhe use of so nar and well. Many count ies in the US have also commissioned
acoustica l se nso rs operated fro m bOa£s o r submersible more derailed d igi tal o rthophorographs, as have private
wate rcraft. This data can be used w create cross secrion co mpan ies. Digita l o rrh ophotographs provide a data
profiles or w support enginee ring projects that involve so urce fo r rhose interesred in ob£a ining a relatively fine
bridges o r other infrastrucru re. scale image of landscape o r in obtai nin g a base data layer
fo r digitizing landscape features (Figure 2.14).
Digital ortbophotographs One of the strengths of digital orrho photographs is
Digital orthophotographs are essentially digital ae ri al that each image is geo referen ced wa coo rdinate and pro-
photographs (or ae ri al photographs that have been jection syste m; the refo re. GIS users can use a deskwp GIS
software programs w digitize and crea te GIS databases
Fi gu r~ 2. 13 Digi tal ~ l ~vali o n model (OEM ). Figun 2. 14 Digital onhopholO quadrang1~ (DOQ) .
50
411 Part 1 Introduction to Geographic Information Systems, Spatial Databases, and Map Design
using 'heads-up' digirizing. The rerm 'heads-up' digitizing at several different scales. comai n a wealth of information,
indica res that the person doing the digitizing is looking ar and, very importantly for GIS projec[5, are avai lable as dig-
a co mpurer screen (i.e., (heir head is up) rather than a ital databases that can be lIsed by most GIS sofrwa re pro-
digitizing table (w hich requires rhem [Q look down ) when grams that have raster display capabilities. Within Canada.
digirizing landscape fearures. Through heads- up digiriz- [he Nat ional Topographic D ara Base (NTDB) is main-
ing, you can quickly creare a GIS darabase from a di giral tained under the adm inistration of Natu ral Resources
orrhophorograph image on a compurer screen . Canada. The NTDB co ntains vecror databases (hat are
similar to rhe USGS ropographic maps and are availab le in
Digital raster graphics severa l digital formars ar scales of I :50000 and 1:250000.
Digital raster graphics (D RGs) are digirally scanned rep- The most detailed of [he maps produced by [he USGS
resemarions of [he USGS topographic maps (Figure 2. I 5). are rhe 7.5 Minute (7.5') Quadrangle maps, which have a
These maps cover the emire United Scares, are published published map scale of I :24,000. The 7.5' refers [0 [he total
amounr of laritude and longirude , in degrees,
on rhe Earth's surface rim each Q uadrangle
represenrs. In some cases, fearu res from the
Quadrangle maps are available in a vecro r for-
mar as a digi,al line gra phic (DLG) . Si nce [he
7.5 M inute Series maps typically illustrare cul-
[Ural resources, such as roads, large buildings.
elevation conrours, and narural features such
as water bodies, similarly ro DOQs, georefe r-
ell ced Quadrangle raster databases can be used
as a base layer for digitizing orher landsca pe
features ofinreresL Quadrangles also provide a
great resource for rhose who wam ro learn
more about a landscape .
, l
I
!, ,
• ~
•~
..
~
1
< '
~
~
• :; .. j.
,. J
r I• :
<
~
r
~ ' 1_.
. \
i
....... ,,/
"""_.co _ _l4M
""-'J"-'._ _ ...._
_.___
L
_ _--_Y,,--
---
.-. --......... .._-
I
.... .. ____ .. CORV
_ _ALUS.OREO
.... 'r~
.- ............
_000 5.0. . ..
. " . ~ .... "" .. .... It ... , .. . ~" ....... _
u..L&cOlOGC.OI.~"
- -- .-~.---
,,"U"';' " ...1>0._
Dl.....,. 0I:Il0lA00 aont.,OIIIUU... _
.... -~.
.. _ __"",".a; " 'l) U-JJ-OU
- ,,,
,-
1'toO'<lIIf"o~n,_
52
42 Part 1 Introduction to Geographic Information Systems, Spatial Databases, and Map Design
1986). Moving ro JUSt below the bottom right corner of coo rdinates (44°30' and 123° 15') rhat desc ri be itS loca-
the map, you will fin d a legend for road ma p symbols. rion. JUSt ro the east and slighd y north of (his corner, a
The name of the map is liSted (CO RVALLIS, OREG.) and cross appears. These crosses are loeared in simila r loca-
the map is descr ibed as ,he bottom righr corner (SE/4) of tions relative [0 all four mapped area corners and demon-
rhe 15' Corvallis Quad rangle. The Ohio code descrip- strate how the mapped su rface co rn ers can be adjusted [0
tion, sometimes refe rred (Q as rhe USGS M ap Reference switch rhe datum of rhe ma p's projection from AD27 ro
Code, is liSted as 44 I 23-E3. This means rim the map is NAD83 ( AD is short fo r North American Datum). A
locared in a block of geograph ic lar irude and longitude full Unive rsa l Transverse M e rca to r (UT M) casti ng
that begins at rhe intersection of 44° larirude and 123 0 (479000 m) is found JUSt weSt of this corner and a full
longirude (USDI US Geological Survey. 1995). UTM northing (4928000 m) to Ihe north. Fu ll UTM
Each block oflarirude and longirude can comain up ro coo rdinates are also given along the o pposite map co rn er.
sixry-fou r 7.5' Quadrangle maps rhar co mprise an eigh r H ash marks [hat extend o utward from {he mapped area
by eight matrix . Leners are used from A- H [0 denoce indica te the locat ion on rhese coordinates relative ro rhe
rows starr ing from rhe corner of rhe latitude and longi- rest of the map. T hese hash ma rks continue around rhe
tude inrersecdon and moving upward. umbers are lIsed emire peri meter of rhe map's su rface. but the last three
from 1- 8 movi ng westwa rd [Q signify columns. Thus, rhe digits of rhe easri ngs and notthings that accompany the
Corvallis Quadra ngle is located in [he matrix at the inrer- marks are nOt primed in order [0 co nserve map space.
secrion of rhe 5rh row and the 3rd col umn (Figu re 2.18).
Many map disrri buro rs use th is Ohio code system to LOlUty Itft comty
idenriry rhe relative location of quadrangles. T he yea r of The lowe r lefr co rner of the map (Figure 2. t 9) States thar
rhe o riginal aerial ph orography (1969) used to create rhe [he map was produced by (he USGS w ith control o r rete r-
map is liSted, as is the laSt revision yea r (1986). The bot-
ro m corner of the mapped area has a set of geographic
,
~
,
M
~ ~
45'
"--":',
F (,
, ,
E3 E
B
1'oIoo<""".,00K1_ 1927 ...."' ........ U"Ie.'~~
10,()()O<_ .. ..t ""... a~ 0. ..... <_4,."•• ,.,_.
" .. 1 ~ .....
1000 .... .. ' U"..WI • •• • ..... w "'.... tot I~C Uk>.
_ 1 0_,,101_
A
._--- - ......_---.01
__ -u. .....
T. pIocI _ _ 1"tId"'.. U
"""", ""-"-'
_ "DoIurot 1M.),
--'.... """...... "",.
w- .. .... _ , _ _ "" _ ...
__ _......,--
44' _
bur represent locations that are read ily visible on the pho-
Umlnl Stllt~ NfltlOlUU Map /\((1IMy SIIIIIdllfds
\'oOI. __ "'doo _ _ _ .... pNI .. "''''~'''''I''' .. hIrto'''!,-ill ......... , .... 1>ro.od
tograp hy from whi ch the map was created, such as road
..... 100 .u...wcl '" I"'ftCIf"I _"". I>uf .......... ""......"'" porunol>r - . . oI ..... idouI . ....-
our40, c!' «j ..,,,,";v!IlI .... blbhaI .... po..., ~ .. ~.
i nrersections, bridges, and other noreworthy srructures .
I . .....-.1 ~....,. . . ............ OII.....-- ..... 1Mpt I..... 1-3I.IlUD...,. ........ tlw .. }O ptm'N 01
1hr~_.wloor .. _~ _ _ l "lC1_1>.-..-..d ....... ~~""""-r>
Th us, yo u wo uld expect that the po ims represem [he
. . ~~...,.,.,. <It 1.lO,cro. -a.... l -,o!nth. ".".. __ .. - - - ,- .twII""Y"" 00 .....
.. ~.,. ....,..6ffitw,J J"IItIl.. 00II) w" dtm.:.i 1""_ .... ,"'-!Nt ........'" """""' ...... mapped areas whe re the phorogramme[ric methods used
"",,, •• bIIoOllIN pound . ouch o. """ klIIow...,; _"""",t... ....11 ..... """" Of to.·""h .... ,.... I""'I"'fn·
10...........,. .-......mIl; _o«tl<>nJ "' ....... ,.oi~ • • "'" - - " 011.0. . buIldlrop .........,.......
(.. _.-.ol.....n~ ttc.1n ............ k,otlo ...,.dftirW'd _ _ Ioo~_~ ro crea te the map were [he most reliable for mapping pur-
"!wl"~"" Ihr,.,. '"
Lht .... ...u..
1100.,.h no ..... hAI rtIr...--- "' ...... 0\l00J Of
poses. It is also worth noring rhat 10 per cem of those
~ ...... - . . . .. ~~ ... - I J _ .. Ilhon.omoilIkl~. ~~ .....
_ _....... '" -tI rw-. _ .... AI ..... __ ............Id ob>->ouo.lv _ boo p' ....... bIrt "'-0 wi,,,,""'1hoo
nIL ....... ;,,;....,..... _
o. _
u,.,.a.f..w.. "f'M .... 5""'tw;! .. iIhon cIo+r 1orIoiI. ~
I"""" ..."'" rho- - ' . . , . - l ""... th."'I!h ,,..., . _ .... \ bot __. 1«.1 dootIj wpon Ihr
""' ... bot ~'II po ilUS could be off by any distance, and [he resulting map
...plftlh;.<il..i""-..w«l'llf ............... .... ~ ...
2. V............"')'.... "rP'1od •• ru.. _ ""'1" "" .011 poaI.u.-...... """';.,., .li.oii bot.....,. th.I. !WI _ would still be MAS compliant. Even though you a re
dldnW,..,..,..,.... , .... ...,.,...............,>h.oIIbt ................ ltt.tn ' ........uIhe""'lOoninw...·.oI tr.
~ .... ..-.- .....". 1ft... ,Iw..,. "'" oPf>M"" wttIC4II ...... _ .... -..",.,.,;1.,.. ~. assured compliance with a published standa rd , potenrial
~~- .... ,..,..........~ .......... • ... r~~.".,"'"""
). n.. MftI."'Y ., .., ..., .or ... -.II t... """f'U"'I "'" , . - '" "'....... ",,,,- Ioc.o_ ..
...... _ ..., .......n ap........ ~II _~ r - - .........."'"""-'d by ............. ..r
4 hr~
fo r errors related to the accuracy of locarion of landscape
• ",........ rht. """~ to. nwde l') ,.... pn>d ........ ~ .~~ ...."'.. whkh .ho.lI ...... Jo1<'rml ...... hl<h,~ 11> ....1"
_.,l't~ •...,Uwn_ol...ch1dC!ft,t featu res can still be signif\canr .
L p,.........r . .,.~ ... u-._..,.""'I-...- oh.oII_dwf..a_ ....... ~ ..
-n.._,,"-rt- ""Ito ~ Moop _4C)'St.t~
"*"""
, . hlolitoMd..."._ ........ _ _ _ .f~ ohalI_ ""'" '''''''."'''''' _ ...... "''''
Our discussion of raster data s[rucrures and CIS data-
•. "'_..I""", ..)' ....... -........
..... . ,.....;.a,.,., ~ "'._pJr ...
'Injr (-...-..... p'l"''''.f'''W'"''td bases above provided examples of so me of th e more com-
INJ' '''''' *" ...... t.....,0<1 '" "'" IfrJ "" ~""""" ·ill.. ""'I' It ... ~.!I"_ 01. I~.tm
•••01....... Ju~, ",.. -0. .... " ~~"...,tup_ ~ . r.!4.00J..c.0Io,.....IIN .... p mon rypes of raster data and a few porenrial applications .
7. T. roc\u,OI, nooly I.... rdt.at>s • ....r
... of It.Ml< h.~1oot "" ... ,. c-Irudlooto _
.. 011 r...kt.r
_ ......... •.............._""_rlO
"..~ ~
~IS_
1>IIiCrif'I .... ""
o.nol
. . pu/>Ikht<l-r-....w""'"'.....
Io.:F"". _
... '"*"-..-J~."'~,-.
~
......... .......-_~~ .......
}..J. ~ _ ... _
<mi' ........__ Ras[er data provide a powerful means ofi nve nrory ing and
analyzi ng Earrh 's featu res and no doubt new raster dara
•• _,,..... ,01 , , .. . UIl .. u Of THlluocrr
_'''':'''1'1<
_ , . ... 1· ,... · fo rma ts and applica rions will arise in future years. The
usefulness of raste r CIS databases will depend on the
Figu r~ 2.20 US alional Map Accur:.lIcy Slandards. needs and ca pabiliries of each narural resource organiza-
tion. bur if is increasingly likely that raster data will be
map points should diffe r from rhei r acma l locadons by parr of every o rganization 's data holdings. parr icul arly as
more {han 40 feer. Vertical accuracy srandards are applied technological adva nces conrinue ro b ri ng economies to
by using half of rhe como ur inrerval as a benchmark. For remmely sensed landscape data. We now {Urn our atten-
verr ical accu racy of rhe primary COntour lines (20' inrer· tion to the other primary data strucru re fo r sparial data-
vals) of the Corvallis Quadrangle, the standa rd indicates bases: the vecto r data structure.
char 90 per ce nr of [he elevation points checked along [he
co ntour lines should nor be in erro r by more [han 10 feer. Vector data structure
Typically on USGS 7.5' Quadrangles, 28 points are
examined fo r accu racy verificatio n, represe nting a very Vector dara. as co mpared to raster data, is generally con-
small portion of rhe population of map poims. h is also sidered ' irregular' in irs construction and appearance.
worth noti ng thar rhese poims are not random ly selected, T his descrip ti o n is nor a co mm enr o n the quality or use-
fulness of vector data srrucrures. bur JUSt a characreriza-
rion of rhe rype of dara it represems. Vecro r data are gen-
TABLE 2, \ Map scales and associated erally grou ped inro three catego ri es: points, lin es, o r
National Map Accuracy
polygons. This categorization is sometimes referred (0 as
Standards for horizontal
accuracy rhe fearure model of GIS. Almost any landscape feature on
rhe Earth ca n be des cribed usin g one of these three
Standard
shapes. or a combination thereof (F igure 2.21). Points a re
1,1.200 :l 3.33 f~~l
55
Chapter 2 GIS Databases: Map Projections, Structures, and Scale 45
rhe mOSt basic of rhe shapes btl[ define the essence of all
three fo rms. A line is a set o f co nn ec red paines. A polygon
is a co ll ection of lines thal form a dosed loop.
Poim. line, and polygon vecror fearures ca n be refer-
co
enced by almos[ any coordinare system . To represent a
poinr, a si ngle measure from each X (east-west) and Y
(no rch- sourh) axis is needed ro describe rhe location of
rhe poinr wi th in a coo rdin a te system. Wi th lines and
polygons. each coordinare pair is referred [0 as either a
Adjacent polygons Connected stream One polygon contained
node o r as a venex. The coo rdin ates of poinr, line, and
network inside another polygon
polygon fearures allow calculations of distances berween
Figure 2.22 Exam ples of adjacency, conn~ctivity, and containment.
features. and in rhe case o f lines and polygo ns, dimen-
sions of featu res. Point features have no dim ension, or
size, beca use a sin gle pair of coordinares represenrs rhem. allow you ro (race rh e fl ow of water (hrough [he strea m
A coord inare pair does nO{ allow for length, area, or vol- system. You can also incorporare direction in [heir descrip-
um e calc ulati o ns. Line feawres a re singl e dim ensio n ti o n of co nn ectiviry. Based on the topograp hy of a la nd-
shapes in which coo rdina[e pairs can be used ro cakula re scape in which a culven system is siruared , you cou ld
a length. Polygon features are rwo dimensional in naru re. determine the ove rland fl ow paths o f warer rhrough the
wirh coo rdinate pairs being used ro nor only cakulare a system, given tha[ water flows downhill. Conrainmenr
perimeter d isra nce a round a polygon. but also being used allows you (0 describe which landscape features a re
ro calculate an area within rhe polygon. located w ith in . o r inrersect, the boundary of polygons.
Conrai nmenr in fo rm at io n can be used ro describe (he well
Topology locations (po ints) or the power lines (lines) that are located
Mos t GIS software programs Sto re loca ti on informacion w ithin a pro posed urban growth boundary, for example.
(X, Y coordinates that describe the position of landscape In order for ropology (Q exist. a system of coding
feam res) in separate GIS dacabases fo r each ropic of inrer- topology thar can be undersrood and manipulated by a
est. For example. the coordi nates that are used ro describe computer must also exist. With GIS darabases co mai ning
a roads GIS database are separate from the coo rdinales char point features, there is li[tie need for anythi ng more than
describe a ",earns GIS database. Although moS( of the a file of coordi nare pairs (X, Y coordinates) since all points
location information thar defi nes vec[Q r feamres will be are idea ll y se para te from one anot her, and thus there a re
rranspa rent to users of desktop GIS software programs, it is no issues of adjacency. co nn ecti vi ty. and comainmenr ro
vital in eS(abl ishing and mai nrai ning topology. Topology resolve. H owever, you must be ca reful in describin g fea-
describes the spatial rela tions hips between (o r among) ture locations and linkages when using GIS databases con-
poinrs. li nes. and polygons. and is a very impo rtant co n- tainin g line and polygo n fearures. The spatial integrity of
siderarion when conducling spatial analyses. Topology lines and polygons is mainrained by managing rhe nodes.
all ows you [Q delermine s uch thin gs as the distance ve rtices. and lin ks of each feature. A node is rhe starrin g
between points. whether lines intersect, or whether a poi nr a nd ending point of a li ne. and also represents rhe inter-
(or line) is located within the boundary of a polygo n. sec tion of twO or more lines (Figure 2.23). A vertex is any
Topology can be defined in a number of ways but the poim rhar is nor a node but specifies a location or creares
most common defi niti ons invo lve aspects of adjace ncy,
connectivity, and conrainmenr (Figure 2.22). Adjacency is
used ro describe a landscape featll re's neighbo rin g features.
¥ Vertex
You might use adjacency relationships to describe poly-
gons rhat share common bo rders (e.g., in suppo rt of green-
lip requi remenrs in a forest managemenr conrexr). or to
identify lhe lines rhal make up a pol ygo n (a rea).
Connectivity is rypically used (0 describe: linear ner\vo rks,
such as a network of culverts thar m ight be connected by .........Node - - - -
drainage d itches or a sr ream network. Co nnectivity would Figure 2.23 Examples of nod~$, links. and vertices.
56
46 Part 1 Introduction to Geographic Information Systems, Spatial Databases, and Map Design
C 5 Node X Y
4
1 0.5 2.4
2 0
6 2 2 2.1 3.1
Y
5
3 3 3.2 1.7
E
7 4 4.7 3.3
B 6 A
5 5.4 5.0
X
6 3.6 0.5
2 5 6 A E
3 1 2 C B
4 2 4 C 0
5 4 3 E 0
6 3 2 B 0
7 3 6 E B
Figure! 2.24 V~Clo r topological data. (a) Network of nodes, links. and polygons. (b) node coordin:lIc fi le, and (el topological rdationship file.
a directional cha nge in a line. A link, sometimes called an and M aplnfo, may use vecto r clara form ars thar are not
arc, is a line [har con nects points as defined by nodes and topo logicall y- based (C hang, 2002). Thus landsca pe fea-
verr ices. Nodes, ve rt ices. and lin ks are usually numbe red tures, such as adjacent polygons, may nor be represented
and mainrained in a C IS database fi le [Q mainrain wpol- as sha ring a common boundary line wirh orher polygo ns.
ogy. In a network of lines and polygons (Figu re 2.24), this Most full-featured GIS software programs such as ArcGIS
woul d invo lve us ing num eric codes fo r network pieces may also allow lise of vecro r fo rm ars char are nor rypolog~
(nodes and links) to identilY the node locations, the nodes ically based. but will usually have tools or options to draw
cha r afC attached CO eac h link, a nd the polygo ns th at may and ma nipulate rypo logy. I n so me cases, use rs may be
fo rm o n either side of each link.
Topology a lso allows yo u [Q inspecr rh e spa cial
inregr iry of lines a nd polygons. Fo r instance, yo u ca n lise
topo logy informario n ro determine whe rhe r any breaks o r
gaps occu r in lines that are meant to rep rese nt streams.
F rom a pol ygo n perspecrive, topology wou ld all ow you [0
dere rmine wherher a pol ygon fo rms a closed boundary, o r
whether an ex rra neous polygon ex isrs inside, or alo ng rhe
outside border, of a not her polygo n (Figure 2.25).
One of the primary differences between full-featured a. An un-closed polygoo b. An extraneous polygon
G IS softwa re programs a nd desktop GIS software pro- Figure 2.25 Examplu or lopological urou. In (a). an undershoot has
gra ms is whether they can identify and co rrect topology occurred and instead of a closed figure crcat ing a 1>olygon, a line has
been crated. In (b), a small loop has been rormed extraneously adjacent
problems in v<owr GIS database features. Many deskwp to a pol)·gon . This might reprCUllt a digitiz.ing error or the result or a
G IS software programs, such as ArcView 3.2, GeoMedi a, nawed o\'crlay process.
57
Chapter 2 GIS Databases: Map Projections, Structures, and Scale 47
What is topology? Topology, o r topological coding, the common nodes each line shares with each other
provides the intelligence in (he data structure relat ive line. In addition, the polygons that are formed on
to the spatial relationships among landscape feacuces either side of each line (since polygons may share a
(Lillesand & Kiefer, 2000). For example, in a vector boundary defined by a line) are known. Thus with
GIS database containing polygons, topological coding topology you can understand which forest stands, for
keeps "ack of each line [hat forms each polygon, and example. are next to which other forest stands.
able [0 define their own copological rules. or whether cer- System or other culturally-based land delineations have
tain topological relationships can be ignored in a specific been implemented. so me edges of forest stands now seem
database. The dange r for users of desktop GIS software to have an aspect of regulariry built into them.
programs is that some programs will allow users co pro-
ceed, without warning, with spatial processes and analyses Comparing raster and vector data
even though ropological problems exist. Th is condition structures
may lead [Q errors in linear and area measuremenr calcu-
lations, or an inabilicy to complete certain spatial opera- There are a number of ways in which the differences
tions (hat rely on these dimensions for processing. Users between vector and raste r GIS data can be described
of desktop GIS sofrware programs may only become (T able 2.2). Since GIS users will ultimately use databases
aware of (apological problems after ca reful examination representing both structures. and since users sometimes
of GIS databases and associated analyses. or may not conve rt raster to vecCQr data. and vice versa. an illustration
notice potential problems altogether. of the differences is needed. Therefo re. an examination of
The point. line. and polygon vecmr data structure pro- a generic dara structure conversion process might be help-
vides a method to represent irregularly-shaped Earth fea- fu l to ill ustrate how the three main rypes of vector data
tures. More often than not. vector GIS databases do nO[ (points, lines, and polygons) might be represented in a
completely cover a landscape of interest (e.g .• a vegetation raste r GIS database. The right side of Figure 2.26 also
GIS database may only contain the vegetation located illus trates these three features but demonstrates how they
within the ownership boundary of a natu ral reso u rce might be represented in a raste r database structure. The
management organization. and nOt the vegetation outside vecto r representation of points can yield fairly precise
of the ownership boundary-<juite different from satellite locations, depending on the rype of coo rdinate system
imagery or digital orthophotographs), and represent land- used to reference the points. This means that you co uld
scape features that are quite diverse (e.g .• polygons of dif- use a GIS to determine with some degree of precision
ferent sizes and shapes. rather than a regu lar size and where these points could be located on a map that
arrangement of pixels). Examples of diverse vecmr data-
bases include road and st ream representations. Both of
these rypes of databases tend to have unique geographic TABLE 2.2 Comparison of raster and
shapes that do not completely occupy a landscape (unless, vector data structures
of cou rse, the 'landscape' is the size of a pothole. or some Raster Vector
pool in a stream). Some poim databases. such as those
Structure complexiry Simple Complex
that describe timber inventory cruise plots. come close to
a regular arrangement across a landscape. yet they usually Location specificiry Limited Not limited
deviate from regularity as a result of the sampling method Computational efficiency High Low
selected for each stand. Point locations of wi ld life sight- Data volume High Low
ings are usually very irregularly distributed across a land-
Spatial rcsolu[ion Limited NO(lim iu!"d
scape. Polygons. whether they represent sta nds of similar
Representation of topology Difficult NO( djfficult
trees. soils. or recreation areas. tend to be very irregular in
among feamrcs
shape. although in areas where the Public Land Survey
58
48 Part 1 Introduction to Geographic Information Systems, Spatial Databases, and Map Design
(an entire landscape). A TIN, however, add resses some of data structure. The dynamic segmentation data structure
[he problems (hat raster data structures have in accurately is designed to represent linear features. and traditional uses
representing landscape feamres , especially those problems of this strucrure include moddling efforts related co river
that result when you use regularly sized raster grid cells to systems. utility distributions , and road networks.
describe landscape feamres. If the raster grid cells are Dynamic segmentat ion allows GIS users co create rOutes
small. in comparison (Q the size of other landscape fea- that represent the movement or presence of an endty
tures , you will probably have success in accurately repre- along a linear network. The routes are actually stored as
senti ng mose features. If the raster grid cells are large, in information within a vector GIS database. Dynamic seg-
comparison co orner landscape features , you might lose mentation eliminates the need to create a separate GIS
some of {he integrity of [he landscape features in [he database fo r each route and fucil itates advanced data han-
resulcing raster GIS database. A TIN attempts to avoid (his dling and manipulation of GIS databases.
problem by us in g. as the name implies, a set of trian- Underlying the route structure are sections and event
gles-rather than a set of squares-co represent landscape cables. Sections are the li near components o r segments
features (DeMers, 2000). Each of the th ree sides of each that. w hen added together. form a route. Event themes
triangle can, in fact, have a different length, making the are (he data sources or attribute tables (hat are connected
rriangles irregu lar in nature. Thus a TIN is composed of ro the routes. The dynamic segmentation data model has
irregularly shaped objects. yet covers an entire landscape. the capability to associate information with any portion
I n most applications. TINs are used to represent elevation or segment of a linear feature. Event themes can be asso-
models. An elevation is associated with each triangle co r- cia ted w ith each line o r a single point on a line. This
ner, as illustrated in Figure 2.27. In landscapes that are in formation can then be stored, queried. analyzed. and
highly irregu lar in te rms of elevation (as are many forested displayed without affecting the Structure of the original
landscapes, for example), the TIN may berrer represent vecror GIS database.
topography than a raster-based data structure . Working Dynamic segmentation anempts to link a network of
with TINs, however, is beyond the abili ty of many stan- lines based on a common attribute so that the lines are
dard desktop GIS sofrware programs because of the com- grouped into catego ri es of interest. An example of this
plexity involved in storin g and processing irregularly sized app roach might relate ro a screams GIS database. A typi-
triangles and represent in g three-dimensiona l surfaces . cal Streams GIS database uses a series of lines to represent
Some software developers ofTer modules associated with a stream netvlork. Each of the lines would have a set of
desktop GIS sonware programs (at add itional cost) that nodes, or beginning and ending points, and the nodes
will allow GIS users ro utilize TINs. wou ld be placed at all tributary junctions along the
Stream netvlork. Depending on the size of the stream net-
Dynamic segmentation of linear networks work, hundreds Ot thousands of lines might exist. A
A data structure that uses dynamic segmentation is based stream ecologist interested in analyzing the stream sys-
on a netvlork of lines. and thus is a va riation of the vector tem. for example, could associate all lines that are used to
represent the main channel of a river. Any an ributes th at
are used to describe the main channel, such as length,
depth. or temperature, can then be summarized. The
stream ecologist might use this dynamic segmentation
approach for the entire stream netvlork to create a new
GIS database that groups all lines based on some attrib ute
(such as the stream name) . The scream ecologist may also
be interested in maintaining specific point locations along
the stream database that contain features of interest. such
as a smolt trap o r culvert location. Point evenr tab les of
these features could be stored within the dynamically seg-
mented stream, and show not only (he locations of these
features. but also distances and directions from other fea-
[Ures within the database.
Figure 2.27 TIN representation of an elevation surface. Dynamic segmentation allows GIS users to organize a
60
50 Part 1 Introduction to Geographic Information Systems, Spatial Databases, and Map Design
GIS da[3base so that analysis and storage can be easier and more polygons co represent the non-overlapping areas of
more efficient. Dynam ic segmemat ion can also be used to trees, and other polygons for each of the overlapping areas
ass ist in schedul ing management operations that involve of logs. For the five F...llen trees displayed in Figure 2.28,
transportation or movement with in a resource area, or in enforcing co rrec t ropology for these landscape features
planning or tracking almost any phenomenon that is would create a total of II polygons. This would result in
associated w ith a linear netwo rk. both a loss of information and the creation of a larger set
of database records than might be appropriate to describe
Regions the trees. With the use of the region data structure, you
Another alrernarive vectOr data srrucmre is called [he can retain individual (fee data records. while also associat-
region . This data srrucmce is based on polygo ns or ing th e overlapping trees with one another.
approxim at ions of areas, slich as stand boundaries or
ownership parcels. One of the featu res of a ' topologically Metadata
correct' polygon srruc(Ure is that polygon features can nor
be represented as overlapping areas in a topo log icall y Metadata is 'data about data'; this is a relatively recent
enforced polygon database. When two polygons meet, a phenomenon in working with spat ial databases.
new polygon is created. to represent the overlapping area. T ypically, metadara is a di gital document that acco mpa-
As mentioned earl ier , some deskrop GIS software pro- nies a GIS database that describes the content and quality
grams do not allow you ro determine whether polygons of th e data. With recent advancements in some of the
are topo logically correct. A region data st ructure will full-featured GIS software programs it is now possible to
allow (he existence of overl apping polygons while also have a metadata file digitally linked to a GIS database.
maimain ing (Opology. A forest scientist interested in cap- New sofrware programs also make it easier ro create and
turing the locations of Fallen (fees within a steam channel populate meradata fields with information about the data.
would find regions to be useful (Figure 2.28) . Polygons Metadata is an excellent place to store and retrieve infor-
could be used co represent the lengths and widths of the macion about the characte ristics of a database. including
trees, bur any trees that are s[3cked on (Op of each o ther, the map projection and coo rdin ate sys tems used. Other
like you might expec( co find in a log jam, will not be useful information in a metadata file might include a
accu ratel y represented in a ropologically correct polygon desc ription of the original data so urce, any editing that
structure. Two fal len trees that overlap each other might has been done, a list of the attributes, the intended use of
result in multiple tOpo logically-correcc polygons: one or the darabase. an d info rm acion related ro the database
developer. The descrip tions should allow users [Q trace
the evolution of the GIS database. In the US, most federal
and state agencies are required to make mecadaca available
for any GIS dacabase that is offered for public use. The US
Federal Government has developed standards for produc-
ing and repo rting meradata. Requirements fo r producing
metadata are highl y variable among private natural
resource management organ izations because no govern ing
body enforces meradata compliance. GIS users should
always ask for metadata wheneve r acqu ir ing a GIS
database.
61
Chapter 2 GIS Databases: Map Projections, Structures, and Scale 51
Summary
This chapter discussed one of the fundamemal consider- developed to provide readers with a brief description of
ations of any successful GIS program: spatial data. One of data projections and data structures-both raster and
the main issues when working with GIS databa ses is veccor-as well as a few alternatives. In some cases, exist-
knowing what projection system the database is set ing databases such as DOQs or DRGs may provide an
within, and how this coincides with other databases excellent source of base data from wh ich to verify other
being used within an organization. or perhaps by other spatia l databases or CO create new spatial databases alto-
organizations with which data is shared. This chapter was gether. How GIS databases are stored and managed is a
62
52 Part 1 IntroductiOIl to Geographic Information Systems, Spatial Databases, and Map Design
function of the decisions natural resource managers make you determine rhe characteristics of a GIS da tabase.
regarding rhe purpose and inrenr of use for each GIS including rhe projection system used. Finally, under-
database. In many cases, however, YOli have no choice standing the scale or resolution of GIS databases and thei r
regarding rhe strucmre of GIS darabases. For example, associated landscape fearures is important, as it relates co
satellite imagery uses a faSter dara Structure whereas veg- the usefulness of a GIS database in assisting with analyses
erarion and soils darabases acquired from rhe US Foresr related ro management decisions. Perhaps an interesting
Service ge nerally use rhe vec[Qr data structure. In addi- ropic of conversation over a cup of coffee might be how
rion, most natural resource organizations use venor data well 30 m grid cells obtained from sarellire images por-
srruc[U res [0 rep resem management units, roads . and reay forest vegetadon and help you develop management
ocher landscape feamres . Meradara are useful in helping recommendations.
Applications
2. 1. Projection param e te rs . Your supervisor. Steve b) How many ac res (or square meters) would yo u
Smith, h as JUSt learn ed (hat another natural resource expect to find in a section?
organization that you intend ro share spatial data with
srores their GIS databases in a projection format that is 2.4. GIS data structures. You have been hired as a land
different from yours. Steve is unfamiliar with projections, ma nagement forester for a timbe r company in the south-
and asks YOll co provide some background for him. ern United States. As a recent college graduate you are
a) Whar is a projecrion? expected to have the most cu rrent knowledge of forest
b) Why are projecrions necessary' measu rement and data acquisition techn iques. Your
c) Whar is an ellipsoid? supervisor, John Delaney, an older forester, is interested
d) What is a geoid' in GIS and is cu rious about database struc tures. Describe
e) What are the major projection rypes, what are their to him the difference between a raster and vector data
assumptions, and how have they been used? structure. an d give an example of a GIS database that
m ight be designed with each structure.
2. 2 . C ho o sing a projection. You 've been asked ro rec-
2.5 Quadrangle challenge. Locare rhe USGS 7.5
ommend either a Lambert or Mercaror projection that
m inute Quadra ngle that contains your GIS classroo m or
best fits the dimensions of the State or province mat you work location.
live in.
a) Whar is rhe name of rhe quadrangle?
a) What is the largest north-south dimension of your
b) When was me map originally compiled?
state or province in miles and kilometers ? c) If rhe map has been updared, when was ir updared?
b) Wh at is the largest west-easr dimension of your d) Whar is rhe Ohio code descrip rion of rhe map?
state or province in miles and kilometers? e) When was rhe copography developed?
c) Which of rhe cwo projecrions would YOll choose? f) How much magnet ic declin atio n existS in the map?
d) Defend your projecrion choice.
2.6. Resolution and scale. A consulranr has proposed
2.3. Public land survey system. Wirh rhe exceprion of using sarellire imagery co quickly updare rhe foresr
rhe original 13 colonies, seve ral other states, and other resources thar your natu ral resource management organi-
des ig nated ownerships, much of the US has been sur- zation manages. Some peop le in your organizarion are
veyed (meas ured) using rhe PLSS. Significanr areas in arguing for a complete and fresh phow interpretation of
Canada have also been surveyed using a similar app roach. rhe land base to accomplish (his goal, resulring in a vector
Given the broad use of this system and its counterparts in GIS database of the vegetation condition of the la ndscape.
Nonh America, it is imponant that you understand sev- The differences in resolution and scale are two of me hot
era l key components. copies when comparing these alternatives . Explain the dif-
a) H ow many square miles (or square kilometers) ference belVv'een resolutio n and sca le. and how they relate
would you expect to find in a township? [Q raster and vector data structures.
63
Chapter 2 GIS Databases: Map Projections, Structures, and Scale 53
2.7. Designing GIS databases. You have been hired by have been inventorying timber for the past three hours,
a natural resou rce co nsu lting agency [0 develop an d and now it is time for lunch. Your lunch. of course, is
maimain a small GIS operation . While your expertise is in located in yo ur truck. The distance you measure on your
natural resource management, the owners of [he consulrp map from your current posicion to [he Huck is 12 cm. If
ing agency we re incrigued by your GIS expertise, and have the map scale was 1: 12000, how far are you fro m your
been interested in providing chese services (0 their clients. £ruck?
You, of course, (Oak the job because it is an opponuniry
to pur your GIS and namral resource management skills 2.9. Spatial resolution. The natural resource manage-
to usc. As a stan, what data Structu re might you use to ment agency you work for in [he imermoumain wes[ is
describe the landscape features in the following databases? considering [he purchase of 30 m resolmion sa[e lli [e
a) timber stands g) precipitation imagery for assiscing in [he managemem of [heir natural
b) screams h) land ownership resources. How much area, in acres, does a single 30 m
c) roads i) scream buffers grid cell cover? How much area would be covered by a
d) inventory plots j) owl locations single 100 m resolu tion grid cell?
e) culverts k) owl habitat
f) logs in scream 2.10. Spatial scale. Your supervisor has asked that you
bring a map at the largest map scale possible to yo ur next
2.8. Map scale and ground distances. You are plann ing meeting. You have you r choice of the following
employed as a field forester for the Ministry of Natural map scales: 1:24000 or 1: 100000. Which map do you
Resou rces , and arc stati oned in northern Maniroba. You bring with you?
References
Cadle, F.W. (1991 ). Georgia land surveying history and Robinson, A.H , Morrison , J.L. , Muehrcke, P.c. ,
law. Athens, GA: The University of Georgia Press. Kimeriing, A.J., & Guptill, S.c. (1995) . Ekmmts of
Chang, K. (2002) . Introduction to geographic information cartography. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
systnm. New York: McGraw-Hili. Snyder, J.P. (1987). Map projectiom-a working manual.
Clarke, K.c. (2001). Getting starud with geographic infor- Washington, DC: Uni[ed 5ca[es Governmem Priming
mation systems. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, Inc. Office.
DeMers, M.N. (2000) . Fundammtals ofgeographic infor- Stewan, L.a. (1979). Public land surveys. New York:
mation systems. New York: John Wiley and Sons, Inc. Arno Press.
Dent, B.D . (1999). Cartography thematic map design . Thompson, M.M. (1979) . Mapsfor America (3rd ed. ).
New York: McGraw·Hili. Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office.
Ladell, J.L. (1993). They kft their mark: Surveyors and USDI US Geological Survey. (1995) . Geographic names
th~ir role in the settlement of Ontario. Toromo, ON: information system, data users guide 6. RestOn, VA: US
Oundurn Press. Geological Survey. Retrieved January 15,2003, from
Lillesand, T.M., & Kiefer, R.W. (2000). Remote smsing from: http://mapping.usgs.gov/www/ti/GNIS/gnis_
and image interpretation (4 th ed.). New York: John users-suide_toc.hcrnl .
Wiley & Sons, Inc. Wolf, P.R., & Ghilani, C.O. (2002) . Ekmentary survey-
Muehrcke, P.c., & Muehrcke, J.O. (1998). Map use: ing: An introduction to geomatics (10th ed.). Engle-
Reading, analysis, and interpretation (4th ed.). wood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, Inc.
Madison, WI: JP Publications.
64
Chapter 3
Objectives 2. GIS databases exist. bue they were created for other
general uses and may not be quite appropriate to
This chapter discusses a number of topics related co address [he issues rel ated to a specific analysis.
acquiring, creating, and edidng GIS databases. Readers 3. GIS databases exist, bue rhey were created for other
should gain an understanding of the opportunities and specific analyses and a re not quire appropriate to
challenges associated with the need [Q obtain GIS data address the issues rel ated to another specific analysis.
from a variety of sou rces. At the conclusion of this chap- 4. GIS databases exist, and they are adequate and appro-
ter, readers should be able to understand and discuss priate to address the issues of a specific analysis.
issues related [0:
Ideally, you would hope that your organization is con-
I . {he acqu isition of GIS databases, panicularly via the tinually positioned near the fourth case noted above.
Imerner, However many GIS users find. evenrually, that the first
2. [he various methods for creari ng new GIS databases, three cases are real , and that time mUSt be spenr acquiring
3. the processes for editing existing GIS databases, and or develo ping a GIS database. Several options are available
4. the error types and sources [hat are poremialiy associ- to GIS users faced with having to acquire, create, or edit
ated with GIS databases. GIS databases. These options include having someone else
create a GIS database (e.g., a GIS contractor) based on
Acquiring, creating, and editing GIS databases to address maps and oth er input provided to them, using C PS or
rhe needs of natural resource management decision- some other field-based data collection method to fuc ilitate
making processes is a co ntinual process. Ideally, narural the development of a new GIS database, modifYing or
resource professionals would have a complete and robust editing an existing C IS database. creat ing a new GIS data-
set of GIS databases at their disposal prior to performing base by digitizing maps, acq uiring a GIS database from
an analysis. However. as new and inreresting opportuni- the Internet (for example, the National Werlands
ties to incorporate GIS analysis in decision-making In vento ry from t he US Fish and Wildlife Service
processes arise, the G IS database needs change as well. [http://weriands.lWs.govl]), o r acq uiring a GIS database
Four general cases a re common in natural resource o rgan- from mher organizations. The decision [Q pursue one of
izations. as rhey relate to the availabi li ty of GIS databases: these strategies will depend on several factors inherent to
a person's job. such as the budgetary resources, time con-
1. GIS darabases required for a specific analysis do nor straints. a nd the skills and computing resources that are
eXIst. available within the natural resource organization.
65
Chapter 3 Acquiring. Creating. and Editing GIS Oatabases 55
Federal Geographic Data Products (US Geo logical • Delivery method (USB drin. DVD. CD. e·maiI. FTP, ere.)
Survey. Federal Geographic Data Committee. 2002) pro- Database compression format (Zipped. MrSID. TAR, ere.)
vides a wealth of informacion concern ing rhe agencies
Billing information
from which GIS databases can be acquired. Natural
Product license agreements
Resources Canada (Natural Resources Canada. 2007) and
the Geography Network Canada (Geography Network
Canada. 2007) provide access to many types of geo-
graphic data within Canada. Provincial and state agen- website. you will find that all of the vector GIS databases are
cies. such as rhe Washingcon Depanment of Natu ral available in Arclnfo coverage (ESRI. 2005) expOrt format.
Resources. also d isrribuce a large number of GIS databases D atabases can either be downloaded directly from this
related to the resou rces of each state. Interner site, or obtained on a CD-ROM or 8 mm tape.
Acquiring GIS databases over the Internet has become The COst of obtaining GIS databases on media is $40 (US
a widely used practice over the past few years. The disad- currency). In addition. some meradara related to each GIS
vantage, however, is that the fo rmat of the data is gener- database can be accessed through the Gifford Pinchot
ally limited to that of the most popularly used data. and Nati<;>nal Forest website. The data related to the forest trail
may not be directly compatible with some GIS software system, for example. indicates that the source scale for the
programs. Agencies that require GIS users {Q make GIS database was I :24.000. that it was last updated in
requests for GIS databases may provide a wider variety of 1999, that the projection system is the T ransverse Mercator
products to be acquired, as well as a wider variety of for- using the Clarke 1866 spheroid. that the coordinate system
mats, depending on the provider. In the case of data is the UTM system. and that the datum is NAD27. In addi-
requests, however, the agency may require mat a payment tion, the me[adata identifies the primary contact person
accompany each request. The payment covers the Cost of and alerts GIS users [hat some gaps in the trai l system may
the media and staff time required to package and deliver exist so that users know to examine the data closely before
the GIS databases; the rates are usually reasonable because using i[ to make management decisions.
public organizations provide the data. People requesting As you may have no ticed from the Gifford Pinchot
GIS databases are asked to provide a va ri ety of info rma- example. a variety of GIS databases are available in addi-
tion specific to their request (Table 3. I). so that the final tion to [he forest trails system, including hydrology, eleva-
product will meet (as closely as possible) their needs with- tion, forest stands, roads, streams, and others. While these
out the staff investing extra effort in formatting, re- GIS database a re commonly used to support resource
projecting. or adjusting the GIS databases. management on rhe National Forest, they are main ly vec-
As a n example of acquiring GIS databases via an tor GIS databases. Raster GIS databases. such as digital
Internet site, rhe Gifford Pinchot N ational Forest orrhophotographs, related to a particular landscape are
(Washington State) maintains a website where a number of perhaps more difficult to obtain . As mentioned in chap-
GIS databases can be acquired (Gifford Pinchot National <er I. digital orthophotographs look like aerial photo-
Forest. 2007). The Internet site is located at http:// graphs but {hey are srored in digital form and are regis-
www.fs.fed .us/gpnflforest-research/gis/. By accessing this tered to a coo rdinate and projection system . Raster GIS
66
56 Part 1 Introduction to Geographic Information Systems, Spatial Databases, and Map Design
,. ~ l'_
t ~'In" Depth '
~1:..1~~<.. '.~ . .
Reference is made in this book to a number ofInrernet • Search the Inrernet for 'Washington Departmenr
sites that you can visit for additional informatio n and of Natural Resources'
resources. The Internet is in a constant state of Aux, - Result: http://www.dnLwa.gov!
however, and organizations often change website
• Select 'Publications & Data' from [he list of items
addresses, o r URLs. Since URLs change periodically,
on [he DNR main page.
you might find that some examples provided in this
- Result: http://www.dnr.wa.gov/baselpublications.
book have become obsolete. Should you have a prob-
html
lem accessing the URLs we have provided, twO strate-
gies can be employed to reach the approptiate address. • Select 'GIS Data' from the lise of item s under
First, verify that the website address being used Publications and Data sub-heading
<xactly matches the URL listed in the book. Even the - Result: http://www.dnr.wa.gov/dataandmaps!
smallest of differences (one incorrect letter, or an extra index.html
space) can resuh in not reaching the app ropriate web- • Select the 'Available GIS Data' choice from the
site. Second, with a li ule ingen ui ty you can locate the available links on the Data page.
In ternet sites listed in this book by using an onl ine - Result: http://www3.wadnr.gov!dnrapp6/data
search engine. For example, the URL to the web!dmmatrix.html
Washington Department of Natural Resources
Information Techno logy Division order form has At this point, you should be presented with a list of
changed several times since the first edition of th is available databases that can be downloaded in an ESRI
book. To locate the most cu rrent version of the order shapefile format (ESRl, 2005). Thus in four steps, you
form, you could anempr an online search similar to can reach the currenr website from wh ich spacial da[a
the one oudine below: can be accessed from the Washington State DNR.
databases can also be acqui red via the Internet. The data category and download county-level digital aerial
Minnesota Planning, Land Management Information imagery, including orthophotographs, varying from 1 m
Center (2007), for example, maintains a clearinghouse to 10m spatial resolution. In add ition, the clearinghouse
( http://www.lmic.state.mn.us!chouse!metalong.htmll) provides CIS users w ith some meradar3 related to the dig-
where GIS users can access the 'Imagery and Photographs' ital imagery. You can ascertain from viewi ng meradar3
How do YOli acqu ire data over th e Internet? Usually. this process is that PCs are able to communicate w ith
clicking on an Internet link will starr the download UNIX-based machines, and GIS database file fo rm ats
process by presenting a dialog box that asks where the are automatically convened into a Windows~-compat
downloaded file should be stored. Another way is to ible format during the transfer process. FTP was once
download GIS database files to a computer is to use a only ava ilable on a PC th rough a DOS interface, but
FIP. FTP stands for File Transfer Protocol, and it is a severa l low-cost Windows@ appli cations are available
widely used method of transferring data over the that simpli fy this process and make additional file
Internet. This method allows you to transfer computer transfer or sharing op tions available. To locate such a
files to other remote computers. or ro download com- utility, try an Internet search using the keywords 'FfP'
puter files from a remote computer. One advantage of and 'Windows' together.
67
Chapter 3 Acquiring, Creating, and Editing GIS Databases 57
that much of the imagery uses coordinates referenced GIS databases can be a time-consuming and costly endeav-
within the UTM system, with an GRS80 ellipsoid and our. The most common methods used to create new vec-
NAD83 datum. The clearinghouse also provides informa- tor-based GIS databases include traditional digitizing,
tion on the accuracy, consistency. and completeness for heads-up digitizing, and scanning. The process of creat-
some of the imagery. ing GIS databases, either by digitizing maps, using a GPS
With advances in technology, many private firms have to capture spatial coordinates that describe landscape fea-
emerged in recent years that develop and sell GIS data- tures, or by other means, usually amounts to 70-75 per
bases. Most GIS and land surveying trade magazines will cent of the total time invested in GIS in support of a spa-
fearure advenisements from these firms . The breadth of tial analysis (DeMers, 2000) . As you will find in subse-
GIS databases and daca creation services cont inues (0 quent chapters. new GIS databases can be created as a
improve and all indicacions are that growth in [his area result of spatial analysis processes such as buffering, dip-
will continue. The current possibilities range from small ping, and overlay analysis. When creating new GIS data-
land surveying firms who are capable of collecting highly bases with spatial analysis processes, concerns about the
precise and accurate vector data from relatively small land projection system, the coordinate system. me datum, and
areas using either digital tOtal stations or ground-based map units are lessened because the resulting GIS database:
LiOAR, to larger organizations that offer raster imagery is usually represented by the characteristics of the other
captured from aerial or satellite platforms that are capable GIS databases involved in the spatial analysis process.
of imaging large land areas (regions. nations, continents. If GIS darabases do not exist, but maps of the land-
the globe). Many of these organizations also advertise scape featu res of interest exist , these maps can be digi-
their services via the Internet. tized using a manual digitizer. A series of measurement
reference points (sometimes called control points or 'tics')
Creating GIS Databases mUSt be available to allow you to register the map to a
digitizing table. Reference points can include easily
If GIS databases required for an analysis do not exist in located landscape features, such as road intersections and
digital form in your organization, and cannot be obtai ned building corners, or less easily located landscape features,
through other means, such as via the Internet or by such as property corners, section corners, or a systematic
request from a state. provincial, or federal agency, you grid of points (Figure 3.1). Each of these reference points
may conside r creating a new GIS database. Several factors must be in a dearly definable location on the map, and
mUSt be considered when creating a new GIS database. the ground coordinates (coordinate system units) must be
including the type of information needed to adequately known . A common source for ground coordinates is
develop the database, the intended format of the data, the USGS 7.5' Quadrangle Maps since they usually feature
projection and coordinate system required. and (he accu- coordinates along the map border in geographic, UTM,
racy desired of the resulting GIS database. Creating new and State Plane Coordinate systems. It should be noted
490000 500435
510436: +----,-1----c---="--,,,--t 510436
- Roads
D Stands
+ Reference points
(with associated
XandY
cOOfdinates)
Figure 3.1 Measurement reference poinu for the Daniel Pickett forest to enable digitizing additional landscape features for the creation of new
GIS databases.
68
58 Part 1 Introduction to Geographic Information Systems, Spatial Databases, and Map Design
that coordinates derived from paper Quadrangle maps principle applies. In this example, digitizing technicians
would nor have high accuracy since the coord inates are may have rather precisely drawn landscape features to ref-
listed at broad unit imervals, and you must incerpolare erence (upper left image) when creating a landslide GIS
the location of landscape features. At least four registra~ database, or so me rather imprecisely drawn landscape fea-
cion points or rics are required to facilitate the digitizing tures. When digitizi ng the upper right im age of Figu re
of a map. Additional reference points, if available, will 3.2, for example, would the landslide be defined by the
likely increase the accuracy of the spatial position ofland- outer edge of the thick line used to describe the landslide
scape features in the resulting GIS database. area, the inner edge of the thick line, or the center of the
At beSt, digitizing is an imperfect practice. and the thick line? When using the lower left image, the landslide
quality of results can be dependent upon many factors. area is not represented by a closed polygon, thus the tech-
The accuracy of digitized GIS databases can be affecred by nician would need to use judgment or intuition in digitiz-
the experience of the person doing the digiti zing, by ing a closed polygon from the model provided.
errors in either the location of reference marks or their Within some GIS software programs, landscape fea-
associated geographic coordinates, and by imperfections tures can be digitized directly from a registered image that
in digitizing equipment and software (Keefer et aI., 1988; is displayed on a computer screen without havin g {O
Prisley et aI., 1989). One of the often-misunderstood establish registration points. This process is known as
accuracy issues relates co the digirizarion of the map itSelf. 'heads-up' digitizing and has increased the usefulness and
If the map is old, or if it had been exposed to moisture (or popularity of goo-referenced raster products (such as the
even humidity), it may be subject to shrinkage or expan- digital raster graphics and digital orthophotographs dis-
sion. The shrinkage or expansion could vary across the cussed in chapter 2). By not having {O establish registra-
map's su rEace, and thus the locatio n (as well as the shape) tion poims, the digitizing process does not require a dig-
of any landscape features that are digitized from it may be itizing tablet, is faster, and offers less opportunicy for
distorted. I n addition, the methods used to delineate error. Two advantages of heads-up digitizing are the abil-
landscape features for digitizing cou ld cause inaccuracies ity {O use digital imagery as an on-screen backdrop during
in the resulting GIS database. Regardless of how experi- the digitizing process, and the ab ility to change scales at
enced a digitizing technician may be, if the map being which the digitizing takes place (by zooming in or Out).
digirized includes poorly delineared landscape features Heads-up digitizing is explored in more detail in chapter
(Figure 3.2), then perhaps the 'garbage in, garbage out' 8, when the processes of updating GIS databases are
described .
Scanning. as discussed in chapter 1, can also be used [0
,
,. mistakes and
omissions
Verification
process #1
, ,
,, Lmaps, data files
,
,, Digitize changes
to spatial data, ~ -;I
,,
maps, data files I
encode inventory
,,
I
!
I
, I
,,
I
GIS I
databases , Check data f(l(
,,
Check data for
GIS
J
Check data for
I
I
- J process
Verification mistakes and databases Verification
mistakes and
process #4 omissions omissions #3
Figure 3.4 A gc ncraliud process for updating a forest inventory GIS databa.sc.
a compurer file format), and a subsequem verifica- I. Add new landscape features (points, lines, polygons)
tion process (#2) is used to check whether these [0 an exist ing GIS database.
processes were performed successfully. The inven- 2. Change the shape o r position of existing landscape
[Ory data is then integrated into a standard GIS fe-atures.
database format, and a third verification process is 3. Add new fields (columns) to the tabular portion of the
used to ensure that all of the changes have been G IS database.
incorporated into the updared GIS database. One 4. Edit data in fields (columns and rows) in the tabular
way to do so would be to check the resulting GIS portion of a GIS database.
database against the information supplied by the
inventory forester. Finally, the GIS database(s) are Editing attributes
distributed back to the field office, where the
inventory forester has the opportunity [0 verify Attributes, as described in chapter 2, are values used to
(process #4) whether the proposed changes have characterize or describe landscape fearures and, thus, the
been incorporated into the GIS databases. qualities of the landscape. Through verification processes
you can determine whether the attributes of landscape
It becomes obvious that editing processes, not JUSt for features are appropriate by assessing whether they are out-
annual inventory updates bur also for periodic changes side of the range of appropriate values. or missing
that sho uld be made when discrepancies are found. entirely. In addition , as GIS databases are updated. you
should be considered in time and budget estimates to might assume that some attributes change over time. For
develop and distribute GIS databases to field offices. Some examp le, as trees grow the characteristics of a forest will
of the more common methods used [0 edit GIS databases change. In the Daniel Pickett forest stands GIS database
include: (Ta ble 3.2), each stand is represented by a vegetation
71
Chapter 3 Acquiring, Creating, and Editing GIS Databases 61
Re·
Vegetation BaW O riginal inventoried Editing spatial position
Stand Age MBF" MBP
"'P' u ...•
Attributes of landscape featu res can also include [he spa-
A 200 50 21.2 23.2
tiaJ coordinates of the feacures, and as these change, or are
2 C 175 40 12.9 15.3
found to be inaccurate, chey require editing. For example,
3 A 210 55 25.8 26.8 as owls disperse, the spatial location of their nests may
4 A 250 65 34.2 37.0 change, and the X, Y coordinates that describe owl-
20 3.1 5.6
nesting sites require editing. Or as vegetation panerns
5 C 90
change within a research plot, the polygon representing
6 A 220 55 25.7 28.2
the plot may require splining so that all patterns are rec-
7 C 150 35 8.7 10.5 ognized. Or as GPS data are collected and incorporated
into a GIS database, multi-pam error may be present, and
30 C 190 45 17.3 20.3 should perhaps be either eliminated or corrected. GPS col-
lection of data can also improve the accuracy of the loca-
31 C 110 25 4.1 7.7
tion of landscape features that were previously defined
• square (ttl ~r acre and delineated with less accurate methods. For example,
h thousand board feet ~ r acre at [he dme of original inventory GPS data collection methods can improve the accuracy of
• thousand board fect per acre afrer compiling new inventory a roads GIS database [hat was originally created from
measurements collected from aerial photographs or with a
staff compass and surveying tape.
type, basal area, age, and volume (thousand board feet per Spatial position edicing techniques vary widely across
acre, or MBF) at some panicuiar time in [he history of GIS software programs due, in part, to the different file
management of [he forest. If you had re-inventoried me formats that the different programs use. In general. how-
forest a few years after the stands GIS database was cre~ ever, editing the spatial position of a landscape feature
ated, you might have found that the trees within the for- requires chat GIS users make a spatial layer 'editable' .
est have grown, and tha< the stands GIS database may be Once a GIS database is editable, edi ting tools are used to
in need of edicing (as the age, basal area, and vo lume have move, copy. create, or delece points. lines, and polygons.
likely changed). While GIS databases containing point landscape features
Another example might include aquacic habir3r inven- are typically easy ro edit because a single coordinate pair
cories that attempt ro monitor change in habitat condi- represents them, databases that comain line and polygon
tions. such as fallen large woody debr is concenrcarions or landscape features usuaJly require more care because the
pool densities within a suearn system. Aquatic habitat topological integrity oflines and polygons must be main-
variables are consrantly in Aux within river systems as flow tained. As discussed in the last chapter, topology describes
characteristics vaty both by season and annually. Large (he spacial structure oflandscape features and is essentiaJ
woody debris is continually introduced into some stream when comparing the positions of features to other fea-
systems as the result of natural processes or management tures. While some GIS software programs have fearures to
activities, and is cransponed through a river system as auromatically examine and correct topological problems.
flow regimes allow. An inventory of such streams would others offer no rools for topological considerations and
likely determine changing patterns of woody debris and will consequently produce flawed analysis results when
pool concemrarions on at least an annual basis. If natural correct topology is not in place.
resource managers wanted to track changes, new data Depending on the amoum of editing that is necessary.
columns could be added for each of the habitat character- ahering the spatial position of landscape features can be a
istics chat are of imerest. and the updated invemory data demanding chore. and one that requires great attention to
could be entered into che new columns. If the position of detail. Regardless of the GIS software program used , a
72
62 Part 1 Introduction to Geographic Information Systems, Spatial Databases, and Map Design
good first step fo r any spacial editing process would be to data. the value should be a number that is far outside the
ensure that a back-up copy of the database is made and range of acceptable data values and large enough to have
securely srored. Once in the editing process, it may be a very noticeable effect in results if inadvertendy used for
imponant to remember to save the changes to GIS data- analysis.
bases often (to avoid losing work due [Q power shortages
or computet failure). and to periodically document the Checking for inconsistent data
editing progress (to avoid forgetting what work has been
done. and what work needs to be done next) . You should expect some level of map error in each GIS
Documentation may be particularly important if multiple database simply because all hard-copy paper maps contain
people are editing (at various times) a single GIS database. errors and these errors are carried along inco any digital
form of the map that results from digitizing or scanning
Checking for missing data processes. With app ropriate co ntrol in map creation
processes, this error should be kept within desired toler-
One issue that affects the accuracy of GIS databases is the ances. Map error can also result from inconsistencies in
omission of cenain landscape feacuces. How would you how landscape features are defined. For example some
know if one, or many, landscape feacures have been om it- timber stands might be very finely delineated. whereas
ted from a GIS database? Comparing GIS databases to ref- others are more coarsely delineated (Figure 3.5). In other
erence maps or photographs is perhaps [he simplest cases, error arises because rwo (or more) GIS data bases
process. Feacures could be omined because of improper were created independendy, using different encoding
map creation procedures or other blunders (for example. processes. This may result in features within a GIS data-
changes in the landscape that were not accou nted for in base being represented with different precision. For exam-
an update process). Omissions may also occur in the ple, one database may have used one process (e.g .. digitiz-
3n ribure data assoc iated w ith landscape features. For ing) to create a fo rest stand GIS database. and anmher
example. wh ile a streams GIS database may contain all of process (e.g .• GPS) might have been used to independ-
the streams associated with a watershed , it may lack cer- ently create a roads GIS database (Figure 3.6). Upon close
tain characteristics of some streams, such as the width or inspection. GIS users may find some public roads con-
depth. Performing queries of landscape features to lea rn ta ined w ithin timber sta nds , when they shou ld more
where attributes have been omitted will allow you to accu rately be represemed as being located outside of tim-
locate the landscape features that need editing. In the
example illustrated in Figure 3.4, an information systems
analyse could query the updated GIS database (as part of
verification process #3) for stands that were altered during
the update process, then examine the attributes of those
stands for missing data. In doing so. the analysts could
verifY that all of the stands needing to be updated were. in
fact. updated correctly (by comparing the updated GIS
database against the maps and inventory data provided
by the inventory forester).
Some GIS software programs are unable to explicitly
handle missing data values for numeric attribute variables
and will assume that a default value of 0 if an attribu te
value has not been specified. As you might imagine, this
shortcom ing can result in sign ificant problems if these
values are included in analysis resul ts, as most statistical
summaries or testS take sa mple size imo account, and
samples of '0 ' are included in the computations. One
strategy for handling this problem is [Q assign a large neg- Figure 3.5 A tim~r stand drawn more precisely (tOp) and less
ative val ue. such as -999 o r -9999, to missing attribme precisely (bottom). Note that the lines on the south and ea5[ern portion
values. Regardless of what value is used to signify missing of the figures are different.
73
Chapter 3 Acquiring. Creating. and Editing GIS Databases 63
o Timber stands
errors, since they tend to accumulate during data collec-
tion. They can be corrected if you can understand how
each measurement is systematically affected. For exam-
ple. suppose in digitizing a map that the reference points
that were used to establish the initial location of the map
were all erroneously shifted the same amount slightly ofT
to the east. The landscape features that are digitized after
this error is introduced will also be systematically posi-
Figure 3.6 Spatial inconsistency betwttn a timber stand CIS tioned the same distance to the east of their true location.
databau: created through digitizing and a roads database created You might correct fo r this displacement by adding the
through GPS meuurtments.
corresponding distance, in coordinate units, in a westerly
direction to the coordinates of all of the landscape fea-
[Ures in a GIS database. Systematic errors in the collecting
ber stands, and under the jurisdiction of some state, and processing of attribute data can also exist. For exam-
county. or municipality. Depending on the quality of the ple, if you we re [Q compute the area of a series of water-
GPS receiver that was used. the likelihood is that the GPS sheds using acres, and then convert the area measure-
database would more accurately represent the location of ments to SI units (hectares) using an inappropriate
the road. Performing attribute queries of landscape fea- conversion factor (e.g., 2.4 hectares per acre rather than
{Ures with values that are unusual, or outside of some log- 2.471). the metric areas would all be systematically incor-
ical range of data. and observing the results either through rect. Corrections in this case can be made by a recalcula-
tabular or graphical means. should help identify whether tion of the SI units by using the appropriate conversion
problems exist and where editing processes are needed. factor.
eressie (1991) provides some gu idance with identifying Gross errors, sometimes called human errors, are blun-
spatial data outliers, and suggestS verification processes ders or other mistakes made somewhere in the data collec-
such as creating histograms and distribution modelling. tion, map creation, or editing processes. For example,
when digitizing a set of landscape features. such as land-
Sources of Error in slides. a landslide that was delineated on the map being
GIS Databases digitized might be omitted from the resulting GIS data-
base. Or, when collecting forest stand information, an
One of the fundamental facts about computers is that incorrect species code may be used to describe cerrain tree
they follow the instructions provided by computer users species. There may be no pattern in the occurrence of
(unless they are suffering from an internal hardware prob- these errors, thus they may only be identified and cor-
lem or a computer virus). Computers have no sense of rected through verification processes. A thorough verifica-
right or wrong. Therefore, assuming that the hardware is tion process will involve database checks by someone who
functioning correcdy and you have been diligent in scan- did not participate in data collection or recording.
ning for viruses. any errors that are found in GIS databases Undoubtedly, human errors have the potencial to exist in
should be assumed to be a result of eithe r encoding (data- almost every GIS database.
base creadon) or editing processes. Granted. some com- Random errors are a by-product of how humans meas-
puter software programs are not perfect, and go through ure and describe landscape features. In contrast to
a number of versions to correct processing problems machines, most humans are incapable of repeating a task
inherent in their computer code. However, when an error over and over without any difference between repetitions.
is located in a GIS database. it likely arose from a data In the context of landscape measurements, ic is unlikely
creation or editing process. The re are three sources of that a person will be able to use a measurement instru-
error commonly found in GIS databases: systematic ment and return measurements that are consistently accu-
errors, gross errors, and random errors. rate and precise. No maner how carefully data such as
Systematic errors, sometimes called instrumental tree heights from a forest are collected, there wi ll be error
errors, are propagated by problems in the processes and in the representation oflandscape features and their asso-
74
64 Part 1 Introduction to Geographic Information Systems, Spatial Databases, and Map Design
cjared attributes. Chances are that recorded meas ure- appear fl ow downhill (as opposed ro uphill) . In orher
ments will be ar leasr slightly off from rhe [Cue mark due cases. logical consistency refers to the anribme dara of a
to (he limitations of vision, musculature, and instrument particular GIS database. For example, the dominant tree
se[p up and application. As long as consistent procedures species in o ne polygon may be labeled 'Loblolly', whi le in
are followed and no blunders occur, measurements will ano rher polygon ir may be labeled 'Loblolly Pine', and in
tend to be grouped closely around the actual measure- a rhird, 'Pinus taeda'. Completeness is a term used to
ment, with differences occurring slighdy in all directions. describe rhe types and exrent oflandseape features rhat are
These types of small errors are called random errors; rhey included in a GIS database, and conversely, those that are
remain after all sys tem atic errors and blunders are omitted. For example, in some cases not all types of
removed. Random error occurrence does tend to follow streams (e.g .• ephemeral streams that only contain flowing
rhe laws of probability, and rhus should be normally dis- water during rain events) are included in a streams GIS
tributed in a statisrical sense. The statistical distribution database. In add ition, smaHer streams may be omined
of repeated measuremems can be estimated in order to because they weren't apparent in the remotely-sensed da ta
obtain an idea of the variation expected in either the spa- that were used co create the database. If only a portion of
tiallocarion of a landscape feacuee or the associated attrib- total number of stream types were included in a streams
ure dara. Through the process of least sq uares adjusr- GIS darabase, you might co nclude that rhe database is not
ments, you can attempt to remove random error from GIS complete.
data bases when concern about accu racy issues is hi gh
(Ghilani & Wolf, 2006). More ofren howeve r, in narural Types of Error in GIS Databases
resource management it is assumed that data collection
efforts were carried Out diligently with respect to [he accu- Since creating, editing. and acqu iring GIS databases may
racy and precision of measurements, and {hat random involve many different processes, a variety of errors can
errors rend to ca ncel each other out. For this reason, ran- obviously crop up. Some of the more commo n types
dom errOfS are sometimes termed compensadng errors. include those relared to the locacional position of a land-
Two (erms are important w hen assessing the useful- scape fearure, those rela ted co the tabular att ribmes of a
ness of a G IS database: logical co nsistency an d com- landsca pe feature, and those resulting from compma-
pleteness. Logical co nsistency is (he term most GIS afi- tional problems.
cionados use co describe how well the relationsh ips of Positional errors simply imply that a landscape feature
di ffe renr types of dara fir rogetlher within a system . In is locared in the wrong place in a GIS darabase. These
some cases (his refers to the consistency of the ropological errors can arise during GIS database creation processes,
relationships amo ng GIS databases. For exa mple, when such as digitizing or scann ing maps. As mentioned ea rlier,
streams are disp layed in conjunction with the contour the digitizing of landscape features requires that a map be
lines of an elevation GIS database. all streams shou ld registered (Q a set of ground coordinates. How well the
What is error? Error can be defined as something error that exists, the so urce of the erro r, and the
produced by misrake or as t he difference between rhe extent of the error. All of these relate CO the unce r-
true va lue of a feature and its observed value tainty associated with the landscape features con-
(Merriam-Websrer, 2007). How would you know tained in a sparial database. Hopefully you have a
there was an error in a GIS database? Perhaps by hi gh level of co nfidence in the dara (i.e., uncertainty
compa rin g rhe va lue (o r shape of a landscape fearure) regarding the location oflandseape fearures and their
in a GIS database to what is known as the correct attri butes is minim ized), so that analysis efforts can
value (or sha pe of a fearure) from a field survey, pho- be used with confidence to positively facilitate deci-
cograph, etc. When you co nsider GIS database erro rs, sions made regarding the management of natural
the goal is to understand three issues: the type of resources.
75
Chapter 3 Acquiring. Creating. and Editing GIS Databases 65
registration is performed and how accu rate the coordi- include using a minimum root mean square error
nates are represented on a map are both factOrs that con- (RMSE) when registering maps for digitizing processes or
tribute to errors in a resulting GIS database. Those who for establishing a set of verification processes for elimina-
digitize maps also make e rrors-sometimes systematic tion of gross and systematic errors. In addition , when
errors (nor using a digitizing puck correctly throughout measurements ace taken of a featu re, be it point coordi-
an enrire digitizing session), and sometimes gross errors nates collected by a GPS receiver, linear features such as
(missing or displacing some objects entirely) . Estimates scream o r trail lengths, or area features sllch as watershed
of positional error usually indicate thar some percentage boundaries. a RMSE can be used to assess and repof( dif-
of landscape features should be located within some dis- ferences between collected measurements and the true or
rance either horizontally or verticaIly from their true posi- estimated positions of featu res (FGDC. 1998).
ti on. A statement of positional accuracy, for example, While the positional accuracy oflandscape features in
might indicate that 90 per cent of the landscape features a CIS database can be estimated, the uncertainty about
are within 150 meters of their true, or on the ground , what are termed 'local shapes' is more elusive (Schne ider,
position . 2001) . For example. assume that a road has been digi-
The ultimate use of a GIS database is also considered tized (Figure 3.7) . and that one segment of the road has
when describing the positional accuracy of the landscape been represented by four vertices. The actual location of
features rhey contain. If the risk of a GIS user making a the road between the vertices is unknown, and can be
catastrophic mistake (e.g., an event that impacts human described in a number ways other than by a direct line
safety) when using the GIS database is high. developers of between each vertices. The positional accuracy of these
GIS databases may broaden the accuracy statement to local shapes is therefore a function of the quality of the
safeguard themselves against lawsuits. An example of a sit- digital encoding process associated with the landscape fea-
uation when human safety could be affected by the accu- ture (whether manual digitizing, heads-up digitizing, or
racy of a GIS database is in databases that are used as nav- capture of data through GPS field techniques was
igational maps for maritime app li cations. Using an applied).
appropriate set of comrol standa rds may minimize the Errors in the attributes of landscape features arise
amount of error in a CIS database. Control standards can when incorrect values are assigned to features. either
Root mean square error (RMSE) is a common term Xch«k.i x (longitude) coordinate of true or
used in GIS. RMSE measures the error between a estimated location i
mapped point and its associated true ground position. Ydm .; Y (latitude) coordinate of each collected
Commonly used when digitizing a map, RMSE meas- point i
ures the positional error inherent in the registration
y (latitude) coordinate of true or
points on the hardcopy map. RMSE calculates the
estimated location i
squared differences between each reference point and
its known or estimated position, sums these differ- n = number of observations (number of
ences, than uses the square root of the sum to compute collected coordinate pairs)
a measure of the positional accuracy. The formula for
RMSE when location coordinates are of interest is: A perfect RMSE is 0.00 where the reference points are
located in a GIS database in exacdy the same relative
position as on the ground or whe n GPS collected data
RMSE=
n are exacdy the same as control points that are lIsed to
Where: test accuracy. This is rarely obtained when using real-
Xciata.i X (longitude) coordinate of each world data. A sample RMSE calculat ion is shown in
collected point i Table 3.3.
76
66 Part 1 Introduction to Geographic Information Systems, Spatial Databases, and Map Design
TABLE 3.3 Example of Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) calculation for GPS coordinates
Squared
Point GPS-X (m) Known-X (m) GPS-Y (m) Known-Y (m) Error (m)'
• Squared straight-line differences between CPS coordinates actual known positions: (X-direction error 2 + V-direction error !)
I> Su m of [he squared errors
C Average of the sum of the squared errors: (Sum of squared errors I number of poinu)
d RMSE: Square root of the average of squared errors: (Avt.l'Olge squared error) tI~
through editing processes or through spatial joins (which anentian to the quality of their work. As we mentioned
are discussed in chapter 9), or arise because the attribute earlier, verification processes can range from an examina-
data is outdated. Keyboard entry of attribute data can tion of primed maps and tabular databases related to the
result in attribute data erro rs, particularly if (he people GIS database of interest, to an independent third-party
performing the anribmion processes are nO[ paying close examination of the landscape features a nd associated
anribures comained in the resulting G IS database.
Compurational processes can lead to anothe r source
Digitized road segment
of error that can be rather trans parent to GIS users.
Processes such as general ization. vector-to-raster conver-
sion (or vice-versa), and interpolation cause alterations in
the characterization of landscapes. I n vector-faster con-
versio n. fo r example. vector fearures are converted to
raster grid cells. Obviously the size of the resulting grid
Real-world representation #1
cells, as discussed in chapter 2, will influence the quality
of the landscape features contained in the converted GIS
database. With large grid cells (e.g., 30 m or larger), the
curvature of roads and streams could be lost. as well as
small (and perhaps important) extensions of polygons.
Real-world representation #2 Users of the converted GIS databases wou ld also need to
determine whethe r the spati al resolut ion of the grid cells
tha t result after vector-faster conversion is appropriate for
the landscape fearures being represented. For example. are
30 m (or larger) grid cells appropriate for representing all
Real-world representation #3 roads and streams? Is a 10m resolut ion more appropr iate?
The drawback of using a 10 m grid cell resolutio n is [he
relatively large amount of data required-nine times the
amount of data contained in a 30 m resolucion database
Figure 3.7 Uncertainty of thc local shape of a road scgment (after (nine 10m cells are contained withi n a single 30 m grid
Schneider, 200 1). cell).
77
Chapter 3 Acquiring, Creating, and Editing GIS Databases 67
Ideally, in lieu of starements of error, the processes users to consider how a GIS darabase was developed. This
used to develop GIS da tabases. such as any transforma- is, of course, rhe ideal case. For example, rhe GIS dara-
tions and conversions, should be documemoo and made bases used extensively in (his book are void of S[3[emems
known co allow users [Q understand the potential direc- of error and of meradara. They were developed as hypo-
tion and magnitude of error associated with subsequenc rhericallandscapes for students in rhe aurhors' GIS appli-
GIS analyses. In addition. meradara. such as projection cations courses.
and coordinate systems, should be made available to allow
Summary
Ultimately, most narural resource managemenc organiza- to address a particular cask. acquisition. creation. and edit-
rions will develop needs rhar will ourgrow rhe capabiliries ing processes must be considered. Those who simply view
of their current collection of GIS databases. Acquiring, cre- GIS as a sysrem to make maps will likely underesrimare
ating. and ed iting GIS databases are common processes the amount of work required to acquire. create, or edit the
encountered by natural resource professionals when they GIS darabases necessary to make rhose maps. In addirion,
are in need of data or databases to assist in making man- regardless of how GIS darabases are generared, rhe pres-
agement decisions or evaluadng alternacive management ence and elimination of errors must be considered, and
policies. When rhe GIS darabases rhar are available to a will likely require extensive verification processes to ensure
natural resource management organizacion are not suitable mat the pmential errors are minimized.
Applications
3.1. Acquiring GIS data about Arizona National situated in Massachusetts. As such. you are interested in
Forests. Assume you are interested in o btaining informa- obtaining digital orthophorographs about an area in
tion about the streams related to the Prescott National Massachusetts . One source of this data might be the
Forest in Arizona. The website related to the GIS data is Massachuserrs GIS websire (http: //www.srare.ma. u.1
h rrp:llwww.fs.fed .us/r31 prescorrl gisl index.shrml (USDA mgisl) (Commonwealrh of Massachuserrs, Office of
Foresr Service, 2007). Based on rhe informarion rhat rhe Energy and Environmental Affairs, 2007) . Based on whar
GIS data s ite provides, what are the ca tego ries that you can gather from the website:
describe rhe available GIS darabases? In reviewing rhe a) Whar rypes of black and whire digiral orrhophoro-
meradara for rhe 'Fire History' GIS darabase: graphic imagery are available?
a) Whar is rhe purpose of rhe Fire History darabase? b) Whar spatial resolurions are available for 1:5000
b) How were the data creared? color orrhophorographic imagery '
c) What datum, projection, and spheroid are used to c) Whar sparial resol urions are available for 1:5000
represent fires? black and whire imagery?
d) What data structure is used to represent the fires? d) What datum and coordinate system are used to
e) What is rhe spa rial extent of rhe fire hisrory dara- represent these images?
base in longitude and latitude?
f) Who is rhe primary contact should you have fur- 3.3. Data acquisition (1). You have been hired by a
ther questions? private consultant in Washington State to develop a GIS
program . The con sultant has a small office, com prised of
Note: Please do not contact the Prescott Forest GIS coor- only five employees, and is interesred in developing a GIS
dinator for answers to these questions. program thar will urilize desktop GIS software (A rcGIS
ArcView, MapInfo, or GeoMedia) and GIS darabases cre-
3.2. Acquiring digital orthophotographs about ated by other organizations. To get started, you decide
Massachusetts. Your position as a natural resource con- that acquiring base maps describing the counties, towns,
sultant has allowed you to become invo lved in a project secrion lines, and ownership of rhe Stare is important.
78
68 Part 1 Introduction
Introduction to Geographic Information
Information Systems, Databases, and Map Design
Systems. Spatial Databases.
a) Is each of mese
these databases
da<abases available?
ava ilable? List
liS[ any data-
da<a- timber stands
map ,. and then hand-draw the additional [imber srands to
(Q
bases that are not available.
ava ilable. be digitized by the contractor. Use the digital orthopho-
b) Wha<
What steps
S[eps would you have [Q to go mrough
through to[0 be tograph
cogl"dph associated with
wirh [he
me Brown Tract
Tracr to hand-draw
able to
<0 download [he the data? the new srands.
stands.
c) What is the spatial
spatial reference of available data?
d) Who would you contact if you had problems 3.7. Owl locations on the tbe Daniel Pickett forest.
forest. The
downloading
downloadin the data?
g me data' wildlife biologist associated with the Daniel Pickett forest,
forest.
Kim Dennis, is co ncerned about the
concerned rhe quali ty of the owl
quality
Hint:
Hint: See Washington Department
Departmenc ofNarural
of Natural Resources database.
nest location GIS database.
2007a for
fo r additional
additio nal info rmation. a) How could yo u determine whether the me owl nest
locations
locarions on the
rhe Daniel Picken
Picker t forest
forese are rep re-
repre-
3.4. Data acquisition (2) . Assuming you were inter- inter· semed as being in the correcr
sented correCt place?
ested in acquiring
acqu iring soils GIS databases for 10 townships
rownships in b) What are [hethe coordinates
coordin ates associated w ith each owl
with
Was
Washington
hington State from the Washington
Washing<on Department of nest location?
locarion ?
Natural
Natura l Resources (see Washington Department of
Wash in gtOn Deparrmenc
Natural
Namral Resources. 2007b):
2007b) : 3.8. Errors in landscape feature and attribute data.
format of the database?
a) What is the formar database? As a user of the Brown Tract GIS databases,
databases. you are very
the coordinate units?
b) What are (he ime rested in the quality
inrerested quali ty of data that
rha t each provides. What
c) Who is [he
me comact
contact for more information about the might you say about the possible errors in the stands
srands GIS
G IS
soils database? database features that are located in the fo llowing places?
following
d) Where did methe soils information come from? a) X == 1263950; Y Y== 371726
b) X == 1273647; Y == 363943
3.5. Data acquisition (3). The Washington Washi ng<on Natural
Namral
Heritage Program (Washington Department of Natural Namral 3.9. Verification processes. As technology progresses
Resources, 2007c) maintains a GIS
Resources. G IS database of the high- me capabil
and the capabilities increase (with
ities of field personnel increase (wi th new
quality rerresuial
qualiry terrestrial and we dan d ecosystems of the Stare.
werland State, as co llege co urses in GIS, cont
college inuin g educa
conrinuing tion co
educadon urses,
courses)
well as locations of rare planes of concern.
r-are plams etc.),
Ctc.), the co llection and transfer
collection transfer of data
dara can occur with
a) What groups of professionals are the intended users processes that would seem seemingly
ingly save effort and COSt toco an
of lhe
the Washington
Washing<on Natural Heritage GIS data set? organization.
organizadon. For example,
example. in Figure 3.4 the inventory
invencory
b) How would yo
b) youu gain access to Washing<on
<0 the Washington foreSter would transfer cruise reports (hard co
forester copies)
pies) and
Narural Heritage GIS dara data sec?
set? maps (hand-draw
(hand-drawn) n) to informatio
informarionn system analysts
<1nalysrs in an
c) What data formars are available for me the GIS
GIS data- annual update process. Several verification
verifkation processes were
base?
base? noted
nmed in an efforr
effort to(Q maintain the
rhe consistency
consisrency and qu qual-
al-
d) Are you allowed to <0 display
disp lay GIS maps of the dataset ity of data moving from the
me field to
[ 0 the information
informatio n sys-
{he Incerner?
on (he Incerner? tems
rems deparrment
department and vice versa.
a) H ow mighr
might these processes
process es in the flow chart
3.6. Development of base map for a digitizing con- cchange
hange if the
me inventory
invemory fo res terr were to
resre [Q provide
79
Chapter 3 Acquiring, Creating, and Editing GIS Databases 69
3.11. Types of error. Given the inventory updating 3.14 Calculating Root Mean Squared Error: Tree
process oared in Figure 3.4, describe [he sources of error location database . Assume you work as a nacu ral
(posi tional. a[[cibure. comput3rional) that could result at resource manager in Oregon. and your supervisor is con-
each step in the process. cerned about the qualiry of data that you are colleCting
wich a GPS receiver. You supervisor has asked you co cal-
3.12. Calculating Root Mean Squared Error: Wood- culate the RMSE between GPS-collected coordinates and
pecker nest GIS database. Assume you are digitizing a coordinates that had been collected by a digital total sta-
map of red-cockaded woodpecker nest cree locations of a cion . Boch secs of coordinates are lisred below.
Nacional Forest in Florida. You have four reference marks
Total Total
that you can use [0 reference the map [Q known coordi-
Point GPS-X Station-X GPS-Y Station-Y
nates. When registering the map you find that the X-
direcrion and V-direction difference berween the refer- 4934688.3 4934691.9 477311.7 477309.0
ence marks and the acwal known locations are as follows: 2 4934693.6 4934690.8 4773 10.5 47731 1.9
3. 125 - 1.588
2 2.564 -1.992
3 2.548 -2.987
4 1.998 - 2.856
5 1.268 2.857
6 1.489 3.897
80
70 Part 1 Introduction to Geographic Information Systems, Spatial Databases, and Map Design
References
Commonweal th of Massachusetts, Office of Energy and Minnesota Planning. Land Management In fo rm ati on
Environmental Affairs . (2007). Massachusetts g'o- Center. (2007). LMIC's clearinghouse data catalog.
graphic information sysum. Retrieved April 19,2007, Retrieved April 19, 2007, from http ://www.lmic.
from http://www.state.ma.us/mgisl. Sta te. mn . us!chouse/.
Cressie, N. (1991). Statistics for spatial data. New York: Natural Resources Canada. (2007). Mapping. Retrieved
John Wiley & Sons. April 19, 2007, from http: //www. nrcan-rncan.gc.
DeMers , M .N. (2000). Fundamentals of g,ographic calcom/subsujl mapcar-eng. ph p.
information systems. New Yo rk: John Wiley and Sons, Prisley, S.P., Gregoire, T.G., & Smith , J.L. (1989). The
Inc. mean and variance of area estimates in an arc-node
Envi ronmental Systems Research Institute. (2005). GIS geograph ic information sys[em. Photogramm~tric
topology. Retrieved April 19, 2007, from http://www. Enginuring and Remou S,nsing, 55, 1601- 12.
esri.comllibrary/whitepapers/pdfs/gis_topology.pdf. Schneider, B. (2001) . On the uncertainty of local shape
Federal Geographic Data Comm itree (FGDC) . (1998). of lines and surfaces. Cartography and Geographic
GeospatiaL positioning accuracy standards. Part 3: Information Sciences, 28, 237-47.
National standard fo r spatial data accuracy. Reston , USDA Forest Service. (2007). Pmcott National Form:
VA: US Geological Survey. GIS-geographic information sysums. Presco[[, AZ:
Geography Network Canada. (2007). Data. Retrieved USDA Forest Service. Retrieved April 20, 2007, from
April 27, 2007, from http://www.geographynetwork. http://www.fs.fed.us /r3/ prescottl gisl index.sh tml.
ca/datalindex.html. US Geological Survey, Federal Geograph ic Data
Ghila ni , CD ., & Wolf, P.R. (2006). Adjustment compu- Committee. (2002). Manual offtdual geographic data
tations: Spatial data analysis (4th ed.). New York: John products. Reston, VA: US Geological Survey.
Wiley and Sons, Inc. WashingtOn Department of Natural Resources. (2007a).
G ifford Pi nchot National Forest. (2007). Gifford Pinchot GIS data. O lympia, WA: Washington Department of
National Forest geographic infonnation sysums, avail- Natural Resources. Retrieved April 20, 2007, from
able data uts. Retrieved April 19, 2007, from http: // http://www.dnr.wa.gov/dataandmaps/index.html.
www.fs.fed. us/gpn fifo rest -researchl gisl. Washington Department of Natu ral Resources. (2007b).
Keefer, B.J. , Smith, J.L. , & G regoire, T.G. (1988). Avai"'ble GIS data . Olympia, WA : Washington
Simulating manual digitizing error with sradsricai Department of Natural Resources. Retrieved April 20,
models. Proceedings, GIS/LiS '88. Falls Church, VA: 2007, from htrp://www3 .wadnr.gov/dnrapp6/dara webl
America n Soc iety of Photogrammerric Engineering dmma[rix.h[ml.
and Remote Sensing, American Congress on Washington Department of Natural Resoutces. (2007c).
Surveying and Mapping. Reference desk. Olymipia, WA: Washington Department
Merriam-Webster. (2007). M"rian- W,bsm onlin, search. of Natural Resources. Retrieved April 20, 2007, from
Retrieved April 27, 2007, from http://www.m-w.com. http://www.dnr.wa.gov/nhp/refdesk/gis/index.html .
81
Chapter 4
Map Design
Objectives ing characteristics that sets GIS apart from other software
programs.
The common features of maps are described in this chap- Maps have been part of human civilization for millen-
ter. and emphasis is placed on developing those that field nia and have been used for many purposes, including data
professionals can use to present results of GIS analyses or sto rage, navigation, and visualization. Maps have been
(0 illustrate themes of interest including forest manage- used to create and sway opinion in many disciplines.
ment areas, tree species maps, harvest plans. wildlife habi- including those related to the managemem of natural
tat, and mher narural resource management actions. At resources. In a manner similar to the use of statistics.
the conclusion of this chapter. readers should have maps can hold tremendous power over the message that is
acquired a firm understanding of: delivered to an audience and. when created skillfully.
maps can be used to influence people's opinions
I. the main components. or building blocks. of a map; (Monmonie r. 1995. 1996). One of the great dangers pre-
2. rhe qualities of a map that are imporram in communi- sented by maps is that people assume the landscape fea-
cating information co map users; and tures represented on maps are accurate ponrayals of the
3. the types of maps that can be developed to visually natural resources that they claim to manage. However.
and quickly communicate information to an audience. maps are. at best, abstractions of the real world, and will
usually possess some measure of non-conformity, be it
Within the various fields associated with natural directional or proportional or both, from a set of land-
resource management, we expect chat maps will be avail- scape features . A skilled map-maker will be able to choose
able to illustrate resources and areas that we manage a map projection that best preserves feature qualities (e.g.•
because of the prevalence of GIS use. Maps are amazing area, shape) and that best suits a map's objective. This
tOols that, if constructed properly, have the ab ili ty to skill might also include applying strategies for represent-
quickly and clearly communicate a message [Q an audi- ing data characteristics or qualities through different
ence. Maps are an effective method of communicating shapes, colors, or sizes. Understanding that maps must be
spatial relationships among landscape features. Maps are created and imerpreted with a discerning eye is one of the
also engaging-people are drawn to maps. Most GIS soft- first steps necessary to becoming a successful mapmaker
ware programs provide users the capability to produce or user.
sophisticated maps and maps often represent the output Maps usually are two-dimensional representations of
produced by GIS analyses. thus most people mainly tend the landscape. although th ree-dimensional maps can be
to associate GIS with map-making activities. Although used to show volume o r perspective. Symbols. colors, and
this association may ignore many of the other analytical text are combined to communicate information and, as
ca pabilities of GIS. the ability to geographically portray with graphs, flow charts, and other diagrams. maps are
the results of an analysis is one of the primary distinguish- graphical representations of information. Mapmakers
82
72 Part 1 Introduction to Geographic Information Systems, Databases, and Map Design
Systems. Spatial Databases.
Campground ......... .. ........ . .... ..... lc.nqlounI! can easily misuse them, since documentarion is usually
Gravel. sand. clay . Of borrow pit ...... .... Grll~t!I?iI limited within the dialog boxes provided by the GIS soft-
Mine shaft ... .. . ..... ...... ....... ... ..... I!l ware. Nevertheless, a variety of symbols are available in
Seawall. ... ....... ................... ... .. S £AW " L~ GIS software programs that allow the mapmaker to
describe landscape features. It is also possible within many
ShoaL ......... ........... ........ . ... ...... Shoal
GIS software programs [Q create a customized symbol set.
I n so me GIS software programs symbols are merely
Spot elevation........ .. ............. ..... . mts
bitmap graphic files that can be edited o r created th rough
State or territory.... ........ ........... - - - - - - graph ic software programs. And. if the existing symbol-
Tunnel: road...... .... .... .. .... .... ... ~ _ £ ... _
e Boat la unch
available within GIS software programs, and a num be r of
o(hers can be developed by hand us ing lines. arrows. and
,.
I!J Boat tour
Bicycle tra il
text (F igure 4.3). Some organizations. such as the US
National Park Service, require the use of a standard north
arrow o n their official maps (USDI National Park Service,
2003). Prospective cartographers should also realize (har
El Bus stop/Shuttle stop single-sided north arrows are used by some organizations
g Campfire
to represent magnetic north . The Earth's magnetic fields
are in constant flux and cause compass needles [Q point in
~ Campground alignment. W ith in much ofNorrh America, the magnetic
variation ranges berween 20° East an d 20° West declina-
!!! Canoe access tion , thus creating a large angular difference berween
Figure: 4.2 A subset of the slanda rd National Park Service picto- what many consider [rue north (which is astronomically
graphs for maps (USDI National Park Service, 2003). derived) and magnetic north.
84
74 Part 1 Introduction to Geographic Information Systems, Spatial Databases, and Map Design
the scale) is equal to (using the equal sign) one unit of dis-
tance on the actual landscape. Each side of the scale can
use a different unit of meas ure (e.g., 1 inch = 10 chains),
which distinguishes this type of scale from the propor-
tional scale, where each side of the scale is unirless.
Proportional scales are generaIly presented using a rep-
resentative fraction. such as 1:24.000. With this type of
Figure 4.3 A variety of north arrow d~igns. scale, users should interpret 1 unit on the map as repre-
senting 24.000 of the same units on the ground (e.g .•
1 map inch represents 24.000 ground inches, or 1 map
Scale ce ntimeter represents 24,000 ground centimeters).
Proportional and equivalent scales are also interchange-
Maps are models of real landscapes. and a scale is used to able. For example. an equivalent scale that reads 1 inch =
ind icate the ratio of (he map features [Q the actual land- 1 mile is the same as a proportional scale of 1:63.360
scape (i.e., map distance compared to actual ground dis- (I inch on a map represents 63.360 inches. or 1 mile, on
ranee) [0 the map users. For this reason, scales are essen- the ground).
cia! beca use they permit map users to reference map Whether graphic, equivalent, or proportional scales
features to their actual size. A sca le is almost always are used, the appropriate metries (English versus metric or
required on a map. and can be displayed using graphical, SI system. feet versus miles [meters vs. kilometers)) and
equivalent (verbal). or proportional scales (Figure 4.4). appropriate font sizes should be employed to avoid dis-
Graphical scales generally do not indicate the exact scale tracring users from the map's main message. Puc another
of a map (as do proponionai or equivalent scales) , but way, the scale is supplementary informacion on a map.
serve to visually associate the length of a map feature to and therefore it should not he so large that it auracts
actual ground distances. Man y people relate to this form attention away from the map itself. Finally, the units dis-
of scale more effectively than they do to the proportional played in a scale muSt make sense to the user of the map.
or equivalem scales. Equivalent scales are those where one For example. a proportional scale of 1:23.987. an equiva-
unit of d istance on a map (usually the left-hand side of lent scale of 1 cm = 2.3 km. and a graphical scale which is
divided inro 700-meter sections represents relativdy
uneven divisions. While the units displayed in scales may
Graphical scales:
he automaticaHy created in this manner in GIS, the map-
--- -
500m o 500m 1000m maker usually has comrol over them and can adjust them
accordingly to provide a mo re logical representation of
scale. In general, map users will be able to relate more
1 mile o 1 mile 2 miles easily to rounded scale figures. such as 1:24.000 or 1: 100.
rather than to more precise representations .
__ ""~, e
.. Roads
~"'
ous, but as in the case of the map's scale, [he legend
should nor distract users from the message of a map. In
addition , the appropriate descripro[s for each symbol
should be used. Abbreviations should be avoided if inter- Figure 4.6 A map of the Brown Tract roads and trails containing a
neatline, locational inset, title, legend, scale, and north arrow.
pretation of symbols might be unclear, or if a broad aud i-
ence is targeted. When data are presenred and indicate
quantities (such as length or area). the measurement units
should be presented. Brown Tract Roads and Streams
Most GIS sofrware programs now offe r [Ools {hat allow
{he automatic creation of map legends. These processes
simply reference the GIS da<abases that are being used and
their corresponding symbology. Typically, [Ools are also
available in GIS software to allow you to modifY aU[Qmat-
ically-created legends [Q suit your particular needs.
Locational inset
The approximate locatio n of {he mapped a rea within {he
conrext of a larger, more recognizable landscape feature
(e.g., a basin, forest, counry, o r State or provincial bound-
ary) can he indicated on a map using a locational inset. ,
The locational inset may be exrremely helpful fo r the
Benton County ,"-nd
-.._.. -.... +
map's audience if they are not familiar with the landscape
being illustrated. The locational inset might show the
location of a watershed within a drainage basin, or a prop-
erty within the boundary of a county. The locational
inset, however, should be a minor component of a map
and it must not compete with the main feature(s) of a
Lr _c-.,.. ..... __ .. JfI07
Figure 4.7 A map of the Brown Tract roads and 5lreams conuining a
map for the attention of an audience. Figures 4.6 and 4.7 ncacline. locational insct, title, legcnd. scale, and north arrow.
86
76 Part 1 Introduction to Geographic Information Systems,
Systems, Spatial Databases, and Map Design
co
contiguous wim the
nriguous with rh e main map figure but are still impor- • Ownership: The owners of individual parcels may be
tant
(3m to(Q display. For example. related area insets are ofren
often displayed on a map wich with words,
words. such as 'Georgia-
included in ma ps thar
maps rhat illustrate
illumate rhe
the 50 Un iced
ited States.
Scaces. Pacific', 'Srace
'Scare of Alabama',
Alabama'. or 'Province of Alberta'.
Alberta'.
Here.
Here, Alaska an
andd Hawaii are posirioned me
positioned in [he insets
insets.. • Road numbers or names: These may be applied appl ied as
tather
rather than in their actual geographic location
locarion (which
{which labels to maps toto further describe the road system.
would then
rhen include ponions
pordons of Canada and vast • Surveying or
o r other locationa
loeationall in
informacion:
formation: Township
expanses of the Pacific Ocean).
Ocean}. A special subject inset can numbers
and range numbe rs (if using the Public Land Survey
be used on a map to show different themadc representa- System oro r the Dominion Land System), or distances
rhe main map area (e.g. precipitation
tions of [he precipitation,, canopy direcdons from a metes and bounds survey may
and directions
cover). This is a popular mapping approach used in many be illustrated on maps with annotation, as could the
adases. type of markings (e.g.,
(e.g.. pink flagging,
Aagging. orange paint)
used to delineate treatment area boundaries.
• Areas of concern
concern:: The names of the homeowners near
Neatline
treatment areas may be placed on a map to allow land
A neadi
neadine that surrounds all of the landscape
ne is a border tbat managers to understand who they must contact
conract in case
hue lies within the oU[side
features on a map but ourside edge of me
rhe of a problem.
(paper).. Adding a neatline
mapping medium (paper) neadine ro
to a map is • Stand auribures:
attributes: While stand attributes
atrr ibures can
ca n be used [Q
{Q
canographic praccice
considered good cartographic practice btl[
bur its presence is shade a thematic map (as we will see soon) several
crirical than that
generally less critical thac of a scale bar or a legend.
legend, attributes
attribu tes of forested stands are commonly displayed
Neatlines
Nearl ines can also be placed around other map e1emenrs
elements with annotation inside individual stands. These atuib-
attrib-
to help distinguish
disringuish them and keep them separate
separare from utes
Utes could include the stand or vegetar
vegetation
ion eype, age.
age, or
(e.g.,, [0
other objects (e.g. separate the
to separare [he locadonal
loeational inser
inset from area (Figure 4.8).
the legend). Usually a nearline
neadine is composed of at
ac leasr
least one
line, co provide a more dra-
line. but multiple lines can be used ro Typography
marie effect. RegardJess
matic be use-
Regardless of the style, nearlines can be
(Oots
ful too that bring organization and disrincrion
ls rhat distinction (0
to co ntent and form
The content for m of text
[ext used to describe map fea-
sofeware programs
mapped landscape features. Some GIS software tures is an important
imponam aspect of [he
the communicative ability
abiliry
mapping
include mappi ng tools that will not on
[0015 thac only
ly create a neadine, map.. and is often used informally to differentiate
of a map
bur that
btl( thar will allow you co speciFy how the area contained
to specifY professional-looking maps from maps made by GIS
GIS
the neacline
within [he nearline will be filled. For example.
example, the back- novices. Since colors and patterns alone might not be ab le
ground area behind [he tide, landscape fearures.
the map tirle. features, and co
to fully explain the message of a map,
map. the texc
text used in
legend, could be shaded. An amomaric
amomacic neadine creadon
nearline crearion annotation,
annotatio n, labels, titles.
tities, and legends plays a role in [he
the
tool in GIS sofcware will allow the creation of a presenra-
presenta- appearance and aestherics
aesthetics of a map. The abili ty of GIS
abil ity GIS
tion-quality map or poster, bur
[ion-quaJiry but nearlines also be cre-
neadines can aJso users to interpret
imerprcr the written information rhey
they find on
wichouc much difficulty.
ated manually without maps is a function of many variables that can be described
87
Chapter 4 Map Design n
• In one study, Phillips et al. (1977) noted that the
capability of people to search and find infotmation on
a map was enhanced when the text was displayed in a
normal weight (not bold), with letters all in lower case,
except an initial capital. However, capitals should be
51 used for all letters in text when names are difficult to
70.86
pronounce or need to be copied accurately.
50
3.85 • Text set entirely in lower case has been shown to be
harder to locate on a map than text set entirely in
upper case. However when the initial letter of a piece
39 of text was slightly larger than the othet letters, locat-
58.39
ing the text was quicket (Phillips, 1979).
51 46
5.49 27.94
Color and contrast
54 It may be difficult to believe at first but people tend to
25.07
associate colors oflandscape features on maps with events,
emotions, and socio-economic status. Men and women
Figure 4.8 Map annotation: age (top, yurs) and area (bottom, respond to color with similar emotional reactions (Valdez
hectares) of a ponion of the Brown Tract stands (vegetation) GIS
database. & Mehrabian, 1994); however, people's emotional reac-
tion [0 colors may vary across cu ltures . Listed below are
general emotional react ions to various colors by south-
under the broad heading of typography. Some of the eastern US college students, as suggested by Kaya and
most important rypographical elements are typeface Epps (2004) .
(font), weight (bold/normal), size (point size), and case
(use of capitals) of text contained on the map itself. The • Green: they felt relaxed, calm, and comforted, and
font chosen will undoubtedly inAuence the ability of users associated me color with nature
to interpret maps, rhus a no rmal font (Times Roman, • Blue: they felt relaxed , calm, and comforted, yet asso-
Aria], etc.). and a normal and consistent font size is usu- ciated the color with sadness or loneliness
ally appropriate for most maps. Some important thoughts • Yellow: they felt lively and energetic, and associated
on map typography include the following: the color with summertime
• Red: they associated the color with love o r romance,
• Some font types may be easier co read than orhers. yet also associated the colo r with ange r
Mixing font rypes on a map may create (he impres- • Purple: they felt relaxed and calm, and associated the
sion that parts of a map arc nor clearly or logically color with childhood o r power
connected. • White: they associated the color with innocence,
• Use larger font sizes for map fearures mat are relatively peace, pur ity, or emptiness. and also associated the
morc importam than others. However, if you we re (0 color with snowfall or conon
differentiate landscape features by differem sizes of • Black: they associated the color with sadness, depres-
labels or annotation, you must remember that only a sion, fear, and darkness, yet also with richness, power,
small number of classes are discernable by most peo- and wealth
ple. In addition, small font sizes may be difficult for • Gray: they associated the color with negative emo -
some people to see. tions, bad weathet, and foggy days
• The tirle of a map should be displayed with a larger
font size (han the rest of the components of the map. Studies of peop le's responses to color have indicated
Use font size judiciously to display the legend, scale, comp lex emotional relationships. For example. in the
and Other material not contained in the mapped area. study by Kaya and Epps (2004), the color green evoked
The font size of these items should not overwhelm the the mos t positive response among college students
information contained in the mapped area. because it reminded them of nacu re. Yellow was a close
88
78 Part 1 Introduction to Geographic Information Systems, Spatial Databases, and Map Design
second. Yet, students associated [he color green-yellow ships so [hat the important objects of a map are separated
with feelings of sickness and disguSt. In an earlier Study of from those that are considered ancillary. In human per-
the effects of color on people's emotions, Valdez and ception, figures are the objects that are most strongly per-
Mehrabian (1994) also found green-yellow to be one of ceived and remembered by a map user, whereas data
the leaS[ pleasant colors, YCt one of the most aro using. (text) are less distinc[ive and memorable (Dene, 1999).
In designing a map whe re fea tures will be colored, rwo Techniques such as figure closure, comrast with other
general rules sho uld be followed: objeccs, and object grouping can be used to escablish dis-
tinctive ground-figure relationships.
1. Color certain landscape features with their mOSt obvi-
ous associated color (e.g., roads-black; screams-blue) . Ancillary information
2. When co loring polygons in a thema ti c map, use gra-
darions of one or two co lo rs to represem classes rather In some large namcai reso urce management organiza tions
than a set of conrrasting principal colors. The lance where multiple people share data developmenc [asks,
may confuse the ord ering of importance of classes in placing the names of people who contribu ted to [he
the map user's mind. developmene of a map on a map is typically discouraged.
However, in field offices of narurai resource m anagement
Visual contrast is o ne of the most important facmrs in o rgan izations. where field personnel are generally respo n-
creating a map (Robinson et a1 ., 1995). T he extent of s ible for developi ng ma ps to ass isc wich on-che-ground
contraSt employed by a mapmaker affects how well one decisions (and hence not specifically [he development of
set of in fo rmation is pro moted above (he other informa- GIS databases), it may be desirable to know both who cre-
rion available in the map (Figure 4.9). Feature size, shape, aced a map and when ic was creaced. Since GIS dacabases
texture, and color can all be altered to introduce contrast may be modified frequently, knowing the date tha[ a map
into a map. Contrast will help focus the attemion of (he was creaced mighc be as imponanc as knowing che map's
audience, and wi ll playa signi ficant role in the abi li ty developer. This sou rce informacion allows map users co
of the au dien ce co determine the cla ri ty of a map. place che conee nt of a map in perspeccive w ich che ve rsion
Mapmakers must also balance figure-ground relarion- of the GIS database(s) used to creace the map.
89
Chapter 4 Map Design 79
For example. suppose it is currently September 2008 A map disclaimer is a statement that embodies the
and you were examining a map developed in June 2007 legal position of the mapmaker with respect to map users.
that represented wildlife habirar across several thousand In many cases, the map maker uses a disclaimer to dis-
acres of a landscape. Assume that the wildlife habitat being rance himself or herself from any legal responsibiliry for
mapped was a funcdon of forest stand conditions, and that damages that could result from use of his or her map.
the GIS database describing forest stands had been updated Caveats. similarly. warn others of certain facts in order to
in Dece mber 2007. If the date were displayed on the map prevent misinterpretat ion of maps. In general. cavea ts are
Qune 2007). you would be able to understand that the less sweeping than disclaimers, and may on ly address cer-
qualiry of wildlife habitat illustrated in the map was esti- tain portions or aspects of a map. Warranties . on the
mated using an earlier version (i .e., not the current ver- other hand, are usually written guarantees of the integrity
sion) of the forest inventory data . Withom such informa- of a map. and of the mapmaker's responsibiliry for the
tion. you could very likely assume (incorrectly) that the repair or replacement of incorrect maps. In practice. dis-
estimates of wildlife habitat are current. claimers and caveats are regularly used. and warranties are
It is relatively uncommon for mapmakers to provide rarely (if ever) used in associarion with maps and GIS
the names of the files, projects. or compurcr code (e.g.. databases. Quite often organizations add disclaimers or
macro) used in m aking the map on the m ap itself. caveats to their maps in an attempt to warn users of the
However, providing [his info rmacion would allow you co limitations of the map content. In some cases. disclaimers
readily go back to the GIS darabases or the computer are noted directly on a map. and in other cases disclaimers
code. modify some aspect related co the composition of are provided on websites devoted to the distribution of
the map. and generate a new version of the map relat ively maps. Pima Couney, Arizona, for exam ple. provides a
quickly. Without such guidance. you may find ir difficult very thorough disclaimer abou t its products on a website
[0 remember how a map was originally constructed, The (Pima Counry [Arizona] Department of Transportation.
map projection might also be provided if the map per- 2003). The mai n ideas found in caveats and disclaimers
spective is affected by the projecrion system used. This include:
rype of ancillary information is usually placed in a subor-
dinate position on a map. in relation to the other aspects • rights reserved via copyriglu and permission require-
of a map. and displayed with a relatively small font size. ments for modificat ion co mapSj
• degree of error found on the mapSj
Caveats and disclaimers • suitability for usej
• liability. or responsibility. for errors o r omissions (e.g..
Increasingly. natural resource management organizations organizations usually assume no responsibility for mis-
are adding more information to the maps that they pro- use of their maps and subsequent losses); and
duce both to clarifY the accuracy of mapped landscape • contact information (e.g., addresses, phone numbers,
features and to clarifY the intended uses of the maps. This e-mail addresses).
information is important in helping users understand the
appropriate applications of mapped information and in Caveats and disclai mers vary in form and co ntent from
helping avoid damages and injuries that might result from organization to organization. Listed below are four
improper map use. For example, maps have long served as examples.
vital navigatio n aids to mariners and pilots. The ability to
safely pilot passenge rs depends on the quality o f the • Indiana Geo logical Survey (2007) : The maps on this
mapped information used as a navigational guide. Should web site were compiled by Indiana University, Indiana
a landscape landmark be misplaced or unidentified. the Geological Survey. using data believed to be accurate;
consequences to people and veh icles that are navigating however. a degree of error is inherent in all maps. The
with the erroneous data could be disastrous. As you might maps are distributed "AS-IS" without warranties of
imagine. there are other reasons why maps should contain any kind. eicher expressed or implied. including bur
information related to the quality of data. However. pro- not limited to warranties of suitability to a particular
viding this information or deciding not to provide this purpose or use. No attempt has been made in either
information is, at least indirectly. a function of [he liti- the design o r production of the maps co define the
gious nature of today's society. limits or jurisdiction of any federal , state, or local gov-
90
80 Part 1 Introduction to Geographic Information
Information Systems, Databases, and Map Design
Systems, Spatial Databases,
ernmenr.
ernment. T he maps are intended for use only at the
The differem
di cypes. If features
fferent line types. inreresr represent areas,
fearures of interest
published scale. on-the-ground surveys aand
scale. Detailed on-rhe-ground nd GIS databases co ntaining
conta ining polygons can be displayed as
hismcical analyses of sites may dHfcr
hismcica.l differ from the maps.' thematic maps, qua qualitative
litative area maps. and others. others.
• USDI Bureau of Land Managemenr Management (2001), databases, such as digital elevation
Volumetric databases. elevarion models,
Glennallen, AK: 'Info 'In fo rm arion
ation displayed on oouurr maps can be displayed as gridded fishnet maps, as shaded relief
was derived from mulriplc multiple sources.
sou rces. OurOUf maps are only maps, or simply as images with different shades or colors
maps.
for graphic dispdisplay lay aand general plan
nd general planning
nin g purposes. assigned to individual pixels.
Inquiries
Inqui ries concerning informationinformacion ddisplayed
is played on our inrerested in illustrating
If you were interested illust.rating features of
ofaa land-
maps, ttheir
heir sources, and intended uses should be scape across tim e, yo
time. youu can develo
developp maps with multiple
mulriple
directed to:
(0: ..
. . .-
.' panels. where each panel would co contain
ntain a view of the
• Orange Counry
County (Florida) Property Properry Appraiser (2002):(2002) : landscape during a differenr
different time
rime period. In some cases,
The Orange Counry County Pro Property
perry Appraiser
Appraise r makes every maps ca cann be animated, as in a short movie. They can also
effort to
effon ro produce and publish the most currem current and ' Ay through ' ability when viewed.
contain a 'fly viewed on a computer
compurer
accurate information
informacion possible. possibl e. No warran warranties.
ties, sc reen. The next few sections of this chapter
screen. chapler describe (he
the
implied, are provided lor
expressed or implied. for the dara
data herein.
herein, most common types rypes of maps developed for natural
irs
its use, or its interpretation. The assessed va values
lues are resource manage
managementmem purposes in more derail.
NOT cerrified
certified va values
lues and therefore aare re subject to
change before being finalized for ad valorem rax tax pur- Reference maps
poses. OCPA's on-line (cadasrral) (cadastral) maps are produced
fo
forr properry
property appraisal
appraisal purposes, and are NOT surveys. su rveys. Reference maps are those (hose that ill
il1ustrate
ust rate a number of dif-
No warranties,
warranties. expressed
exp ressed or implied, are provided for feaOlres, and mat provide users with a
ferent landscape features,
{he
[he data therein,
therein. its use, or o r its interpretarion.'
interpretation.' broad perspective
perspecrive of the landscape. Road maps are one
• Town of Blac ksburg ksbu rg (Virginia) (2007), on the rhe example of refere reference
nce maps, and may contain comain not nor oonly
nly
Blacks burg WebGIS si
Blacksburg te: ''DISCLAIMER:
site: DISClAIMER: The T he infor- rypes, but
road types, bm also the locations of [Owns, rivers,
towns, major rivers.
marion comained
contained on rh is page is NOT co
this [Q be con- poljtical boundaries (provinces, states,
and political states. counries,
counties, etc.)
srrued
strued or used as a "legal description".
description". Map informa- that are set among the road system. sysrem. Maps that display
tion is believed to be accurate accu rate burbut accuracy is nor not stream
st ream systems or watersheds are another example of ref-
guaranteed. Any errors or omissions should be maps. H
erence maps. Here,
ere, you would be able to place a water-
reponed
reported to rhe the Town of Blacksburg Geog raphic
Geographic shed or stream system sysrem within the co concext
ntext of a larger geo-
Informat
Info Systems Office.
rm at ion SyStems Office. In no event will the grap
graphichic area,
area. and thus these maps may also comain conrain the
T own of Blacksburg be liable for
Town fo r any
a ny da
damages,
mages, includ- locations of (Owns[Owns and political
polhical boundaries. Land owner-
ing loss of data, lost losr profits.
profits, business imerrupcion.
inrerruption. loss ship maps are a third example, and (hese these may contain
comain
of business info rmation or orner
information ocher pecuniary loss [hat that streams,
roads, strea [Owns, and other features
ms, towns, featu res necessary to
might
mi ght arise from the use of this map or rhe the informa- place tile
the land you manages within a larger landscape con-
tion it
ir comains.'
contains.' [ext,
text. Reference maps are commonly made when you
develop manage ment-relmenr-relared acrivicy maps.
ated activity maps, such as those
Map Types locatio ns for new features such as trails
for tree planting or locations
oorr roads.
roads.
type of map thar you develop should be a function
The rype The characteristics
characte ristics of reference maps will vary depend-
(1) the type
of: (I) data (i.e., poim.
rype of dara point, line.
line, polygon.
polygon, raster) ing on [he the audience. For example, some refe reference
rence maps
that is contained in GIS
rhar GIS databases, and (2) the mess.ge(s)
message(s) might display unique landscape features that th at are essential
rhar yo u wish to communicate [Q
[har to an audience. For exam
exam- p
for high quality
qualiry recreational
recrea tional experiences. Edwards (200 (2001)I)
pie,
ple, if rhe
the main GIS database used to create a map con- describes
descr ibes th rhee desirable co ntent and features of fishing
content
tains poinr
point feat ures, and you
features. yo u wish to illustrate cfjfferences
differences maps developed for angle rs. It
anglers. Ir is suggested that th at these
rhes.
between the point values. you may want
berween wanr to show rhe the rypes of reference maps include the complete road sys
types tem
system
points as dots or graduated symbols (different(di fferent sizes of surrounding
su rrounding a fishing area, water depths, access points (Q to
poinrs
points based on rhe the paine
po int anribute values).. If [he
att ribute values) the main Water, names of local features,
water. features, loca
locations
tions of off-limit fish-
GIS database used [0 ro create
creare a map conwns
contai ns line feacures,
featu res, ing areas,
areas. locations
loca tions of fishing lodges and places to bu buyy
you may wane
wam ro to illusuare
illustrate rhe
the differences in the lines with fish ing permits, places (Q
fishing to park vehicles, and, interes
in te restingly.
tingly,
91
Chapter 4 Map Design 81
local pubs. In [he case of fishing maps, Edwards (2001) (b) Five classes
suggests that they be developed in such a way that the
imporr3m information is easily accessible to the eye ,
and that they be represented with easily understandable
carrography.
Thematic maps
Thematic maps use colors or symbols [Q describe the spa-
tial variadon of one or more landscape features. Map fea-
tures displayed with a combinatio n of colo r and texture
have been shown (0 be easier to find on maps than fea-
tures displayed with variations on texture alone (Phillips
& Noyes, 1982). Several types of thematic maps are com-
mon. Perhaps (he most common is the choropleth map
on which a range of appropriate values (Figure 4.10) or
gradations of a color illustrate [he relative magnicucle of
attributes of landscape features . Color schemes generally Trees per hectare
range from an empty shaded fill (for lowest valued attrib- D 0-500
utes) to a full shaded fill (for highest valued attributes), D 50H.000
D 1,OOH .500
with various shades of color for intermediate classes. c::J 1,501-2,000
The legend is crit ical when developing choropleth _ 2,001.
maps because the colors related (0 the va lues muse be
explicitly described. in order for map users (0 interpret [he
values effeccively. Several design aspec[s muse be (c) Seven classes
Figure 4 .1 0 A range of classes of trees per hectare on the Brown Tract illustrated in a choroplerh map.
92
82 Part 1 Introductioo to Geographic Information Systems, Spatial Databases, and Map Design
addressed when creating a legend, The number of legend manual methods of creating classification ran ges, I( IS
classes, or categori es. is imponanr , Too few classes may advisable for map makers to visually examine the distribu-
not contain enough informacion , while [00 many classes tion of the data (hey are mapping to bettcr understand its
may presenr [00 much detail or result in an overly 'busy' character, and then to decide what legend type might be
map. Sometimes it may be necessary (Q experiment with useful. Again , an important co ncept when utilizing GIS •
several choices co determine which might work beSt (see software is that the software will usually do what you ask.
Figure 4, 10). Dent (1999) provides some guidelines The responsibility !ails on the mapmaker to determine
related to this topic. Humans have difficulty differentiat- the appropriate classification for a legend.
ing more than 11 gray [Ones, so as a general rule. a mini- The diStribution of data, such as the range of basal
mum or four, and not more (han six, classifications area within the stands of a property yo u manages, can
should be used on a map. take on many different shapes. but (he most common (for
The size or ranges of the intervals for each class also map-making purposes) are norma1. random. and even
has a significant impact on a map's message. MoSt GIS distributions (Madej, 2001) . Normal distributions follow
software programs offer processes to help create legends, a stat iscically-based representacion of va lues thar you
and (hey may cake inca account (he distribution of [he would expect to see from most populations or population
data that are being mapped. An equal interval legend, for samples. As a result, a standard deviation legend classifica-
example. would take into account the range of data val ues tion, with its emphasis based on statistical variation from
and create intervals (classes) that share an equal disrribu- an average. works well. Random disrribmions are present
tion of the range (Figure 4.11) . A quantile diStribution in data where you cannot discern a regular panern in the
would put an equal number of observations (e.g., poly- occurrence of data vales. Natural breakpoints can be
go ns) into each interval (class). Intervals might also be established by locating sub-gro upin gs of random data,
creared based o n how many standard deviations an obser- thus you wou ld manually create divisions between sub-
var ion is from the mean, or be created using natural break groups . Even disrribmions include data where the va lues
points in the disrribmion of observations. While these do not appea r to change very much . For example. if you
3momarcd processes can save rime when compared to managed 1,000 hectares ofland, yo u might expect to find
Figure 4 . 11 An interval cla.uification and a quantile interval classification of trees per hectare on the Brown Tract.
93
Chapter 4 Map Design 83
an equal number of hectares in each 10 m' ha- I basal area ors. A similar effect can be generated with gray tones. as
class. and thus you would expect to find a relatively small demonstrated with some of the figu res in this chapter.
standard deviation in the data values here. A quantile clas- Single color progressions are particularly helpful for con-
sification works well for even or uniform distributions tinuous numeric variables . For nominal data classifica-
because an equal number of observations are placed in tions. such as ownership or land use, or numeric data
each category. with only a few categories. distinctly different colors or
Regardless of how thematic classes are created. map- patterns can be used to make certain categories stand out
makers need to ensure that the intervals are consistent on a map.
and that they make sense from an interpretation paine of Contour maps (Figure 4.13) are also a type of the-
view. This also includes verifYing that legend classifica- mad e map. and are sometimes called isoline or isarithmic
tions do not overlap and do not in advertendy omit data maps. Here. lines or collections of similar features are
ranges (Figute 4.12). If a characteristic of a landscape fea- used to emphasize gradients or distributions, such as ele-
ture (e.g.• basal area per hectare) can be placed inro more vations or precipitacion levels across a landscape (Star &
than one class, then the classes overlap. Alternatively, if a Estes. 1990). The contour interval is the distance between
characteristic of a landscape feature cannot be placed inco adjacent contour lines. The choice of an interval is impor-
any class. a data range has been omitted and the feature tant when creating concour maps: tight intervals may
Falls into a classification level 'gap'. Either way. the poten- resu lt in a cluttered map while wide intervals might mis-
tial problems with the classification must be addressed. represent landscape variation. To reduce clutter on maps.
With the increasing capabilities and affordability of not every contour interval is described with a data value.
color printers and plotters. the use of color to graphically only those representing significant changes in elevation-
ponray different class ifi cations in thematic maps has usually denoted themselves by the elevation interval. For
become standard. In general, tonal progressions of a sin - example. while the comour interval between adjacent
gle color are useful for illustrating magnitudes of change, comour lines may be 10 meters, the only comour lines
with the lighter (Ones of colo rs indicating a lesser quanc:iry represented with data values may be those that represent
(or quality) of an attribute value than the darker tone col- every 50-meter change in elevation.
Compare this
W"h~e~m.~~~~~~~-r__~
polygoo in ' 17"O'...J-' (a) Overlapping (b) Omilted classes
4.7(b) classes
Compare1tiese
Trees per hectare Trees per hectare wtth the same
D 0-500 D 0-500 polygons in
D 501-1 ,000 D 501-1,000 4.7(a)
D
D
_
1,001-1 ,500
1,501-2.200
2,001 + } 2001-2200
" overIap
B ~ :~~~=~',: }
_ 2,001+
1501-1600omilted
Figure 4.12 A range of criteria used for a choropleth map, with (a) overlapping classes. and (b) omitted classes.
94
84 Part 1 Introduction to Geographic Information Systems, Spatial Databases, and Map Design
95
Chapter 4 Map Design 85
Develop
110 .. ~ 110
Map
Get
Feedback
No EdH
Map
Yes
Stand Attribute
Map
D Trees per acre
Completed
_ Basal area per acre
Figure 4.16 A cartogram map illustrating two measures offorc$[ Fig-urc 4. 17 A basic design loop for making maps.
density for each stand-trees per acre and basal area per acre on the
Brown T net.
The number of iterations of a design loop will be a
function of your abi li ty to address a range of visual con-
The Design Loop cerns (visual contrasts. visual balance. legend. etc.), your
abi lity to address a range of illustrative concerns (show-
Novice mapmakers, especially students, assume that their ing the correct information), and your time constraints
first attempt at a new map will be sufficient [0 effectively (the time remaining before a deadline) . I[ might be advis-
communicate informacion (Q their audience (or to cam- able co scan the map-making process by first developing
ple[e an assignmenc). However, maps usually should go some hand-writren notes that contain the main ideas
through more (han one ve rsion before they are delivered about the intended map message(s) or purpose and the
to a custome r, whether changes are needed based on the rype of audience [hac is likely to view [he map. An out-
mapmaker's visua l assessment of (he map. or based on a line format wi[h a primary objeccive and sub-headings
customer's suggestions (Figure 4.1 7), Each iteration in that address other intended map purposes might be
the development of a map cou ld be considered one irera- worth considering. Once these concepts have been iden-
[ion in [he design loop. Feedback from supervisors and tified . it might also be worthwhile [Q create a hand-
co-workers will allow you to fine-cune maps that are made drawn skecch of the basic map componenes and how they
for reports or management activity plans. Besides the aes- fit together. At this poine, the developmene of [he map
theric concerns presented in this chapter (map type. num- wi[hin GIS can begin. A well-developed, visually-
ber of classes shown, etc.), mapmakers should strive to centered map will be a reRection of one's professionalism
achieve visual balance within their map products. This as a natural resource manager.
concern is one of {he reasons why maps may need co be
edited numerous rimes. Visual balance is affected by {he Common Map Problems
size of [ex[ (tide, legend, and ancillary informa tion) and
the location of map components (north arrow, scale, and Miscakes (rypographieal errors), oversighcs (wrong color
location inset) in rel at ion to the visual center of the map. or symbology used), and omiss ions (missing information)
One key to identifying an unbalanced map is the presence can impair a map's ability to deliver {he imended message
of a large. empty space in some portion of the map. to an audience. Probably the most important aspect of
96
86 Part 1 Introduction to Geographic Information Systems, Spatial Databases, and Map Design
creating a map is co focus on [he audience [hat will be provinces, erc.) have unusual spellings and, if spelled
viewing the map. If your co-workers (ocher foreseers, biol- incorrecdy. may nor be detected even if a spell-checker is
ogists, erc.) will be rhe primary audience, rhen perhaps used . This requires rhar mapmakers ca refully read all map
the basic map elements (e.g., a north arrow, bar scale. or text before presenting the final product to their customers.
locational inset) may not be as importam ro include; [his Excessive detail , or clutter, can also detract from a
audience may expect to see instead more of [he technical map's message and intent. Most GIS software programs
info rm acion, such as annotat ion or Q[her descriptive now feature impressive arrays of map-making symbols
informadon, that is related to the landscape feacuces illus- and rool s rhar are capable of producing any number of
trated. They may also expect [Q see a morc extensive vari- cartographic symbols and orher aids. While many of rhese
acion of feature classes across the landscape. However, if tools can be quite helpful-not to mention interesting to
rhe aud ience is composed of rhe general public-rhose experiment with-too many objects on a map produce
nor familiar with the landscape resources displayed on a clutter an d hinder a map's intended message. Excessive
map- then it would seem imporram {Q include [he basic detail, especially in maps that are intended general infor-
map e1emems (e.g.• tide. credits. north arrow, scale bar, mation displays. can also result when mapmakers insert
and inset) that help the audience orient themselves to the toO much text (annotation or labels) OntO a map.
map. Less variation (fewer mapped classes of information) It is also common that output devices (e.g., printer or
wou ld reduce the confusion associated with the map. An plorrer) produce maps wirh colors rhar appear slightly dif-
audience composed of academics o r scientists may want ferent from what is viewed on a compute r screen . These
to see more detail in the data values. problems can be very frustrating, especiall y after you have
Map problems are usually rhe resulr of leaving a key painsrakingly pur rogerher a colored legend scheme rhat
element, like a scale or another detail important to the differentiates between different colors or values. The sub-
audience. off of a map. Sometimes, these problems result sequent adjustments can be frustrating. Sometimes the
from misjudging the audience, and other times it is simply easiest solution to a color mismatch problem is to simply
a matter of oversight on the part of the mapmaker. For choose colors from a palette file that is com pliant with the
example, since automatic spell-checking processes are output device. Other sol ution s include using only the
available in mOSt word processing software, many map- addirive primary (red, blue, green) or subtracrive primary
makers somerimes forger thar spell checking is usually a colors (magenta, cyan, yellow), or creating color schemes
manual operation within most GIS sofrware. In addition, that take plotter translations of monitor colors closely
some place names (names associated with cities, regions, into account.
Summary
Maps are used to convey info rmation about the spatial harvest plan to a stare or provincial age ncy), and certain
location and cha racteristics of natural and man-made components are required when developing a map for per-
resources. When they are well developed. maps a re an sonal use. In addition, some organizations require that all
effective way of communicating ideas [Q an audience. maps produced by their employees contain a n organiza-
This chapter described a variety of map components that tional logo. use a standard layout format, and use othe r
can be used to help develop effecrive maps. These features that reflect the organization a nd the map 's
included legends, scales, annotatio n, symbology, and intended purpose. There is no singu lar, correct format
typography. The representation of rhese components on a rhar firs all organizarions, and you should balance your
map may be important to inevitable customers of the creativity with the advice provided in this chaprer. You
map. For example, there are cerrain componentS of maps should, however, have an understanding of the map rype
that are required when developing maps for co-workers or options, and develop the appropriate map for the
others internal [Q a natural resource management organi- intended audience. Keep in mind that eve ry map is
zation, certain components thar are required when devel- potentially a reflection of your reputation as a narural
oping maps for external clients (e.g., when submitting a resource professional.
97
Chapter 4 Map Design 87
Applications
4. 1. Age class distribution map for the Brown T ract. 4.7. C ulvert installation dates. The road engineer
The manager of rhe Brown T racr, Becky Blaylock, would associared wirh the Daniel Picke[[ foresr, Bob Packard, is
like you co produce a map char illustrates the age class dis- in the process of developing a culvert replacement plan.
cribucion of the forest. To complete this exercise, develop He would like you co develop a map illusrraring rhe road
a rhemar ic map showing I I age classes: 0-10 years old, system, the culverts, and the culvert installacion dates for
11-20, .... ,91-100, and 100+ years old. rhe Daniel Pickerr properey.
4.2. Tree densiry map for the Brown Tract. Afrer 4 .8. D isclaimers) caveats, and warranties. Imagine
reviewing your previous work, Becky Blaylock would like that yo u work for an age ncy chat has developed a statewide
a map thac ill ustrates the trees per hectare for vegetation streams GIS database. At one of your regular staff meet-
stands contained within the Brown T ract; she needs the ings, rhe discussion shifrs co rhis GIS darabase and the need
map for an annual reporr chat she is developing. Develop co add or associate some SOrt of disclaimer, caveat, or war-
a thematic map chat classifies the stands by trees per ranty with the GIS database. During this conversation you
hectare. using five logical classes. conclude rhar rhe group is very confused abour rhe use of
the terms 'disclaimer', 'caveat', and 'warranty'. What guid-
4.3. Owl locations on the Darnel Picketr forest. The ance can you provide co help rhe sraff undersrand rhe dif-
wildlife biologisr associared wirh rhe Daniel Picke[[ foresr ferences between the terms, and how the terms might be
needs a map chat illustra tes the historical spotted owl used in relation to the streams GIS database?
(StTix occithntalis) nest locations that were known to have
been used in the Forese. Develop a reference map illustrat- 4.9. M ap scales. One of your colleagues, Mike
ing rhe two nest locations, and annotate rhe map with the Marshall, does nor like rhe eype of scale [har you com-
dare of rhe laS[ known sigh[ing of the owls. mon ly incorpo rate into your management maps. He
prefers to use anothe r type of scale, and insists that you
4.4. Stream rypes of the Daniel Picketr forest. The use ir as weU . IdenrifY, define, and describe rhe possible
hydrologiS[ associared wirh rhe Daniel Picke[[ foreS[ advanrages and disadvanrages of rhree eypes of approaches
needs a map illustrating the different stream rypes, in for creating map scales.
o rder CO direct a summer crew co the locat ions he would
like to survey for fish species and habitat conditions. 4. 10. Map development. A sma ll consul ring firm In
Develop a reference map that iIlusrra rcs the different Brirish Columb ia has recendy hired you, and one of your
scream rypes associated with the Da ni el Pickett fo rest. first assignments is to make management maps for various
planned act ivities on the land managed by your firm.
4.5. Potential harvest unit. The land manager of the IdenrifY five irems or objecrs rhar should be placed on
Daniel Picken forest is considering a timber sale in un it almost every map.
number 13 on rhe Daniel Picken forese He would like
yo u (0 produce a management map indicating that unit 4.11. M ap legends. The manager of rhe Brown Tracr
13 is a proposed harvesr area, and co display rhe road and desires a map illustratin g the trees per hecta re for each
stream systems in rdarion (0 the uniL stand on the property. There are different approaches for
organizing and displaying sparial dara inro a map legend.
4.6. Brown Tract hiking map . Becky Blaylock, man· a) Whar is a general guideline fo r choosing rhe num-
ager of rhe Brown Tracr, wou ld like you ro develop a ber of categories in a legend thar uses gray cones?
map illumaring rhe crail sysrem, highlighring borh rhe b) Whar is an equal inrerval legend, and how does ir
authorized and unauthorized trai ls. Recrearionists who disp lay numeric data?
visir rhe fo reS[ will likely use [his map. Develop a refer· c) What is a quantile distribution legend, and how
enee map that incl udes the road system and the contour does if display numeric data?
lines (wi th associated elevations) as supplementary d) Whar is a srandard devia<ion legend, and how does
informa ti on. it display numeric data?
98
88 Part 1 Introduction to Geographic Information Systems, Spatial Databases, and Map Design
References
Dent. B.D. (1999) . Cartography thematic map design . Phillips. R.J .• & Noyes. L. (1982). An investigation of
New York: McGraw-HilI. visual c1uner in the topographic base of a geological
Digital W isdom. Inc. (2006). Cartographic symbols & map. Cartographic journal. 19. 122-32.
map symbols library. Tappahannock. VA: Digital Phillips. R.J .• Noyes. L.. & Audley. R.J. (1977). The leg-
Wisdom. Inc. Recrieved March 28. 2007. from ibility of type on maps. Ergonomics. 20. 671-82.
hnp:llwww.map-symbol.com /sy m_lib.htm. Pima County (Arizona) Department of Transponacion.
Edwards. D . (2001). Maps for anglers. The Cartographic (2003). Department disclaimer and me restrictions.
journal. 38(1).103-6. T llcson , AZ: Pima COlincy Department of T ranspor-
Franklin. P. (2001) . Maps for the reluctan t. The ration, Geographic Information Services Division.
Cartographicjourna~ 38(1). 87-90. Retrieved March 28. 2007. from http://www.dot.
Indiana Geological Survey. (2007) . Copyright. map dis- co .p ima,az,lls!mapdis,hrm ,
claimer. and limitation of warranti~s and liabilities. Robinson. A.H. Morrison. J.L. . Muehrcke. P.c. .
Bloomington . IN : Indiana Geological Survey. Kimerling. A.J .• & Guptill. S.c. (1995). Elements of
Retrieved March 3. 2007. from hnp:// igs.indiana.edul cartography. New York: John Wiley & Sons. Inc.
disclaimer.cfm. Sheahan. B.T. (2004). The unofficiaL Arc/Info and
International Orienteering Federation. (2000). Inta- Arc View symbol page. Victoria. BC: Spatial Solutions.
national specification for orienuering maps. Radio-katu, Inc. Retrieved March 28. 2007. from http://www.
Finland: Incernational O rienteering Federation. mapsymbols.com/.
Kaya. N .• & Epps. H .H. (2004). Relationship between Star. J .• & Estes. J. {I 990) . Geographic information sys-
color and emotion: A study of college students. Co/l'ge tems: An introduction. Englewood Cliffs. NJ: Prentice-
Student journal, 38. 396-405 . Hall. Inc.
Madej. J. (2001) . Cartographic dlSign using Arc View GIS. Town of Blacksb urg (Virginia). (2007). Blacksbu rg
Albany. NY: OnWord Press. WebGIS site. Retrieved March 28 . 2007. from http://
Mecriam-Webster. (2007). Mariam-Webster online arcims2 .webgis. net/blacksburgl defa ul t.asp.
search. Retrieved March 28. 2007. from hnp://www. US DI Bureau of Land Manage ment. (2001). Map dis-
m-w .coml cgi-binl dictionary. c/aimer. Glennallen. AK: Bureau of Land Manage-
Monmonier. M.S. (1995) . Drawing the line: Tales ofmaps ment. Retrieved March 28. 2007. from http://www.
and cartocontroversy. New York: Henry Holt and blm.gov/aklgdo/documents/map_disclaimer.doc.
Company. USD I US Geological Survey. (2003). Part 6 publication
Monmonier. M .S. (1996). How to Lie with maps (2nd symbols. Standards for 1:24.000- and 1:25.000-scale
ed.). Ch icago. IL: University of Chicago Press. quadrangle maps. Reston. VA: US Geological Survey.
Natural Resources Canada. (2006). Topographic map sym- Retrieved March 23. 2007. from http://rockyweb.
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Branch. Recrieved March 23. 2007. from USDI National Park Service. (2003) . NPS map symbols:
hnp:llmaps.nrcan.gc.caltOpo 10 I/symbols_e. php. Updated March 4. 2003. Retrieved March 27. 2007.
Orange County (Florida) Propetry Appraiser. (2002) . OCPA from http://www.nps.gov/carto/PDF/symbolsmapl .
map record inquiry system. Retrieved March 29. 2007. pdf.
from http://www.ocpafl.orgidocs/disclaimer_ map. html. Valdez. P .• & Mehrabian. A. (1994). Effects of color on
Phillips. R.J . (1979) . Why is lower case bener? Some data emotions. journal ofExperimentaL Psychology: Genera~
from a search task. Applied Ergonomics. 10.211-14. 123. 394-409.
Phillips. R.J. (1989). Ase maps different from other kinds Wood. D. (2003). Cartography is dead (thank God!).
of graphic information? Cartographic journal, 26. 24-5. Cartographic Pmpectives. 45.4-7.
99
Part 2
act 2 of rhis book focuses on the GIS applications common to namra) resou rce man-
P agemen t organ izatio ns. The majority of data supporting daily GIS use in namral
resource manage ment is stored in vectO r GIS databases. although rhe in tegratio n of vector
and raster GIS databases is becoming increasingly com mon. For example. the development
of resource managemem plans may require rhe use of GIS databases representing fo res t
stands (polygons), roads and srreams (lines), wate r sou rces and wildlife observat io ns
(points). and topography (raster). T he chapte rs included in this part of the book present
a number of GIS processes such as querying, buffering. clipping. raste r analysis. and simul-
taneous integratio n of vector an d raster GIS databases in an analysis. The ropics increase
in complexity wi th each passing chapter. and rhe applications associated with each wpic
integrate processes presented in previous chapters. Some advanced wpies are also pre-
sented. such as delineating the land classifications of a landscape and delineating the recre-
ation opponunity spectrum classes of a landscape. In panicular, [he raster-oriented chap-
eers provide examples of adva nced a nalys is techn iques and possibilities.
A va riety of processing pathways can be used within GIS co address a si ngl e manage-
ment concern and it is imponant [Q note th at there may be more than one processing
solution for a part icular challenge. While we provide direction for the mOSt straightfor-
ward processes. students should feel free to be crea tive in their approaches co addressing
each appli cation. Finally, so me of the applications require students CO think more broadly
(beyond GIS) abom how the results of an analysis may affect natural resource management
opportunities within a given landscape.
100
Chapter 5
101
Chapter 5 Selecting Landscape Features 91
Is ther< any old-growth forest within the property 5. Select features based on some criteria .
being managed? 6. Select features from a previously selected set of features.
7. Switching (inverting) a se t of selected features so that
2. Obtaining extended information all unselected items become selected.
Besides spotted owl hab itat, what other ty pes of 8. Select features within so me proximity of other
important wildlife habitat are found within the prop- features.
erty bei ng managed?
Besides steep hiking trails, what other types of trails Selecting one feature manually
are contained within the property being managed?
Besides old-growth forests. what other dassificacions The abi lity to select landscape features using a computer
of forest are conta ined within the property being mouse or digitizing puck is an essential tool for examining
managed? or editing individual landscape features in GIS, and for
editing tabular data contained in an attribute table. As we
3. Obtaining broader information blUed on complrx queries have JUS[ implied, within GIS software programs land-
Are there any areas that meet all of the habitat require- sca pe features can be selected either from the window that
ments for all of the species of interest within the prop- presents the spatial display of landscape features, or from
erey being managed? the window that presents the associated a[[ ribute table.
Are there any trails that, when combined . provide a GIS software programs are either designed to allow users
relacively easy hiking experience? to select landscape features by default {e.g., Maplnfo} or
Are there any forest stands th at can be managed co to provide a well-positioned, easily accessible function
provide both wildlife habitat and timbe r resources? (i.e., the 'select features' tool in ArcMap or the 'select fea-
tures ' button in ArcYiew 3.3) [hat allows users to manu-
4. Obtaining information on resources in limited sup;" ally select individual landscape features. A careful posi-
Are [here any areas of habitat [hat appea r in small tioning of the computer mouse's cursor over a landscape
quantities across the area being managed? feature {either in the display of spatial landscape features
Are there any trails that provide experiences that occur or in the tabular database} and a simple click of the mouse
rarely ac ross the area being managed? will usually do the job. Selected landscape features will
Are there any forest stands that represent unique forest normally be colored or shaded differently {in both the
types within the area being managed? spatial display of landscape features and tabular database}
from other landscape features in the GIS database of inter-
est, allowing users (0 visually verify what has been
Selecting Landscape Features selected. GIS software programs use standard characteris-
from a GIS Database tics for displaying selected features, such as the light blue
color used by ArcMap or the yellow colo r used by
As we noted in the introduction to cha pter I, nat ural ArcYiew 3.3 for displaying a selected spatial feature or its
resource managers are consistently called upon to describe attribute record. Some GIS software programs allow users
the condition of a landscape using GIS softwa re programs to define the characteristics (i.e., color) of selected spatial
and GIS databases. Generally speaking, natural resource features or a[[ributes. and most GIS softwa re will allow
managers are co ncerned with understanding where la nd- users to specify which GIS layers ca n be 'selectable'. As a
scape features are located and what characteristic(s) they resulr, either those layers that are visible in a window are
might have now, have had in the past, or will have in the selectable. or those that have been chosen from a list are
future. There are at least eight processes you can use to selectable. Th is ability can make feature selections more
select landscape features from GIS databases: efficient and also prevent analysis errors.
102
92 Part 2 Applying GIS to Natural Resource Management
menr of inform
mem information
arion (map or data) co fac
dara) to facilitate
il irate a natural seape features with JUSt
scape jUst one (or
(o r a few) click(s)
c1ick(s) of a mouse
resoll rce managemeor
resource management analysis. The process fo forr selecdng
selecting ra ther chan
rather than having to ro select
selecl all the
th. landscape features
featu res
multiple landscape feamces
mulriple features is sim ilar (0
similar ( 0 the process for abiliry is useful when summ
manually. This ability summaarizing
rizing data
selecting
selectin g single
sin gle landscape feamres m manually,
an ually, wi with
th the about
abo ur all of the landsca
landscape pe featu res in a dambase
features database oro r when
computer mouse playing {he
compucer the ce nrral
ntral role. The selection of you are co considering
nsidering spatial
spacial analysis processes. Some users
features can generally be accompl
multiple landscape feamres accomplished
ished of GIS ro select (he
G IS prefer to the landscape features to which the
landsca pe fearures rhe
in one of twO
rwo ways: GIS processes would be applied appl ied (all landsca
landscapepe features
fearures in
case), rarher
this case). rather than rely on 0 11 the common
rhe co mmo n default (if no
1. Using the seJect
select tool associated wi with
th a GIS
GIS softwa re landscape features
fearures are selected,
selec<ed, an analysis applies
ap plies to all
program, draw a rectangular
reccangular box in the rhe window thattilar landscape features).
features) . Another opportuniry
opportunity to selecr
select all
all the
displays the spatial features.
fearures. Here, you would
wou ld specifY
specilY features
fearures of a GISGIS database
darabase is if you are calculati
calculatingng values
the location (by clicking and holding down a mouse for fields
fi elds in an attribute tab le. Calculations are usually
cornerr of the box. Then
button) for one corne Then,, drag therhe performed on selected recordsreco rds in a tabular database,
daraba se. so, {Qto
mouse to [0 specify the diago
diagonal
nal corner, and release the calcu latio n on all of the
perform a calculacion records, such as the cal-
me records.
button.
mouse burton. culation of some portion
portio n of a habita
habitatt suitability
suitabili ty score for
fo r
2. Using [he
the seiect
sdect [001
tool associated with
wirh a GIS
GIS software
soltware vegetation po polygons,
lygons, you may need to selecr select all of the
program, select
sdccr features individually
ind ivid ually while depressing a records
reco rds as a preliminary
prelimina_ry step in the process.
key on the comcomputer
puter keyboard (e.g. , the 's 'shift'
hilt' key
when using ArcMap). This process can be used in the rhe Selecting none of the features in a
window
w indow that displays the [he spatial fearuces
fearu ces or in therhe GIS database
attribute
arrribu r. table.
T he ability
abili ty to select none of the landscape features in a
Each GIS software program may involve invo lve a variation
va riation (or GIS database (or to ' un-select'
un-sdec[ o orr 'clear' the
rhe selection)
selectio n) is
two) oonn these
[Wo) rhese techniques.
rec hniques. M More
ore than likely
li kdy an alternat
alternative
ive also a standard
standa td process assocassociaiated
ted with GtS
GIS software pro-
exists th at allows users (Q
exisrs that efficiently select multiple
to more efficiendy grams. Most GIS soltware
software programs have specific func-
landscape
la ndsca pe features
fearu res manually. Fo Forr example, assume
ass ume youyo u tions-either menu items or buttons-that allow users co to
were interested in selecting
selectin g vegetation
vegecarion po polygons thatt con-
lygons tha un-sdecr all landscape features with
un-select jUst one click of a
wirh JUSt
tained (rees that were, on average, over 100 years of age. age. computer mouse (rather than rhan having co to un-select
un-selecr all land-
Within aan n attribute table you could co uld so rt the vegetarian
sore vegetation scape features
featu res manually).
manually) . There are many reasons reaso ns for
polygon recorecordsrds by their age, either eicher using an ascending wanring (Q to perform th is ac
this tion; one
anion; o ne of the most common
co mmo n
(youngest
(yo ungest to ooldest)
ldest) or descending (o ldest to youngest) reasons
reaso ns is to[Q clear previollsly
previously selected
selecred landscape features
featu res
sort.
so rr. This wiwillll re·posi
re-positio
rionn the
[he vegetation
vege tation polygon
polygo n records
reco rds from a GIS
GIS database
darabase before performing a spa spatial
rial process
such that the ones th that
at comain
contain th thee oldest trees are such as bubuffering.
ffering. In a buffering process, when no spa spatial
rial
grouped together.
rogether, th us facilitating
rncilita ting a more efficient man- fearures
features are selected)
selected, generally
genera lly all of the features are used
ual selec[ion
selection of multiple
mu lriple features. Had H ad you not sorted the to develop buffers. If one o orr more
mo re features are selected,
selec ted,
records, youyo u would
wo uld have needed to ro scroll ththrough
rough [he the oonly features are buffered. h
nly the selected feamres It is usually after
alter
table to locate
attribute [able loca te records wi th average tree age val- viewing the results of ofaa spatial process that you realize
real ize you
lies ove r 100; [h
ues over this
is likely would
wou ld have lead {Q to errors of om
omis-is- have forgonen to un-select landscape feacures features before pe per-r-
sio n (missed records) and it would nO[
sion not have been an effi- forming (heth e ooperation.
perati o n.
cient use of yo youurr time.
time.
Selecting features based on some
Selecting all of the features in a database criteria
criteria
GIS database
By now it may be evident that there musr
must be a faster way
The ab
abiliry sdecl all la ndscape features from a GIS
ility to seleer G IS to select a subset of the enrire se
[he entire sett of landscape feafeatures
tures
database is a standard
stan dard process among GIS software pro- mher
rather than having to selec[ rhem manually. Within all GIS
sdeer [hem
grams. In addition, most GIS software programs generally
gene rally software programs,
programs. users have the abi lity CO
ability to ask questions,
questions.
have specific functions
funct io ns to allow users to select all land- that
[har is, {Q
CO develop queries,
q ueries. about
aho m the landscape
la ndscape feacures
features
103
Chapter 5 Selecting Landscape Features 93
What is an attribute? It is defi ned as a characte ristic or forester might be inte rested in the basal area, timber vol-
quality of an o bject, or in our case, a characreriscic o r ume. or habitat qua/iry of [he srands [hat are delineated
quality of some namral resource. Within GIS. you are on a property. An amibute of a landscape feature can be
usually imeresred in a characteristic or quality of some extended, howeve r, co incl ude its spatial position. size,
feature found on the landscape. such as the vegecarion . perimecer (or length). and even the cype of data it rep-
the so il , the water, or the land . More specifically, a resents (e.g.• point. line. polygon. raster grid cell).
contained in a GIS database. A query is simply a question. the selection of resources of imerest across a landscape,
or set of questions. used co request in fo rm ation abom and help a managemem team focus o n the more suitable
some resource contai ned (or described) within a database. areas.
Imagine a co-worker aski ng. 'Please help me find all of the In developing GIS queries, you must build a set of
fo resred areas that might require a pre-commercial thin- criteria to en able a search of data base, and subsequently to
ning rrearmem.' To locate the potencial pre-commercial enable the selection of app ropriate landscape features . Fo r
th in ning areas , the request should be refined , then re- those mo re attu ned to vis ualizing processes from a com-
directed by asking questions abour the info rmacion con- puter programming perspective, queries are similar to the
tained in one or more GIS databases, in this case, perhaps If
developmem of stattments. As the auribures of each
a forest stand GIS database. You might ask the GIS data- landsca pe are examined. ifsome conditions (criteria) of the
base 'Where are all of the young. overstocked. conifer landscape features are true (or conform to the criteria).
stands?' This wo uld seem to be a good start. yet a GIS soft- the landscape feature will be placed into a 'selected' set.
ware program wou ld need more specific. quancitative The following examples of queries rel ate to the data pre-
instructions, detailin g the an ribuces co use in [he search for sented in Table 5.1. Answers are provided to allow stu-
the ap propriate landscape feacu res, and detailing the dents to work through the queries o n their own , and to
bounds of the val ues of [he amibutes. For example, to find understand how (and why) the results were obtained.
the yo ung stands in a forest stands GIS database. you
might search an 'age' anrib uce field for those forest sta nd
polygons [hat have values between 10 and 20 (IO and 20 TABLE S,l A limber stand database
years old). The more refined query then becomes 'find all
Stand Acra Hectares MBP Ag' TPA' TPW
of the forest stands where age ~ 10 and age S 20.'
You might ask. 'Why would we need to perform 100 40.5 12 25 200 494
que ries?' One reaso n was illuscrated wit h the need [Q 2 70 28.3 20 45 150 371
idencify the po temial pre-co mmercial th inning areas-
3 250 101.2 13 26 200 494
there are times when natu ral resource managers need to
know where certai n resources are located to help facili tate 4 80 32.4 6 18 300 74 1
making managemem decisions regarding the resources. 5 60 24.3 2 12 575 1,421
Queries can range from the rather simplistic (findi ng the
6 120 48.6 10 23 200 494
mOSt appropriate huming area) to the rather complex
7 40 16.2 7 20 400 988
(finding the most appropriate areas to commercially thin
trees over {he next (WO yea rs). Suppose a management 8 60 24.3 14 28 150 37 1
decision needed to be made rega rding locat ing the most 9 75 30.4 3 15 550 1.359
appropriate area to develop a new hiking trail. You might
10 95 38.4 10 600 1,483
first locate and describe all of the cha racter istics of a land-
scape (current hiking crails. timbe r stands of var ious char- • Thousand board ft et ptr acre
ac teristics, etc.) that would influence the placemem of a h Trees per acre
new crail. A query of these GIS databases could facili tate < T rets per hectare
104
94 Part 2 Applying GIS to
to Natural Resource Management
105
Chapter 5 Selecting landscape Features 95
c) How many timber stands are at least 20 years old, be between 30 and 40 years old, the land allocation
and are no older than 30 years old, and contain should include only the even-aged Stands, and the timber
more than 500 trees per hectare? volume prior to thinning must be above 9 MBF per acre.
Amibutes: age, age, TPH The criteria, placed within the structure of a query then
Relational operators: becomes:
Age: ;" (greater than or equal to)
Age: S (less than or equal to) (age;" 30) and (age S 40) and (MBF ;" 9) and
TPH : > (greater than) (land allocation = 'even-aged')
T hreshold values:
Age: 20 The resulting eight stands (42 hecta res) on the Brown
Age: 30 Tract that conform to this query are illusuated in Figure
TPH: 500 5.1. These areas can be considered. the poremial commer-
Logical operators: and, and cial thinn ing opportun ities for the fo rest in the near
Query: (age;" 20) and (age S 30) and (TI'H future.
> 500)
Answer: I srand (7) Selecting features from a previously
selected set of features
To illustrate the use of a complex query, we wi ll ask a
few questions regarding the polygons contained in the Rather than develop a long, complex q uery containing
Brown Tract stands GIS database. First, assume that the multiple criteria. you can design a set of less complex
managers of the Brown Tract are interested in managing quer ies that are hierarchical in nature and that reduce the
the forest for timber production, and maximizing the landscape features contained in the set of selected land-
growth potential of (he [fees in the forest. One way ro scape features with each additional query. This process
achieve this goal may be to use precommercial thinning. may help you stay organized and prevent the occurren ce
As a result, (hey need to understand whether any poten- of mistakes that may be difficult to understand when
cial commercial thinning opportunities exist. Assume that usi ng a long and complex query. To selec, landscape fea-
the criteria developed by the managers of the Brown cures from a previously selected set of landscape features,
Tract [Q assist in (he analysis was based on four ideas: a number of single criterion queries are assembled .
106
96 Part 2 Applying GIS to Natural Resource Management
age ~ 20
age s: 30
TPH > 500
107
Chapter 5 Selecting Landscape Features 97
Here, the set of stands that might comprise TPH > 500
can be subdivided into those that are greater than 28 years
old. The resulting Set can furrher be subdivided into
stands that are less than 31 years old.
Figure 5.4 Stands &om the previously ~Iected set (age O!: 30 and age :5
40) on the Brown Tract that meet the following criterion: MBF O!: 9] Inverting a selection
Occasionally, you may find yourself in a situation where
are 30 years old (they are 29 years old) . Similarly, in the you need to understand {wo aspects of the spatial features
following example, the complex query cannot be broken contained in a GIS database: what is the condition (state
down into three single criterion queries. or characteristic) of one set of features, and what is the
One of the most common mistakes made when asking forest, as in this case, the sum of area represented by
questions of databases is that results are often accepted the multiple queries should equal the sum of the
as 'truth' without considering whether results are rea- resources in the original GIS database. If the sum of
sonable. For example, the Brown Tract timber scands the area in the age classes is greater than the size of the
GIS database contains a number of polygons th at, Brown Tract, some areas were double-counted, per-
when summed, describe a 2,123 hectare area. Within haps using queries such as these,
the Brown Tract a variety of ages of forests, ranging
from recent c1earcuts (age = 0) to older stands. are Age class I: (age ~ 0) and (age" (0)
present. To describe the current structure of the Age class 2: (age ~ 10) and (age" 20)
Brown Tract, you could develop an age class distribu-
tion that indicates the area within. say. la-year age where the area of I O-year-old stands is included in
classes. After performing queries of the various forest both classes. If the sum of the area in the age classes is
age classes, the sum of the area queried should nor less than the size of the Brown Tract. some areas were
result in more or less than 2,123 hectares (the size of nor counted. perhaps using queries such as these.
the properry). You should always ask yourself whether
the results obtained seem reasonab le, given the Age class I: (age> 0) and (age < 10)
resources being queried. Whenever possible , if a Age class 2: (age> 10) and (age < 20)
method of verifying results is available, it is advisable
to check yo ur work or have a colleague check your where the area of O-year-old stands (c1earcurs) is not
work. If multiple queries are performed that are included in age class I , and the area of IO-yea r-old
designed to completely describe the resources of the srands is nor included in either age class.
108
98 Part 2 Applying GIS to Natural Resource Management
condition of everyth ing else. Two sets of queries can be available for the Pheasant Hill planning area of the
developed to identifY these two sets of features; howeve r, QU'Appdle River Valley in central Saskatchewan. Here,
if rhe second set contains 'everything else', simply invert- we have created a GIS database that contains so il s, topog-
ing rhe selected fearures after rhe first query will produce raphy, and land classification information . There are 168
rhe second set. For example, if you were in terested in polygons with in the GIS database. Assume that we, as nat-
understanding how much land area was considered ural resource managers, are interested in understanding
'reserved' on the Brown Tract, and rhen how much land the land areas that contain clayey soils, have steep or
area remained 'un-reserved', you could first develop rhe undulating topography, and that have been categorized as
query for rhe reserved areas, having no significant lim ita cion as they pertain to agricul-
tural practices. Initially, we could develop a multiple cri-
(land allocarion = 'meadow') or (land allocatio n = teria query to select from the larger set of features only
'research') or (land allocation = 'oak woodland') or those that have clayey soil types. There are a number of
(land allocation = 'rock pit') soil types in the Pheasant Hill planning area, thus the
query would be designed something like this:
and find that it contains 42 stands covering about 229
hectares. By then inverting the selection, you will find (Soil_type = ' Indian Head Clay') or (Soil_type =
that what rema ins is a ser of 241 stands covering abom 'Indian Head Clay Loam') or (Soil_type = ' Indian
1,893 hectares. A second query for even-aged. uneven- Head Heavy Clay') or (Soil_ type = 'Oxbow Clay
aged. and shelrerwood stands was not necessary. Loam') or (Soil_type = 'Rocanville Clay Loam')
The inven selection technique simply switches the GIS
database selections, so that featu res previously selected are Given that a polygon is assigned on ly one soil type. we
no longer selected. and vice versa. Some G IS software will needed to use the relational operator 'or' in the query
make this capability ava ilable through a menu choice in rathe r than 'and'. As a result of this multiple criteria
the cabular database window while ocher programs may query, we find that only 69 of the original 168 polygons
make this capability available through a menu or button have a clay component in their assoc iated soil type. In
in the spatial database viewing window. Some GIS soft- order to locate those areas within this sub-set of the land-
ware programs include borh capabi licies. scape features that are also located on undulating or steep
slopes. we can perform a second multiple criteria query.
Example 1: Find the landscape features in one
GIS database by using single and multiple criteria (Topography = 'STEEP') or
queries and by selecting features from a previously (Topography = 'UN DULATING')
selected set of features
A co mbination of query processes can be used if you and here only select features from the previously selected
believe that they are necessary to accurately arrive at the sub-set oflandscape features (not from the larger, o riginal
desired set of GIS database features. In this example, we set of landscape features) . In this case, we find that 28 of
use a GIS database created from the set of GIS databases the polygons have both the soil characteristics and topO-
characteriscics of imerest (0
graphic characreriscics to us. Finally.
Finally, we per- fearures. since line or point
fe-drures, poine feat ures do nO(
features not describe areas.
form a single criteria query to determine how many of the me Alternatively.
A1ternarively. the firstfirsr GIS database could comain conrain point.
point,
remain ing 28 polygons also have no sign
remaining limica
ificant limita-
significant w line. or polygon features.
feamres. In this example.
example, assume that the
tions for agri
dons cultural praccices:
agricultural practices: first GIS
G1S database, the one containing features feamres the manager
wishes to know something about. contains points.
' No Significam
(Land Class = 'No Significant Limitations) From a natural resource perspective. managers of the
Brown TractTracr may be interested in understanding [he the
Again, this query is made by selecting from the previously habitat conditions within which certain cerrain wildlife species
selecred
selected set of28
of 28 polygons. reside. In order (Q CO collect
coUee[ habitat information ir it may be
As a result of this final query,
query. we find
lind that
thar 18 of the necessary to locate and install forest inventory plots. and
ooriginal
riginal 168 polygons have soil, topographic,
topographic. and land sample the characteristics of the forests. Pcrmanem Permanent forest
classification characteristics suitable for our original
original na(U-
natu- inventory plms.
plots. those
rhose that have already been installed and
ral resource management
managemem analysis
a nal ysis (Figure
(Figu re 5.5). We could are periodically re-measured.
re-measured, can also be used for this pur-
have arrived at the same answer by performing one long, long. pose. From a review of the natu naturalral history
hi story of the
rhe wildlife
mulciple
multiple criteria query. Alternatively. we could have species of interest.
interest, you may decide that thar only [hose
those
arrived at the same answer by using single criteria queries research
resea plots that
rch plotS thar are contained within
wirhin older forest sstands
rands
to build up the selected so soilil rypes (adding to the selected
selecred (those atac least
leaSt 100 years old) require measurement.
measuremem. Thus
set each time
ser rime addirional
additional polygons that thar have soil rype the problem becomes one of selecting the plots that reside
attributes of interest us)., then selecting from the previ-
imeres[ (Q us) within
w stands. T
ith in older Stands. he GIS database that
The thai contains
co ntains the
rhe
ously selected set
se r those that have the desired topographic
rhose thac ropographic landscape features
fearures of interest
inte rest is the research plot GIS data-
and land classification amibmes.
attributes. base. and the GIS database that represents
th e GIS rep resents the older fo rest
foreSt
areas is the forest stands GIS database.
Selecting features within some In order roto complete
complere the spatial
sparial query.
query , you would first
firSt
proximity of other features select the older
o lder stands in the forest stands GIS database of
the Brown Tract, using a single criterion query:
In addition to selecting
selecring landscape features
fearures based on the
set of attributes available within the tabular portion of a age ~ 100.
GIS database, you can select landscape features based on
their spatial relationsh ip to other landscape features.
fearures. This The focus of the analysis is then sh ifted ifred to the research
allows you to ask.
ask, for example. which landscape features
example, whidh fearures plot GIS database.
darabase. where the question is posed: how many
are within a threshold distance of. adjacenr (0, roo o
orr in close plots are located within the selected
selecred landscape features of
proximity
proximiry of other landscape features.
feamres. For example. you the srands
stands GIS database (rhe (the older Stands)?
stands)? The entire spa-
want {Q
may wam to know which research
resea rch plots are in older for- rial query process, in generic terms, terms. can be described as
est stands.
srands. what forest stands are next (0to research areas, or two-Step process: (I) select the older stands from the
this two-step
which water sources are wirhin cerrain distance of a
within a certain forest stands GIS
G1S database using a single criterion query,
si ngle crieerion
road. The abil ity [Q
abiliry (0 ask questions
quesdons in spatial
spadaJ terms
rerms is but
bur and (2) develop a spa spatial
rial query on the research plm
rhe researdh plot GIS
one indication of the power of GIS. The following three [hree database
daeabase where [hethe selection
seleceion is performed using the spatial
examples
exa mples provide a description of three common fo forms
rms of location of selected landscape features from within the
spatial
spadal queries. fo rest
reSt stands GIS database. This spatial selection abiliry
may be described as 'selection by location' or some other
Example 1: Find the landscape features in one similarly named menu choice or burton, bu([on. depending on
GIS database that are inside landscape features software
the GIS softwa re being used. Landscape featu res in the
fearures
contamed in another GIS database
(polygons) contained datahase research plot GIS database are selected if they intersect
inrersect the
In this natural resource manager may be ineer-
rhis example, a3 narural inter- space covered by the selected landscape features fearures in the
ested in examining [wo (wo GIS databases:
databases; one has landscape stands GIS database.
darabase.
features that he oorr she is ineerested
imerested in knowing something The result of this spatial query process should yield 40
about; the other
orner has landscape features that
thar represent areas research plotS
plots that full within therh e boundaries of older for-
within which he or she is only concerned. Obviously the est stands
seands (Figure
(Figu re 55.6).
.6) . Similarly.
Similarly, if you were imeresred
interested in
second GIS database suggests
sugges" that it consists of polygons knowing how many research plots were located locared in you ng
yo ung
110
100 Part 2 Applying GIS to Natural Resource Management
Example 3: Find landscape features from one query process may yield 44 stands, including the research
GIS database tbat are adjacent to otber landscape a reas . To remove the research areas from this set of
features in tbe same GIS database selected landscape featu res. you can perform a single cri-
In this example, the inrerest is in performing a spatial terion query from the previously selected set of landscape
query that uses landscape features within a single GIS feamres. such as,
database. Adjacency issues in natural resource manage-
Land allocation <> ' Research '
ment usually concern the placemenr of harvests or the
location of habitat) and imply that activities may be pro- where
hibited from being implemented next to (or nearby) other
attribute: land all ocation
receody implemented activities. In the case of habitat
relatio nal operator: <> (not equal to)
development. natural resource managers may desire co
threshold value: research areas
develop habitat next to (or nearby) other good wildlife
habitat areas. Alternativdy. an invesrmem in research may By performing this single criterion query on the previ-
need co be protected by limiting activity in nearby or su r- ously selected set oflandscape featu res. you can select and
rounding areas. Since this example concerns adjacency identify JUSt those stands adjacent to the research areas.
issues, the GIS database used also suggests that it conrains Figure 5.8 illustrates the spatial location of the 37 stands
polygon features. This example will assume that a natural that are adjacent to resea rch areas on the Brown Tract.
resource manager is interested in understanding the
extenr and number of stands that are adjacent to research
areas. Since the Brown Tract is a working forest that con-
tains some research areas, coo rdin ation of both research
and harvesting act ivities is paramount. particularly if the
harvestin g activities affect a resource being smdied in the
research areas (for example, species of wildlife or hydro-
logic conditions under canopy).
A generic description of the spatial query process
might then include the following steps: (1) select the
stands in the stands G IS database that are designated a
'research' land allocation, and (2) develop a spatial query
on the stands GIS database where the selection is per-
fo rmed based on how far away other stands are from the
research areas. In this case. you can assume that the stands
to be queried are 0 meters away from the research areas,
and essentially touch a research polygon. Depending on
the GIS softwa re program used, the resul , of this spatial Figure 5.8 Stands adjacenllo research areas on the Brown Trace .
Structured Query Language, or SQL, is the most pop- tailored the SQL language for various applications.
ular com puter language for querying and manipulat- the American Nationa l Standards Institute (ANSi)
ing data contained in relational databases. Sometimes and the International Organization for Standard-
simply called 'sequel ', the language allows you to ization (ISO) have developed standard versions and
develop quer ies similar to those presented here to offer them for sale. Some GIS software programs sup-
access data from large data bases. Although IBM , POrt the use of the SQL language, and extend it to
Oracle. and Microsoft have led the recent develop- the management and manipulation of spatial data
ments of SQL. and many other organizations have features.
112
102 Part 2 Applying GIS to Natural Resource Management
Advanced Query Applications discourage some users of GIS. MoS[ of these problems
occur because brackets or parentheses are missing from a
Advanced app lications of GIS-related database queries query; this results in an incomplete query. such as in the
have concentrated on limiting the focus of queries only two cases shown below from ArcMap que ries.
to rhe features inside a spatial or temporal window
defined by the user. In addition to simply providing a [Height] >= 50} and (beginning and ending
summary of rhe resources contained within a specific ([Age] >= 25 parentheses missing)
area, as the user-defined window (location or time ( [Age] >= 25) and {the attribuce 'age' is
frame) sl ides is expa nded. or is contracted, the query is
( <= 30 ) missing from the second
updated (Q reflect those features that have left rhe win- part of the criteria}
dow and those [hat have entered rhe window. Queries
can be completely re-eva luated as a window slides (or Most software programs require [hat every bracket or
otherwise changes). or iteratively evaluated by updating parentheses be balanced, so, if you begin with an opening
the query by considering only the changes that have bracket or parentheses. you must end with one as well.
occurred (Edelsbrunner & Overmars. 1987; Ghanem et These parentheses and brackets can also be used to con-
al.. 2007). Dynamic queries can be designed that allow trol the order of operations in queries that include math-
users to adjust questions asked of GIS databases by emarical operations. The dialog boxes that are generall y
incorporating slider objec[S in a window rather than ask- used to help develop queries will assist with the place-
in g the user to redefine (by typing) the adj ustmentS ment of parentheses and brackets as long as the fields.
needed. For example. a graphical user interface can be operarors, and values are selected in a logical manner
designed to allow users to easily adjust the upper and using the computer mouse. Syntax errors usually arise
lower bounds of a quantitative query along a scale, using when a user erases part of a query. then continues with
a computer mouse (Domingue et al.. 2003). and to pro- its development (i.e .. through keyboard intervention).
vide those results quickly. Queries with syntax e rrors usually need manual keyboard
intervention to correct the resulting problems. One of
Syntax Errors the eas iest methods (0 allev iate syntax errors during
queries may be to simply close the query dialog box and
Syntax errors that occur when developing queries can begin anew.
Summary
There are a variery of methods you can use (0 select land- results of an analysis (here. a query) are reasonable. It has
scape features from a GIS darabase. from using a mouse become very easy in modern GIS software to create spa-
(0 manually pick the landscape features (0 selecting them tial and anribute reference queries. and to instantly
with queries. The most common requests of natural receive the results. This ease of use may lead you to
resource managers that involve GIS quer ies include: (1) a believe that the results should not be questioned. Most
map illustrating the landscape features that conform to GIS programs are designed to perform comp lex queries
some criteria. (2) a GIS database containing only the provided that the query syntax is correct. H owever, rhey
landscape features that conform to some criteria, and (3) sim ply provide you with results based on your instruc-
summary statistics of the landscape features that conform tions. and do not have the ab ili ty to question whether a
to some criteria. Many of the applications described later query was correctly designed. It is therefore important to
in th is book require YOll to develop a map showing some be critical of the ourpUt from a query. and to examine
landscape feat ures of interest. and to describe some char- whethe r the resu lts are wit hin the bounds of reason. This
acteristics of those landscape features. Queries will enable will help you to detect errors either in the GIS databases
YOli to acco mplish these tasks quickly and efficiently. An being analyzed or in the methods being used to perform
important habit to develop is to ask yourself whether the an analysis.
113
Chapter 5 Selecting Landscape Features 103
Applications
5.1. Daniel Pickett Forest Annual Report. For the 5.2. Information for a new s upervisor of Brown
AnnuaJ Repof[ ohhe Daniel Pickett forest. you have been Tract. A new supervisor (Sharon G ill man) was recendy
asked by Hugh Davenport (DiStrict Forester) to provide selected [Q manage the Brown T mct, and she wanes to get
some in formation related [Q rhe forest's resources. Me familiar with the natural resources located mere. She has
Davenport poses his request as a series of questions: asked you to provide some information about the T ract
and j[5 resources:
From the stands GIS database:
a) How much area ofland contai ns forests:S; 20 years From the streams GIS database:
of age? a) How many miles or kilometers of fish-bearing, large
b) How much area of land contains forests > 20 years streams are in the database?
of age and:> 40 years of age? b) How many miles or kilometers of fish-bearing,
c) How much area of land co ntains forests> 40 years medium streams are in the database?
of age? c) How many miles or kilom<ters of fish-bearing, small
d) How much area otland contains vegetation type A? streams are: in the database?
e) How much area ofland contains vegetation type B? d) How many miles or kilom<tm of non-fish bearing,
f) How much area of land contains vegetation type C? large streams are in the database?
g) How much area of land contains ave rage timber e) How many miles or kilom<lm of non-fish bearing,
vo lumes ~ 49.4 MBF (tho usand board feet) per medium streams are in the database?
hectare (20 MBF per acre)? J) How many milts or kilom<lm of non-fish bearing,
h) How much area of land co ntai ns ave rage timber small streams are in the database?
volumes ~ 74.1 MBF per hectare (30 MBF per acre)?
From the roads GIS database:
i) How much area of land contains average timber
a) How many miles or kilometers of road on (or near)
volumes ~ 98.8 MBF per hectare (40 MBF per acre)?
the Brown T mCt are rock roads?
From the soils GIS database: b) How many milts or kilom<lm of road on (o r near)
the Brown Tract are dirt roads?
a) How much area ofland might have a high response
[0 fenilization? From the soils GIS database:
b) How much area of land might have a medium a) How much area ofland of 'PR' soil type is there o n
response to fertilization ? the Brown Tract?
c) How much area ofland might have a low response b) How much area of land of 'DN' soil type is there
to ferti lization? on the Brown Tract?
c) How much area of land of 'WL' soil type is there
From rhe streams GIS database (map units are feet):
on the Brown Tract?
a) How many miles or kilometers of Class 1 streams are
in the database? From the water so urces GIS database:
b) How many miles or kilometers of Class 2 streams are a) How many beaver pond water sou rces are on the
in the database? Brown Tract?
c) How many miles or kilometers of Class 3 streams are b) How many hyd rant so urces are on (o r near) the
in the database? Brown Tract?
d) How many miles or kilometers of C lass 4 streams are c) How many water tank sources are on (o r near) the
in the database? Brown Tract?
e) Why might these values be misleading, and what
caveat might you provide to Mr Davenpon? From the trails GIS database:
a) How many miles or kilometers of authorized trails
G raphics for the repo n: are there on the: Brown Tract?
a) Develop a histogram of 10-year stand age classes, b) How many miles or kilometers of unauthorized
showi ng the amount ofland in each age class. tra ils are there on the Brown Tract?
114
104 Part 2 Applying GIS to Nalural
Natural Resource Management
115
Chapter 5 Selecting Landscape Features 105
References
Domingue. j., Stun, A" Manins, M. , Tan, ] ., Pcrursson, Ghanem. T.M .• Hammad. M.A .• Mokbel. M.F .• Aref.
H .• & Morea. E. (2003). Supporting online shopping W.G .• & Elmagarmid. A.K. (2007). Incremental eval-
(hrough a combination of ontologies and interface uation of sliding-window queries over dara Streams .
metaphors. IntenzationalJournal of Human-Computer IEEE Transactions on Knowledge and Data Engineering,
Studirs. 59. 699-723. 19.57-72-
Edelsbrunner. H .• & Overmars. M.H . (1987) . Zooming Plum Creek Timber Company. (2001). Plum Creek
by repeated range detection. Information ProctIsing annual report 2000. Searde. WA: Plum Creek Timber
Lmers. 24. 413-1 7. Com pany.
116
Chapter 6
The term 'erase' also has several meanings. and is GIS database Spatial features Tabular attributes
mainly used a verb in (he English language. in manners
such as (a) (Q rub ou( or scrape away. (b) to remove writ- Input GIS databases
ten marks, (c) co remove recorded data from a magnetic
Database to be Stand attributes:
medium, and (d) to nullifY an effeC( (Merriam-Webste r, clipped: stands basal area, volume
2007). When the term 'erasing' is used in a GIS context, per acre, etc.
it is much more closely aligned with the notion most peo-
ple have about rubbing or scraping rhings away: some fea-
use~dO
cures are be ing removed (e rased) from the landscape.
Imagine two GIS databases, a fo resr stand GIS database
and a stream buffer GIS database. If you wanted to visu- Database
alize all of (he forest stands areas oU[side of the stream do the clipping: Buffer attributes:
buffers, you could use the polygons that describe the 150·foot (45.7 m) buffer distance, etc.
stream buffers
stream buffer area co erase all of those areas from the tim-
ber stand GIS database. As you can see you can use clip-
ping and erasing tools co obtain resource information
about specific geographic regions. Output GIS database
a. GIS databases prior to a clip process. b. GIS databases during a clip process. (0 = node)
+----- Road 1,
Road
Property belore RoadJ
after
<Of-- Property boundary 1, boundary I, 2 clipping 21
j __ '1I
clipping
(cookie cutter) process process
I,
/ ( I ,
J'-' Fire area
• 1,
.......- "I
Properly
1, boundary I, Fire area
(cookie cutter)
C. GIS databases after a clip process. (0 = node) Rre area 3 1... ...... 1 after 3!.'''3
I, before , " .
I
clipping ~ __ ~ 4
i--ll.:l---- Clipped road clipping,'
I I
I process 33
Figure 6.2 Clipping a road and a fire area to tilt: pro~rty boundary of a land ownership.
A clipping process is essenrially the same as makin g MuniCipality boundaries in the Pheasant Hill planning area of the
cookies from a sheet of cookie dough. It is called 'eras- Qu'Appelle River Valley in central Saskatchewan
119
Chapter 6 Obtaining Intormation Spec~ic Geographic Region
Information about a Specmc 109
process. There are a number of other reasons why you tion regarding the status
tjon thar they
starus of the natural resources that
would wanr to clip a set of spatial features
want [0 fearures co(Q the bound- manage. Therefore, a clipping process is used toro limit the
ary of a properry.
property. One of them relates to the accuracy and amount of information shared to ro that
mat concerning specific
consistency of an organization's
o rganization's GIS databases. GIS data- geographic regions, such as individual watersheds.
bases can be digitized in-house or by comracrocs, contractors, created
through other spatial operations, developed with GPS Obtaining information about
technology, obtained from oorganizations
technology. rganizations that sell daca-
seU data- vegetation resources within
bases, downloaded for free off of the Internet, or simply
riparian zones
passed from one person [0 another. Given me
to anomer. the wide vari-
va ri -
ety o rga nizacions can acquire GIS databases. it is
ery of ways organizations As a first
fi rst example of us using
ing a clipping process, let's assume
not unreasonable (0 to imagine [hat me
that the extent of the cover- iD(~res(ed in the
that we are interested [h~ vegetation resources con-
age of the GIS
G IS data wil
wi lll likely not perfectly fit the extentexrenr tained entirely
enti rely within some pre-defined riparian riparia n zones
of an ownership's boundary. Some o rganizations require within a fo rest. In chapter 7.
forest. 7, we will describe the rhe process
that the extent of each GIS database lit fit perfectly with the of taking spatial
spat iaJ features, such as streams,
Streams, and creacreating
ting
boundaries of their land ownership, and they tbey ensure this physical zones (buffers) around aroun d them.
them . For now, let's ler's
by clipping each GIS database to their ownership bound- assume that thar a GISGIS database containing polygons that
ary GIS database. Granted, there are some GIS G IS da tabases, describe 50-meter riparian wnes (stream buffers) for the
such as roads and streams,
screams, mat that you may nO[ not want dipped
clipped Brown Tract already exists (Figure (F igu re 6.4) . The type of
[Q an ownership boundary (interest may ceorer
[0 center on where informarion we may be interested in knowing includes
information
[he
the roads and screams
streams come from and where they go the amount of land and the volume of timber within the
beyond a property boundary), but there are GIS databases, riparian zones, which are generallygeneralJy limi ted-use manage-
limited-use
such as soils and land cover, where the argument may ment areas. A clipping process wou would ld allow us to develop
hold (interest may not cemer center on the soils of other land GIS database contajning
a GIS containing only chosethose umber
timber stand areas
owners). that are within the boundaries of the polygons that
Other rypes
types of polygon features could be used in a describe the riparian zones (Figure 6.4). The original tim-
dipp ing
dippi ng process. For example,
example. you yo u may he be interested
ince rcsted in ber stand polygo
polygons ns that intersect the stream buffer poly-
contained w
the resources contajned ith in a riparian zone,
with zone. or within gons would be redesigned such that their boundaries now
Further, when narural
a watershed. Further. natural resource management coincide with the edges of rhe the riparian zones. Those tim-
organizations share GIS databases, they rhey may decide to ber stand polygon boundaries that fall entirely within with in the
limit what is shared. For example, in Washington State, Stare, riparian zones would be left intact, intact . those timber stand
where watershed analysis
analys is has been an important aspect of polygons that fall fitJI entirely outside of the riparian zones
foresr
forese management, a coorciinared
coordinated dfon effort among organiza- would be e1imina[ed
eliminated..
tions leads to the identification
idemification of the limits of appropri- What you should find in the tabular database (attrib-
ate management activities wirhin within watersheds. In Ln many utes) of the clipped GIS database is the same set (number
Utes)
analyses, a single organization will perform rhe
watershed analyses. the and type)
rype) of attributes thar that can be found in the original
G IS analysis tasks, and thus
GIS rhus acquire
acqu ire all of the GISG IS data- vegetarion GIS However, the values
GIS database. However. rhe
valu es of (he
particular watershed
bases related to a pan.icular wate rshed regardless of an ributcs associated with 'area' (acres and hectares) may
attributes
landowner. Usually private namral
landowner. natural resource organizations
organizadons need to be adjusted to reAect only the area of the th e poly-
are very hesitant to share their G GIS
IS databases with their gons within the clipped GIS database. In [n addition, some
competitors-some GIS GI S databases are considered propri- polygon GIS GIS databases may also comain contain a perimeter meas-
etary and may contain sensitive information. In addicion. addition, uremem that describes the distanc~ around each
[he linear distance
organizations may be hesitant to ro release GIS
GIS databases that polygon border. The perimeter distance may also need to
are dated or chatthat may conta coma in unverified information . be recalculated in order to accu accurately perimeters
rately represent perimerers
However,, since watershed analysis may benefit all
However that were affected by a clipping operation. Some GIS soft-
landowners in the long run, some GIS dacabases databases arcare usu- ware programs perform these adjustmems adjustments automaricaIly
auromatically
ally shared among land management organizations. organizadons. In depending on the type of spatial database; other GIS soft-
cases such as these, organizadons
organizations may decide to ro sha
sharere as ware programs require users to recaJculaterecalculate the areas with
little
lirrle GIS data as possible to meet [he the goals
goa ls of the water- a second (albeir automated) process. Arcributes
(albeit automared) Arrribures mar
that
shed anaJysis.
analysis. and thus avo id revealing any other informa-
rhus avoid describe something other than an 'area' of land (e.g., tree
'a rea' ofland
120
110 Part 2 Applying GIS to Natural Resource Management
(a) so· meter stream buffers. age or stand volume). are not adjusted during the dipping
process. With the lise of a dipping process. you should be
able ro understa nd how much area is comained within
the riparian zones, 446 ha in the case of the Brown Tract
(Table 6.1). The resulting dipped GIS database also pro-
vides information necessa ry for subsequem analyses, such
as those that involve understandi ng the average age of the
riparian zone vegetation. or the timber vo lumes contained
within the riparian zones.
Stand
number Acres Hectares Age Volume'
121
Chapter 6 Obtaining Information about a Spec~ic Geographic Region 111
product that can be obtained is the soil survey geogtaphic Assume.you were to acquire the SSURGO data for the
database (SSURGO) for most counties in the US. The county within which the Brown Tract is located (Figure
majority of SSURGO data were mapped at a 1:20,000 6.5). If the managers of the Brown Tract were interested
scale. and the minimum mapping area is 1-2 hectares. in the eype of soils that the Nacucal Resources Con-
This level of detail in the mapping of soils was designed servation Service has delineated for the land that they
for use by Farmers. landowners. and other natural resource manage. a dipping process can be used CO obtain that
organizacions. information. In this case, you would use the boundary of
The STATSGO soils database is another national-level the Brown Tract as the polygon theme to perform the
soils GIS database for the United States (USDA Natural clip, and the SSURGO soils database as the theme on
Resources Conservation Service. 2006). However, the which the clip would be performed. The resulting GIS
STATSGO data is a general soil map, and not as spatially database provides an indication of (he major types of the
refined as the SSURGO data. STATSGO was mapped at a SSURGO soils that are being managed on the Brown
1:250,000 scale, and the minimum atea mapped is about Tract (Figure 6.6).
600 hectares. This level of detail in mapping soils was
designed for broad natural resource planning and man- Obtaining iruormation about roads
agement uses.
within a forest
The National Soil Database of Canada (Agriculture and
Agri-Food Canada, 2006) contains databases on soils, land- In the previous examples provided in this chapter, inter-
scape features, and climatic data for each Canadia n est was placed on obtaining information aboU[ polygon
province. and is the national archive for land resource infor- features (timber stands and soils) that were located within
mation collected by federal and provincial field surveys. The some geographic region . This type of information is
GIS databases contained in the National Soil Database range informative for land managers, yet it is a1so possible ro
from the more general, mapped at a 1: 1,000,000 scale or
smaller (like STATSGO), to the more detailed, mapped at a
1:20,000 scale or larger (like SSURGO).
122
112 Part 2 Applying GIS to Natural Resource Management
Total 49.3 79.3 Figure 6.7 Roads within the boundary of the Brown Tract.
123
Chapter 6 Obtaining Information about a Specnic Geographic Region 113
/
Non-fish-bC'aring 1 large 0.0 0.0
124
114 Part 2 Applying GIS to Natural Resource Management
used~O
whether or nO[ a clipping process is appropriate.
For example, if you wanted to understand the
extem of riparian areas on the Brown Tract, you Dalabase
might nor wan t to clip the st reams to the boundary do the erasing Buffer attributes:
(Ihe eraser): buffer distance, etc.
of rhe Brown Tract as an initial step in the analysis. 150-loot (45.7 m)
By doing this, streams outside of rhe forest bound- stream buffers
ary are igno red. to which you probably would reply
'50 what?'. Well, those streams may have a riparian - - -- ------ ------ ,
area about them that extends inside the boundary Output GIS database
of rhe Brown Tract. Put another way. just because
~
a panicular stream resides outside the boundary of Resulling Stand attributes:
database: basal area, volume
the forest you manage does not necessarily imply it stands outside the per acre, etc.
ca n be igno red: part of its area of inAuence (rhe 150-foot (45.7 m)
riparian area). and an assessmem of activities m ar stream buffers
YOll might be co nsidering within this area. may
need to be included in your management plan. Figure 6.10 Erasing the stands within I 50· foot (45 .7 m) stream
buffers from tht Danid Picktn stands GIS databast.
125
Chapter 6 Obtaining Information about a Specffic Geograph ic Region 115
bou ndaries of the polygons contained within the erase r put dara base fro m an erasi ng process should be updated
GIS database are rerained. Thus the output GIS database (Q reRect cha nges in area or perimeter of polygons. or
contains the same type of features as the database being length of li nks in line data bases. If yo ur GIS softwa re
emsed. In addition, the size of featu res (lines o r polygons, does not make these updates automaticall y. you shou ld
but not points) may be spatially altered where they over- ensu re th at yo u use softwa re or ot her app roaches (Q
lap with the edges of the polygons conta ined within the update the measu rem ents.
ems« GIS database. There are a number of reasons why you would con-
Figure 6.1 1 illustrates a small example and utilizes a sider using an erasing process. One reason involves the
fire (the eraser) and a timber stand (the polygon to be need to understand the characteristics of a landscape Out-
erased). After the erasing process has been performed, side of areas that are co nsidered Ttstn·cttd. Alternatively.
yo u can see that [WO of the o riginal lines that defined the goal would be to define the unrestricttd areas of a
th e boundary of a timber stand (l , a nd I ,) were sho rt- lan dsca pe with regard to m anage ment act ivities. For
ened [Q the point of intersection with a fi re area, and a exa mple. ea rlier in this cha pter a clipping process was
third line was created (J ,) to describe the edge of the fire used to develop a GIS database that allowed us to summa-
area tha t is common wi th the timbe r stand. The resuh- rize the resou rces located within ripari an zones. Manage-
ing erased timber stand GIS database has all of the attrib- ment within riparian zo nes is gene rally restricted in some
utes of the original timber stand GIS database, yee the fo rm or fashion. Areas outside the riparian zones could
spacial extent is eq ual [0 the original cimber stand data- then he considered unrestricted, assum ing there are no
base minus [he overl ap with [he fi re database. As w ith other co nstrai nts on land ma nageme nt, such as those
[he clipping process, feature measurements in the OU(- related to owl nest loca tions, research areas, and so on .
Understanding the extent of the landscape where man -
3.
0 -
GIS databases prior to an erase process.
/"
, " ,
I
Timber stand
agement is not restricted, may be important when consid-
ering decisions related [Q harvesring operations, the use of
herbicides or fertilizer, or other types of management
practices.
Summary
Clipping processes are spatial operations that allow users of both processes were applied to [he same GIS database (e.g.•
GIS to obmin information about landsca pe features within stands, roads, or streams), the twO output GIS databases,
cercai n geographic regions. When using vec[Qr GIS data- when combined , should cover the same landscape area as
bases, polygon features are used to clip the feacures from a the original GIS databases that were clipped or erased. For
second GIS database comaining poines, lines. or polygons. example. a GIS database was created, using a clipping
The feacures that are comained in the OUCput GIS database process, to represem those vegetation polygons on the
are those comained within the boundaries of the polygons Brown Tract that were located within 50-meter riparian
of [he clipping GIS database (the cookie cu[(er). Erasing zones. A second GIS database was also created, using an
processes can be viewed as the inve rse of clipping processes. erasing process. to represem those vegetation polygons
With an erasing process, you can obtain informadon about located outside of the 50-meter riparian zones. If co m-
spat ial features located outs ide of certain geographic bined. these twO GIS databases (the clipped and erased GIS
regions. In fIct. you could use a single GIS database to clip databases) should equal [he land area and vegetation
landscape features (used as the cookie cu[(er). and subse- resources thar can be found within the original vegetation
quently to erase landscape features (used as the eraser). If (stands) GIS database--no more. no less.
Applications
6.1. Obtaining information about features within a point where they need to obtain as much GIS data as
watershed. Suppose that [he hydrologist associated with possible to describe the currenr condition of rhe water-
the Daniel Picke[( forest. Michelle Rice. has been work- shed. Michelle asks you to provide her with the following
ing for some time on a watershed ana lysis with a few informacion:
other natu ral resource managemem organizatio ns. The a) a summary of the area of timber stands located
watershed being analyzed is the Dogwood Creek ~ithin the Dogwood Creek watershed. by vege .. -
Watershed. The warershed analys is team is now ar the (Ion type;
127
Chapter 6 Obtaining Information about a Spec~ic Geographic Region 117
References
Ag riculture and Agri-Food Canada. (2006). The USDA Natural Resou rces Conservar ion Service. (2006) .
national soil database (NSDB). Ottawa, ON: The US general soil map (STATSGO). Washingwn, DC:
Nationa l Land and Weather In formation Se rvi ce, Narional Cartography and Geosparial Cemer, USDA
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. Retrieved Natural Resou rces Conservation Service. Retrieved
February II , 2007, from http://sis.agr.gc.ca/cansis/ February II, 2007, from http://www.ncgc.nrcs.usda.
nsdb/intro.html. gov Ip rod uctsl da rasetslsta tsgo/.
Clarke, K.c. (I 995) . Analytical and computl!T cartography. USDA Narural Resources Conservation Service. (2007).
Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall. Geospatial data gateway. Washington, DC: USDA
Merriam-Webster. (2007). Merriam- Webster online Natural Resources Conservation Service. Retrieved
search. Rerrieved February 4, 2007, from http://www. February 9. 2007. from http: //datagateway.nrcs.usda.
m-w.com/cgi-bin/diccionary. gov/NexrPage.as px? H itTab= I.
129
Chapter 7
130
120 Part 2 Applying GIS to Natural Resource Management
Fortunately, GIS software programs provide the ability features can all be buffered but the buffer creation process
co easily identify features that are within some proximity depends on {he feamre rype. To visualize how a buffer is
of other features (Star & Estes, 1990). Developi ng the created around a point feature. imagine a point on a piece
boundaries of a region within a specific distance from a of paper; with a pencil and compass set, a circle is drawn
landscape feature, or set of selected landscape features, is around that point (Figure l .la). GIS software programs
often called a 'proximity analysis', or buffering process. can perform this type of operation on thousands of poims
Therefore the subject of [his chapter involves the identi- in a few seco nds. Delineating buffers around lines and
ficarion and delineation of natural resources w ithin cer- polygons requires a simil ar process bur involves some
rain distances of other landscape features. addition al process ing. With lines. a buffer is created
around each venex (Figu re 7 .1 b)' then tangents are ere-
How a Buffer Process Works ared between each of these buffers, and on ly the outside
edge is kept, fo rming a closed polygon. W ith polygons,
Buffer processes work by using marhemacical algorithms you may have the choice of creating buffers that represent
to delineate the space around selected landscape features. only the area outside of [he polygo n being buffered, the
When using vector data, one or mo re features of interest area outside of the polygon pi us the entire area of the
are selected. the desi red buffer di stance is specified, and a polygon, the buffered area both inside and outside of the
line is drawn in all directions around the features until a edge that define [he polygon, or the area buffered inside
solid polygo n has been formed . Point, line, and polygon the polygon (Figure l.ic) . The type of proximity analysis
C .. oD
(a) (e) Original polygon
····· . ,., Outside buffer
~
\ Result 4: Buffered area
,, , ,,
\ Vertex 2 represents just the area
inside of the polygon that
,, , might have been buffered.
, (Tangent 2) "
Figure 7 . 1 Developing a buffer around (a) a point lUing, (b) a line with three vertices, and (c) a polygon .
131
Chapter 7 Buffering Landscape Features 121
that is required will suggest the appropriate 'Ype of buffer- fearures . Most GIS sofrware programs can accom modate
ing process required when polygo ns are concerned. For both buffe ring approaches. To ill ustrate these differences,
example. if you were interested in the type of vegetation suppose yo u have a GIS database that includes 10 streams,
within 1.000 meters of a set of polygons chac define cru- each of a different stream class (T able 7. I) . With this
cial owl habitat, yo u would create a buffer outside the sec hyporhetical data, it is ass umed that the lower the stream
of polygons. On the other hand, if yo u were interested in class number, the la rger (wider) the stream.
understanding rhe amount ofland chat is associated with One task in planning natural resource management
a policy chat prevents management activity within 100 activities may be to delin eate ripa ria n buffe rs a round
meters of the edge of a managed property (to avoid con- these streams. If a constant buffer distance of, for exam-
Aict with homes a nd o ther developed a reas oU[side rhe ple. 30 meters is assumed. each stream would be buffered
propenyL you would create a buffer inside rhe boundary the sa me distance (30 m). H oweve r, many regulations
of the managed proper'Y. pertaining to the proximity of manage ment activities
Buffering processes performed on vecto r GIS d ata arou nd ripari an areas require wider buffe rs around larger
may require so me ra ther complex geometrical calcula- Streams, a nd narrower buffers arou nd smaller streams.
tions. with lines and tangents CO compute, and overlap- Therefore, distances specific to each landsca pe feature
ping areas perhaps merged together. To remove overlap- (each srream reach in rh is example) can be used in the
ping areas, imersecrion and dissolving processes are used. buffer process, to allow the development of variable dis-
Buffering processes performed on raster GIS data involve tance buffers. For example, for each of the 10 streams you
couming the number of pixels away from selecred or could have developed an attribute to describe the appro-
specified pixels. priate buffer distance (Table 7.2), and use that attribute
Buffers used in natural resource managemem can rake to guide the buffering process. Readers will examine borh
on many forms, bur rhe [wo most commonly employed of these buffering assu mptions (constant di stance and
are a conS[(lnt buffer widrh and a variable buffer width. variable width) in the forthcoming examples as well as in
Constant width buffers are the most commonly used the 'Applications' section at th e end of this chapter.
form in natural reso urce managemem (Bren, 2003), a nd When buffering mult iple landscape features, a buffer
assume a symmetrical distance around each buffered land- is created around each feature independent of the other
scape feature (same distance buffered on each side of a fea tures. One option available with most GIS sofrware
srream, for example) . Variable width buffers assu me that concerns the handling of the ove rl apping areas. The
fearures are buffe red differently based on some inherem choices are [0 retain individual buffer polygons for all fea-
or assumed characteristic, such as stream size. Other ry pes tures to be buffered (caJl ed uncomiguous, or non-
of buffers include [hose based on (a) environmentalload-
ing values and (b) othe r outside influences. Stream buffers TABLE 7.1 Ten hypothetical streams and
based on loading values, for exa mple, might take imo their stream claBs, length,
accoum the amoum of area comriburing to an impact. and width
For example. strea m reaches that have larger water con-
Su.... Stream Streun
tributing areas might be buffered using a wider buffer Su.... da>. length (m) width (m)
wi dth than stream reac hes with smaller co mribucing
1000 50
areas. These are differem than variable width buffers in
thar each section of a stream may be buffered a differem 2 750 45
distance based on the size of the watershed that con- 3 2 500 10
tributes water (Q that secrion of the stream. Buffers based 4 2 450 10
on other outside influences may include stream buffers
5 3 375 3
that take inro accou m the amou m of sunligh t that reaches
6 3 450 3
the stream irself. In these cases, buffers on the so utherly
sides of streams may be wider (han buffers on the 7 3 400 2
TABLE 1.2 Ten hypothetical streams and but users shou ld understand how the two methods differ
their stream class, length, width, in their approaches and results.
and buHe r distance
Sueam Strum Stream Buff., Buffering Streams and Creating
S....... d,,, Ie.ngth (m) width (m) distance: (m) Riparian Areas
1000 50 30
Ripar ian a reas can be defined as land areas that are in
2 750 45 30
close proximity ro a stream. lake. swamp. or other water
3 2 500 10 20 body, and those that are often are occupied by plants
4 2 450 10 20 that are dependent on their roOtS reaching the wate r rable
5 3 375 3 10 (Society of American Foresters. 1983). Alternatively,
they a re areas where vegetation and microclimate are
6 3 450 3 10
inAuenced by seasonal or year-round water. high water
7 3 400 2 10 ta bles. and soils exhibir some wetness characrerisrics
8 4 300 10 (Oregon Department of Forestry, 1994a). The first def-
9 4 250 10 inition includes administrative and ecological aspects.
wh ile the second is based mainly on ecological and phys-
10 5 275 0 0
ical aspects. When we work with riparian a reas in natu-
ral resource management. they are more commonly
contiguous polygons), or co eliminate the overlapping defined administratively rathe r than ecologica ll y.
areas, creating contiguous polygons. The advanrage of Generally. riparian management area widths are desig-
retaining ind ividual buffer polygons is th a t once (he nated by federal . stare. provincial. or organization poli-
buffers are created, [he buffer perta ining (Q each individ- cies, and are designed ro provide adequate areas ro retain
ual landscape feature can be accessed, which may allow the physical components. to maintain the functions nec-
you [0 determine which fatuus are within what distanu essary to meet protection objectives and goals for fish.
of other fearures. This allows individual analys is for each water quality, and other wildlife (Oregon Department of
point. line, or polygon fearu re that was buffered. The dis- Forestry, 1994b). While some policies suggest that ripar-
advantage is that there is a high likelihood thar some of ian areas should be protected from logging, grazing. and
the retained individual buffers overlap; rhus the overlap- other types of exploitation. ocher policies allow a set of
ping area can porentially be counted more than once in limited activities within certain distances from ce rtain
any subsequent area summary calculations. The creation rypes of streams. Thus it is important for land managers
of a single buffer from overlapping buffe red areas avo ids to know where riparian areas are on a landscape. and to
this problem. However. the ability CO understand the understand whar resources are affected by riparian area
buffer required for each individual landscape feature is designation s.
[hen obscured. The goals of each analysis should direct In the following examples, streams will be buffered first
users to the choice of one buffering method or the other. with fixed (constant) buffer widths. then with variable
Generally when buffers are delineated with a GIS buffered but an examination of buffer output can
process. they are saved in a new GIS database that is confirm whether your GIS software follows this
separate from rhe one containing the landscape fea- assumption. One processing step commonly forgot-
tures that were buffered. To further enhance the ten is either [Q remember to select the features that
power of buffer processes, most GIS software pro- need to be buffered (perhaps just all C lass 1 strea ms),
grams only buffer the features that are selected (manu- another is [Q clear all previously selected features (if
a lly or through a query) . If no landscape features are some features were selected for a reason unrelated to
selected, generally all of the landscape features are the buffer process) .
133
Chapter 7 Buffering Landscape Features 123
Fixed-width buffers
In this first example of a buffering process, the streams
GIS database of the Brown T ract (Figure 7.2) wi ll be used
to ge nerace fiXed-width buffers, o r buffers that do not
vary based on some 3cuiburc of the landscape features
being buffered. In this case, assume thar an organizational
policy exis(5 chat directs the managers of the Brown Tract
to delineate a fixed )50-foot buffer aro und all of the
streams. During the buffer process, a buffer polygon will
be created arou nd all stream lines in the streams GIS data- D Stream buffer
base. As noted earl ier, mOSt GIS sofrware programs pro- D Forest boundary
vide the options of either leaving the buffers as individual Figure 7.3 Fixed-width (I 50-foot} riparian management areas,
polygons around all stream lines or el iminating the over- generated by buffering the streams GIS database of the Brown Tract.
lapping areas. H ere, we will illustrate the overlap being
eliminated, so that buffer area estimates will not be over- stream with which they correspond. In some cases, these
stated. At the conclusion of the buffer process, areas 150 riparian designarions allow no activity within a cerrain
feer on either side of (he Brown Tract streams (Figure distance from the stream system; in other cases, li mited
7.3) are delineated; no other land areas are represemed by acrivity. The general norian is that, with wide r streams,
the buffer polygon(s) contained in the new buffer GIS Streams with year-round warer flow, o r streams with
database. known fish populations, wider buffers are required. Once
[he set of buffers is based on the characteristics of the
Variable-width buffers streams, they are consid ered variable-width buffers
because [hey vary according to the characteristics of eac h
Ra[her [han a single, fixed-width buffer, some manage- srream. In Oregon, for example, the ri parian guidelines
mem objectives may require a buffer [hat varies based on require a ) DO-foot buffer aro und 'large' fish-bearing or
an auribuce of a landscape feamre. For example, in some domestic wate r use streams, and lesse r buffer widths
S[ates or provinces rules exist which indicate that the size around smaller screams (Table 7.3) and streams that are
of riparian areas should be a function of the type of nO( curren tly fish-bearing or used as sou rces of domesric
wate r (Oregon State Legislature, 2005) .
Since the Brown Tract is fictio nal, the buffer widths are
assumed for the various stream classes in rhe streams GIS
database. Stream class 1 is the largest srream, inro which all
of the other streams flow, so a larger buffer (100 feet) is
D
When you wanr co create riparian management
areas by buffering a set of streams, you usual ly do so
by ind icatin g how wide the buffer should be on
" either side of a stream, rather than by indicaring the
rotal w idth of the buffer (from o ne edge of the
- Stream buffer, across the stream, to the other side of rhe
D Forest boundary buffer).
Figure 7.2 The stream system within and arollnd the Brown Tract.
134
124 Part 2 Applying GIS to Natural Resource Management
TABLE 7.3 State 01 Oregon riparian process, each stream line will then be buffered according
management area policy to the appropriate buffer width, based on each stream's
class. The buffering process will read the buffer distance
Riparian management area width (feet)
from an attribute table, one record (row) at a time. to cre-
Domestic water we Non·domestic water we ate the buffer. Most GIS programs will do this very
or fish.bearing and non-fish-bearing
quickly, such that only a few seconds or less are required.
100 70 Following the creation of all buffers, subsequent process-
Medium" 70 50 ing will eliminate all overlapping buffer areas, even though
[he size of the buffer may change in the overlapping area.
Small< 50 20
A map of the variable buffer widths associated with the
• Average annual flow of 2: 10 cubic feet per second. Brown Tract streams (Figure 7.4) shows that the amount
hAverage annual flow of ~ 2 cubic feet per second and < 10 cubic feet of land area in the riparian areas will vary by stream class,
per second.
and that no other land area (o utside the variable width
~ Average annual flow of < 2 cubic fec t per second, or drainage area
buffer) is represented in the buffers.
s: 200 acres.
Source: Oregon State Legislatu re. 2005
Buffering Owl Nest Locations
assumed around this st ream class, and smaller buffers are Up to this point ou r concentration has been placed on
assumed [Q be required around the other Stream classes one of the more typical GIS buffering operations per-
according to the direction provided in Table 7.3. formed in supporr of natural resource management-
Fortunately. most GIS software programs allow users to buffering streams. However, any type of landsca pe fea-
des ignate a field (also called column, attribute, or variable) ture (owl nest location , road , wetland, etc.) ca n be
in a GIS database to use as the refe rence for the desired buffered. For example, in the western United States it is
buffe r width fo r each landscape feacure. Since each row in important to protect an area a round spotted owl (Strix
the tabular porrion of the streams GIS database represents occidtntalis) nests. The area within these buffers may
a Stream line or reach (Table 7.4), the values located in the eithe r totally prohibit management activities or may limit
' buffer width' field can be used to represent the appropri- management activities by duration and extent. Thus. it
ate buffer width for each stream . During the buffering may be imporrant to understand the amounr of resources
located within owl buffers. As an example, assume that an
owl nest is located in the central portion of the Brown
TABLE 7.4 Sample stream reaches Tract, and assume that federal regu lations requi re land
represented in the Brown Tract
streams GIS database, their
characteristics, and resulting
buller width-
Buffer
Stream Length Fish Stream width
,each (r.<I) bearing~ size (feet)
362 no small 20
2 176 no small 20
3 992 no small 20
4 384 no small 20
• Stream reaches arc no t necessarily or:clusivcly located within the Figure 7 .4 Variable.width riparian management areas, generated by
buffering the streams GIS daubue of m e Brown Tract.
bou ndaries of rhe Brown T racr.
135
Chapter 7 Buffering Landscape Features 125
will prompt you for the buffer or G IS layer units, Figure: 7.5 Owl nest location and associated 1,000 fOOl buffer on the
Brown Tract.
and will even do any conversions necessary during
the buffer process. In th is case, as long as the correct
conversions were specified by th e user, the buffer as well. Of course, when using vector GIS databases this is
output should be coerceL In other cases, however, only possible with polygon features. To illustrate this
the user must verifY that all buffer-dependent meas- process. let's assume that the managers of the Brown Tract
urem ent units are in agreement. are concerned about the impact of management activities
on nearby homeowners. In some cases, homes are very
close to the edge of me forest. In orner cases, homeowners'
managers to manage the area within 1,000 feet of these ya rds and personal belongings (sheds, etc.) are on the edge
nests much differently than the areas beyond 1,000 feet of of the property. To avoid any potential instance of damage
an owl nest. A buffer process can be performed using the to adjacent homes or property, or any potential physical
owl nest locarion as the selected landscape features, and a harm CO nearby landowners. the managers have decided
1ODD-foot radius as a fixed (constant) distance around the that they will allow only limited activity within 200 feet of
nest locarions. The result of the buffer process is a new the boundary of the property. To understand how much
GIS database that delineates the areas within 1,000 feet of of the property will be allocated to a limited activity land
the nest location (Figure 7.5). If more than one nest were classification, the inside of the boundaty of the forest (a
located on the Brown Tract, and the resulting buffered single polygon) can be buffered (Figure 7 .6) , and the
areas overlapped, you could elect to eliminate the overlap- resulting area (397 acres) can be compared with the total
ping area (uncontiguous result) or allow the overlapping area of the forest (5,245 acres) to determine the im pact of
areas to remain (cont iguous result). If your goal was to the policy (7.6 per cent of the forest shifted to limited use) .
determine the amount of area and land resources associ- As an alternative co this policy. the managers of me Brown
ated with each individual nest then the unconriguous Tract could delineate this limited activity zone by buffering
resulr would be best. Conversely, if you r goal was to the homes a cenain distance. although locating these areas
determine the toral area and land resources encompassed on the ground would be much more difficult than using a
by all owl nest buffers then the contiguo us result would policy such as 200 feet .from the boundary, since the buffer
be preferred. around each home is circular.
o D
D
Lake
Land
0
"-I CJ 0
X Eagle nest
1)\) D Zone'
[)]] Zone 2
o Buffer \J
o Forest boundary
Figure 7.6 A 200-foot buffer inside the boundary of the Brown
Tract.
Buffer output can take different shapes around the were originally digitized or created. Individual lines
linear features that are being buffered depending on can also have their ends buffered through a circular
your GIS software. Some GIS software will allow you shape, which is the usual default, or through a flat
to specifY which side (left or right) of a line to create shape. If you chose the flat shape the output result of
a buffer, rather than buffering both sides. The trick buffering a straight line would be a rectangle. Lines
in this case is [0 determine which side of your line is that change direction and are buffered through this
left and which is right, a co nditio n which will often process will produce output polygons wit h flat (non-
he determined by (he direccion in which your lines curved) ends.
As a result, information regarding the extent of actual or Othe r Reasons for Using
planned land uses near lakes may help info rm land plan-
ning processes. JUSt as an example. assume that the area of
Buffering Processes
interest near the shorelines of lakes in the Pheasam Hill The exam ples provided in this chapter have focused on
planning area of the Qu'Appelle River Valley in cemral common natural resource management concerns. The
Saskatchewan is 300 meters from the edge of each lake. A delineation of riparian mana gement areas and zones
buffer process can be performed to create polygons that around wildlife nest locations are twO typical examples of
represem areas 300 meters outside of the edge of each lake using a buffering process in namral resource management
(avoiding buffering the inside of each lake feature). The planning. There are, of course, a number of Q[her reasons
result is a new GIS database (hat contains areas within 300 why you would use bu ffe ring operations in natural
meters of the shorelines. A clipping process can men be resource management. including:
employed to clip the zoni ng GIS database associated with
the Pheasam Hill planning area of the Qu'Appelle River 1. Buffering stream systems [0 delineate me zone that her-
Valley, and obtain the land use classes that are designated bicide operations must keep oU{ of. due co [he proxim-
within 300 meters of the shorel ine (Figu re 7. B) . A quan- ity to water systems. For herbicide operation planning,
titative assessment can then be made of the amount of local buildings (particularly houses), roads, agricultural
area of eac h actual or planned land use within a close fields, and orchards may also requ ire buffering.
proximiry to the lake, as well as visual assessment of the 2. Buffering research areas (plots or sta nds) CO prevent
juxtaposition ofland uses near the shoreline. the planning and implementation of logging opera-
dons within them . Generally speak ing, research plots
require extra protection because trees rhat are treared
(given a researchable app lication) should nOt also be
considered edge trees (rrees adjacent to a cleared area).
therefore the plots need to be buffered fro m any
nearby harvest activities.
3. Buffering trail systems or roads to delineate areas of
visual sensitivity within which logging operations may
be limited. In many forested areas, degrad atio n of
r=;:] lake ~;, ;~~j Recreation recreacion opporrunides is a co nce rn, whether the
recreational activities involve humans walking (hiking)
_ Agriculture priority 2 ~ Urban
or driving. The ability to quickly delineate and visual-
[=:J Indian reserve [=:J National area
ize these areas of concern is a valuable asset in land
[=:J Other areas beyond 300 m of the shoreline
management planni ng.
Figure 7 .8 Planned or actuaJ land uses within the Pheasant Hill 4. Buffering property boundaries to recognize mat devel-
planning aua of the Qu'Ap~l1e River VaJley. Saskatchewan (1980). opment codes, which may limit st ructu res o r other
138
128 Part 2 Applying GIS to Natural Resource Management
landscape alternations from occurring within a thresh- from urban to rural settings (Cubbage & Raney. 1987).
old dis,.nce from property lines. are observed. This The types of co ntrols include requiring the development
may also app ly to easements or utility co rridors. which of forest plans. buffering specific landscape features. and
are often subject [0 municipal. county. or provincial placing restrictions on certain silvicultural practices. For
development regulations. example. timber harvesting ordinances developed at the
local level are intended to limit site degradation and envi-
In addition. buffer processes may assist namra! resource ronmental qualiry in association wich logging activit ies.
managers in evaluating the potential impacts of local for- Harvesting operations may be restricted within certain dis-
est regulations. Local forest regulations are generally con- tances of public roads or ocher public resources. therefore
cerned with protecting envi ronmental quality and aesthet- requiring a buffer around these resources. Natural reso urce
ics, and with safeguarding local government investments managers may need to identify these buffers in a harvest
in roads and other infrastructure (Martus et al.. 1995). plan. and may also be concerned about the cumulative
They are mainly developed as a result of the conflicts that impact of local regulations on the profitability and feasibil-
occur with the continuing shift of the human population ity of their management operations.
Summary
GIS buffering processes are powerful tools that allow you enables users to specify whether buffers created around
ro investigate the nearness of landscape elements ro your lines have a round or flat shape at the beginning and end-
feacures ofinteresr. These features of interest can be repre- ing of the line. The resulting buffer GIS databases allow
sented by points. lines. or polygons (as demonstrated here) users co visually understand the area that lies within a cer-
or by raste r grid cells. Buffering processes are spatial oper- tain distance from some landscape feacure(s) of interest,
ations that allow users of GIS software programs to identifY and to quantify the resources contained within the
areas within some proximity of selected landscape feacures . buffered area. Buffering streams and other resources of
After landscape features are selected. a zone (a polygon) is importance (e.g.• owl and red-cockaded woodpecker nest
delineated around them to represent the buffered area. By locations) to create limited management zones is a com-
default. if no landscape features are selected. all features are mon management objective included in natural resource
buffered. but you should confirm whether your GIS soft- management plans. Estimating the impact of these types
ware uses this approach. Buffer OUtpUt approaches. such as of restrictions on natural resource management is impor-
contiguous or uncontiguous results. can be customized to tant, and helps landowners investigate the effect of current
meet analysis objectives. In add ition , some GIS software and proposed policies.
Applications
7.1. Current Riparian Policy for the Brown Tract. a) How much area (ac res) is located inside the ripar-
The currell[ organizational policy for the Brown Tract ian areas?
indicates that the following riparian area buffer widths b) How much area (acres) of each vegetation type is
should be used in conjunction with management activities: located inside the riparian areas?
Class I: 100 feet c) How much area (acres) of each vegetation type is
C lass 2: 75 feet loca(ed outside the riparian areas?
Class 3: 50 feet d) How much timber volume is located in the ripar-
C lass 4: 40 feet ian areas?
Becky Blaylock. the Manager of the Brown Tract. wants Ms Blaylock also wants you to develop a map that illus-
to know (he 'current situation' with regard to riparian trates the stream buffers and includes the roads. streams.
areas: and timber stands.
139
Chapter 7 Buffering Landscape
Landscape Features 129
77.2.
.2. Proposed Organizational Policy. Becky Blaylock roads.
roads, streams, and timber stands. In addition.
additio n, she wanrs
wa nts
recently attended
3([cnded a meering
meedng of policy makers, where she you [0
to develop a memo that (hat describes rhe
the differenc.es
differences
heard char the riparian rules might
rhar rhe mighr change. She now needs berween the
between rhe policies noted
nored in Applications
Appl icarions 7. 1, 7.2,
7.1. 7.2. and
to understand
[Q undersrand the potential impact
rhe paremial impaer of a proposed 125- the potential policy
rhe poremial pol icy nored
noted here.
no~harves[ buffer around all screams
foot no-harvest the Brown
streams on [he
T racr. She requestS
Tract. requem rhe following: 7.4. National Forest Riparian Policy. A local NationalNarional
a) How much area (acres) is located
locared inside the
rhe ripar- Forest uses me
the following riparian
ripa rian area guidelines
guidel ines in con-
ian areas? junction with harvesting act ivi ties:
activities:
b) How much area (ac res) of each vegerarion
(acres) vegetation 'Ype
type is Large Streams
srreams 250 feet
feer
located inside tbe
the riparian areas? Med
Mediumium Streams
srreams 150
I SO feer
c) How much area (acres) of each vegerarion
vegetation 'Ype
type is Small srreams
SmaU streams 100 feet
feer
located Qucside me
oU[sicle the riparian
riparia n areas?
d) How much timberamber volume is located in the ripar- As wim
wirh rhethe arher
other pol
policies,
icies. Ms Blaylock wantswams to under-
ian areas? stand
srand the
rhe following:
I f these
a) If rhese rules wefe
were ap plied (0
to the Brown T Traer.
ract, how
Again, Ms Blaylock also wants
Again. wams yoyouu [Q
to develop a map rharthat much area (acres) would be locaredlocated inside the ripa r-
rhe ripar-
illustrates these
rhese stream buffers and that
rhat includes the roads. ia n areas?
ian
addition. she wants you to
streams, and timber stands. In addition, co b) If mese ap plied to the
rhese rules were applied Tract, how
rhe Brown Traer.
develop ;:Ia memo th at describes the
that lhe differences berween
d iffe rences becween much area (acres) of each vegerarion
vegetation 'Ype
type wou
would ld be
me
rhe policy noted
nared in Applicarion
Application 7. 1 and the potential pol-
rhe paremial located inside rhe riparian areas?
ins ide (he areas?
icy noted here. c) If these
rhese rules were applied to the T ract. how
rhe Brown Traer.
much area (acres) of each vege tation type would be
vegetation
77.3.
.3. Ballot
Ba Uot Initiative. A proposed bailor ballot iniriarive.
initiative, located outside [he the riparian areas?
developed by a local
locaJ conservation group, suggests thart [he
suggestS tha the d) If ,.hese
d) these rules were applied to rhe the Brown Traer.
Tract, how
ripa ri an buffer widths may soon be required for
following riparian much timber vo lume would be located in (he
umber volume the ripar-
the region within wh ich the Brown Tract is Si
which situated:
(U3red: ian areas?
Large, streams
Large. fish-bearing srreams 150
ISO feet
feer
Medium. fish-bearing stteams
fish-bear ing srreams 100 feet
feer And again,
again. Ms Blaylock also wants
wams you to develop a map
srreams
Small. fish-bearing streams feer
75 feet that illustrates these stream buffers
bu ffers and [hat
that inducles
includes the
La rge, non-fIsh-bearing Streams
Large. srreams 125 feet
feer roads, Streams, and timber stands. In addition, she wants\Yams
Medium, non-fIsh-bearing stteams streams 75 feet you co
to develop a memmemoo char
that describes [he
the differences
Small,
Small. non-fish-bea
non-fish-bearing ring streams
srreams 50 feet
feer between
berween the noted in Applicarions
rhe policies nored Applications 7.1
7.1,. 7.2. 7.3.
7.3,
the porenrial
and rhe potential policy nared
noted here.
As a result,
resulr. Ms Blaylock wants
wams to understand
undersrand rhe following:
a) Ifthese
If rhese rules were applied to the Brown TraCt,
Traer. how 7.5. Current Owl Buffer Policy. Suppose that rhar the
rhe cur-
much area (acres) would be located
locared inside the
rhe riripa
par-
r- rem
rent policy
pol icy regarding owl nest locations is ro
to maintain a
ian areas? ~O-acre no-harvest buffer around owl nest
1IOO-acre nesl site locations.
b) If rhese
these rules were applied to rhe Brown Traer.
TraCt, how Develop a memo an d a map for Ms Blaylock that rhar
much area (acres) of each vegerarion
vegetation type would
'Ype wo uld be describes rhe amoum
amount of land (acres) of me
rhe Brown Tract
Traer
located ins ide the riparian areas? that the single owl buffer pertaining
rhar would be covered by rhe pertain ing
c) If rhese
these rules were applied to the Brown Traer.
T raCI, how to this property.
ro
much area (acres) of each vegetation type wo would
ul d be
located oU[side
outside rhe
the riparian areas?
areas? 7.6. Protection of PlolS.Thousands of research
of Research PlotsThousands
d) If these rules were applied to the Tract, how
rhe Brown Traer. plots have been established across North America ro fac il-
to facil-
much timber located in rhe
rimber volume would be locared the ripar- itate the estimation of the response of forests and wildlife
are-.lS?
ian areas? co a variecy
[0 variety of silvicullUral
silvicultural uearmems.
treatments. Unfortunately.
Unfortunately, har-
vesting operations are usually implemented independ-
As before,
before. Ms Blaylock also wants you to develop a map ently of research programs. and tOO often the research
that illus(rates stream buffers and that includes the
illust rates these Stream plots are harvested because the loggers were unaware of
140
130 Part 2 Applying GIS to Natural Resource Management
their locarion, and withom the researchers knowing that require an additional 100-foot buffer from the edge of
the plots were in jeopardy of being destroyed. The result- the plot boundary to be considered 'protected'. Develop
ing loss of the research plot investment (layout, tagging of a memo for Becky Blaylock that describes how much
trees, etc.) may be considerable, and the loss of the oppor- land area would be off-limits from harvesting operations
tunity for one final measuremem may be equally as as a resuh of protecting the research plots. Develop a
impo rtant. In many organizations, a communication sys- map of the permanent inventory plots and their buffers.
[em norifying researchers of potencial impacts ro research Include the roads. streams, and timber stands on the
plms has been developed. allowing researchers to either map.
measure (he plots onc last time , o r CO delineate the In addition. for added protection of the investment in
research areas as off-limits to harvesting activities. research , a second 100-foot buffer (fo r a total of200 feet)
Assume that rhe permanenr inventory plots on the could be delineated around the research plots. In this sup-
Brown T faCt were designed [0 evaluate {he long-term plemental area we can also assume that the trees in the
growth and yield of the forest properry. Assume further buffer are designed to remain untouched, even though
that these plms were designed {Q remain untouched, even the surro undin g forest may be harvested (clearcut or
though rhe surrounding forest may be harvested (clearclH thinned) . Based on the timber volume contained in the
or thinned) . Finally, assume that the plots need to be buffers associated with the first (I OO-foot buffer) and sec-
maintained with a sufficient buffer of trees around them ond (200-foot buffer) cases, and a price of$400 per MBF,
so that rhe effects (win dthrow, increased sun light, etc.) of what is the cost of each case, and therefore what is the
harvesting trees outside the plot (o n the plot's trees) are additional cost to require the added protection aro und
min im ized . These plots are circular l/5-acre plots, an d each plot'
References
Association for Geographic Information. (I999). GIS dic- Martus, CE., Haney, Jr. , H.L., & Siegel, W.C (1995) .
tionary. Retrieved February 4, 2007, from http: //www. Local forest regulatory ordinances: [rends in the east-
agi.org.uklbfora /systems/xm lviewerldefau lt.asp'a rg= ern United States. Journal ofForestry, 93(6), 27-3 1.
DS_AGI_TRAINART_701_firsttide.xsIl90. Maryland Department of Natural Resources. (2005).
Bettinger, P., Armlovich, D., & Kellogg, L.D. (1994). Sustainable forest management plan for Chesapeake
Evaluating area in logging trails with a geographic infor- forests lands, Chapter 8, Wildlife habitat protection and
mation system. Transactions ofthe A.s:.1E, 37(4) , 1327-30. management. Annapolis, MD: Maryland D epartment
Bren , L.J. (2003). A review of buffer strip design algo- of Natural Resources, Forest Service. Retrieved
rithms. In E.G. Mason and c.J. Perley (Eds .), February 4, 2007, from http: //www.dnr.state.md.us/
Procudings of the 2003 ANZ/F Uoint Australia and forests/download/sCmgt_plan_chapters/chapter8cA.
N ew Zealand Institute of Forestry) Conference (pp. pdf.
32~35) . Retrieved September 5, 2007, from http:// McDonald, T .P., Carter, E.A., & Taylor, S.E. (2002).
www.forestry.org.nz/articles/ conf2003/Bren. pdf. Using the global positioning system to map distur-
Cubbage, F., & Raney, K. (1987). Counry logging and bance pa((erns of forest harvesting machinery. Cana-
tree protection o rdin ances in Geo rgi a. Sottthern dian Journal of Forest Research, 32, 310-19.
Joumal ofApplied Forestry, 11, 7~82. Merriam-Webster. (2007). Merriam- Webster online
Legislative Coun sel Office . (2006). Chapter £-9, search. Retrieved February 4,2007, from http: //www.
En vironmental Protection Act. Charlottetown, PE: rn-w .coml cgi-bi nldictionary.
Gove rnmem of Prince Edward Island . Retrieved Oregon Department of Forestry. (1994a). Oregon forest
February 4, 2007, from http: //www.gov.pe.callaw/ practius rules and statutes. Salem. OR: Oregon
statu tesl pd fl e-09 .pdf. Department of Forestry.
141
Chapter 7 Buffering landscape Features 131
131
142
Chapter 8
After the combine process is completed, we find that the bine landscape features. Landscape features should be of
edge that was shared was eliminated. because the line that the same feature 'Ype to be combined. In general, poly-
defined the shared edge was not needed to define the gons are combined with other polygons, and lines with
boundary of the new polygon. In a spatial database, the other lines. The reasons for combining landscape features
initial two polygons represented in Figure 8.1 would each ace numerous, but are generally based on [he fact mar it is
be stored separately. In other words, twO polygons and easier [Q manage a sma ller database (one with fewer
twO polygon records would be represented. After com- records) than a larger one. In addition. spacial analysis
bining the polygons, only one polygon record would be and data storage considerations are typically more effi-
contained in the resulting database. Although the reduc- cient with a smaller database. There are at least six reasons
rion in database complexity is modest in this example, it why you might want (Q combine landscape feamces:
may be substantial when hundreds or thousands of spatial
features are involved. In addition, although this example l. You may wish to eliminate unintended small land-
featured twO adjoining polygons, the landscape feamres scape features that were created through digitizing or
being combined may physically overlap, or may be phys- some other GIS process (e.g., clipping, erasing) that
ically separated by a gap. In the case of overlapping land- affected the geometry of a line or polygon spatial data-
scape feacuces, the overlap is eliminated when the poly- base. Combining landscape features can then be effec-
gons are combined through the creation of a single tively used to reduce [he number of feamces being
polygon represeming the overlap area in the oucpuc data- managed and can correct unintended feam ces. For
base. In the case of physically separated landscape fea- example, after a GIS process, spurious polygons may be
tures, the combined landscape feature is composed of two present. Spurious polygons are fractions of polygons
or more distinct pieces. In some GIS software programs, a broken or created as a result of a GIS process. and you
combine process is known as a dissolve process. may wanr [0 combine them with other neighboring
During the management of GIS databases, or as a polygons to reduce the number of polygons being
result of an analytical need, it might be necessary to com- managed.
2. Changes in organizational policies may suggest that
some spatial features need to be combined. For exam-
a. Prior to combining the polygons
ple. an organizatio n may redefine the minimum map-
ping unit (hat it manages. The minimum mapping
unit defines the smallest sized unit that should be pres-
ent in certain types of GIS databases . A change in an
organizational policy, say to increase the size of the
minimum mapping unit, m ay require eliminating
some small polygons or lines. Making the minimum
Shared edge mapping unit larger not only reduces the volume of
r
Polygon 1
Polygon 2
data to be managed (a benefit), but also reduces the
resolution of landscape features recognized (a COSt).
Making the minimum mapping unit smaller has the
inverse effecc: a higher spacial resolution is recognized,
b. AHer combining 100 polygons and more data needs to be managed.
3 . The acquisition of GIS databases from mher sources
r
acquired GIS database, that the mapping unit stan-
,---------,I dards are inconsistent with the standards used by their
organizat io n. In add ition, existing adminisrra d ve
Polygon 1 boundaries, be they socio-political (ownership) or nat-
Figure 8.1 Combining twO polygons. by diminating a shared edge. lIral (watershed areas), may nO[ be desired in a spatial
to produce a single polygon. database. For example, a private company may acqu ire
144
134 Part 2 Applying GIS to Natural Resource Management
a GIS database from the US Forest Service. The gesr using a combine process. For example. the condi-
acquired database may include polygons smaller than tion of a road may change due co imp rovemen(S made
what the private co mpany typically manages, suggesr- (Q ir over rime. A rocked road may become a paved
ing that some landscape features need to be combined road, a native surface road may become a rocked road.
[Q adhere to the minimum mapping unie standard chat o r a road of any type may become a decommissioned
the company uses. A polygon layer (hat contains (obliterated) road. If cond itions of landscape features
watershed boundaries at a sub-regional scale may pro- change, it may seem reasonable to combine th ose
vide unneeded detail if a regional watershed boundary landsca pe features with other adjacent landscape fea-
wi ll suffice. Sub-regional watershed boundaries could tures of the same stature or condition. A similar exam-
be aggregated through a combine process. ple might involve stream network measurements such
4. Comb ining landscape fearures may be necessary as what occurs du ring a standard watershed ana lysis
because it simply makes sense from a management project. Field stream crews will visit selected streams
perspeccive. For example. in a stands GIS database and segregate Stream networks into simil ar hydrologic
there may reside two polygons side-by-s ide that or geomorphic categories. or ca tego ries related to the
describe fo rested areas with trees of similar ages, simi- surrounding land cover. These groupings are stored in
lar structural conditions. similar sire classes. and simi- a spat ial database as separate line fearu res with associ-
lar growth rates. The field personnel responsible for ated dara records containing descriptive information.
managing these stands might also suggest (hat the two Some co mbi ning of streams in a GIS database might
stands would be tceared with similar treatments, at be necessary to manage the stream network more
about (he same time. and with simila r equipmenc. efficien tly.
Thus from a management perspective. combining the 6. It may be appropriate to combine landscape features
two polygons into a single polygon within a GIS data- to facilita te a spatial ana lysis. For example. co delineate
base might make sense. one category of the recreational opportunity spectrum,
5. Since landscape features can change in shape and char- we may need co identify the size (area) of contiguous
acteristic over rime, managing these changes may sug- timber stands where rhe average age of rrees is 50 years
Combining processes must be used in a thoughtful database, the altered database is no longer considered
manner. Once landscape features are combined. the the official database of the organization . For example,
topology that describes the resulting landscape feature John Goheen, a GIS analyst, may be the 'owner' of a
is altered in the Output database. Should a user decide roads GIS database within an o rganization. John may
ro delete the input databases (a common thought once then give a copy of this database to Paul Chapman, a
a new database has been created) the orig inal descrip- field forester. If Paul were to edit the database by com-
tion of the landscape topology is lost. Given this risk, bining or splitting roads, the copy of the GIS database
larger natural resource organizations have generally that Paul uses will not be considered the official roads
placed the decision to edit and manage GIS databases GIS database of the organization. even if the database
(w here combining landscape features may be neces- helps Paul make better management decisions. Can
sary) to the person who has been given 'ownership' of Paul simply provide the edited roads GIS database to
the GIS database. All decisio ns rega rding the develop- John? Certainl y. However, John will likely need to
ment and maintenance of a given GIS database are ensure that the changes Paul made conform to organi-
then the responsibility of the database owner. Other zat iona l standa rds related to data maintenance, and
individual users of the GIS database. however. can per- then subsequently verify that the database does not
fo rm GIS processes. such as combining features, on conta in any errors. If John can do these things. the
copies of the original GIS database. However, once data edited by Paul can be incorporated into the orig-
performed by someone other than the owner of the inal (and official) roads GIS database.
145
Chapter 8 Combining and Splitting landscape Features, and Merging GIS Databases 135
or greater. Using a query, we can identifY these stands, these stands together (such as those illustrated in Figure
but to determine how large the contiguous area might 8.3), co reduce the number of managemem units tracked
be would requ ire (a) either combining the queried in a database. There is o ne imponam issue thar must be
Stands, o r (b) sum by hand the area of all adjacent kept in mind before combining landscape features: you
polygo ns meeting the size req uirement. The lance should make a note of the attributes of each landscape
technique may lead [Q error, rhus co mb ining the feature before combini ng them. The combine GIS
queried polygons may be more appropri ate. A com- process, depending on the GIS software program being
bine or dissolve process (dependin g on the GIS soft- used. w ill either (a) comain the a((ribute data related co
ware being used) would help faci litate this analysis. o ne of the landscape featutes, (b) comain the attrib ute
data related co the other landscape feature. (c) comain an
Some balance must be struck between the appropriate average. o r some other stat istical summary . of numeric
number and size of landscape features being managed. data associated with all com bined features. or (d) not con-
and the amo unt of real-world general ization that occu rs tain any anribure data of either landscape feature. Users
w hen fewer features are used [0 represent a landscape. should take heed of the options available when ru nning a
The decision to combine landscape fearu res should be combine process so that the intended output res ults.
made after a serious contemplation of these issues. The Additionally, in some GIS software programs the re may
following th ree examples describe the end-result of com- be more than one process that effectively combines land-
bining landscape features. scape fearures, and the resulting combined landscape fea-
ture may contain either no attribute data , o r the attrib ute
Contiguous, similar landscape features data of the firSt landscape feature selected fo r combining
Figure 8.3 Two similar-aged stands on the Brown T rac{ that share
Figure 8.2 Stands on the Brown Tract that au even-aged. and a common border. Both are even-aged. and between the ages of 40
between the ages of 40 and 45. and 45 .
146
136 Part 2 Applying GIS to Natural Resource Management
(Table 8. I). In either case. the attribute data of the com- 2 . Split the stand into two separate parts, creating twO
bined landscape feature may need to be edited if the com- separate stands. Separate database records wou ld then
bined landscape feature will represent a weighted average represent each stand. The owner of the G IS database
of the conditions of (he original twO landscape featu res. may decide that there is a sufficient amount of time
and budget to comb through the database, locate
Multiple spatial representations within inconsiste ncies such as this, and correct them.
a single landscape feature or record Spl itting stand 283 into twO separate stands might be
considered a logical response; spli tting landscape fea-
At first glance, you might expect that each landscape fea- (Ures will be discussed in more detail shordy.
ruee, such as a forest stand, would be considered a si ngle
record in a GIS database. However, this is not necessarily
true. Discontinuous landscape featu res can be combined
co produce a single landscape feature describing a portion
of the landscape (Figure 8.4). Thus, another considera-
tion in (he development and management of GIS data-
bases is whether sparialJy disconrinuous landscape featu res
should be represented with one database record or with
multiple records. In the case of nand 283 on the Brown
Tract, for better or for worse, a single database record rep-
resents two areas (regions) . Perhaps prior to the develop-
ment of the rock pi t that now separates these two areas,
the stand was represented by a single contiguous polygon .
T he Brown Tract databases are, as mentioned earlier,
nOt perfect. However, they do allow an examination of
some rather typical problems users of GIS databases must
consider, such as this one. There are three options related
to the GIS database management of stand 283:
3. Combine the small discontinuous piece of the stand how to use snapping tools correctly. Practicing on a test
into another adjacent stand. Combining the small por- GIS layet before editing an actual database can help
tion of stand 283 to another scand thar is adjacent to reduce snapping errors.
[he small pardon would require chat (he adjacent A discussion of buffering point, line, and polygon fea-
stand have similar characteristics (age. volume. den- tures was provided in chapter 7. The polygons that are
sity, ere.) approp riate for the management of (he created as a result of a buffer process can, perhaps. over-
potential combined area. lap. Usually you have the choice, at the time of buffering,
of maintaining the overlapping areas or directing the GIS
Overlapping polygons software program to remove them (Figure 8.6) . In the
case where the overlapping areas of the buffer remain ,
Although it may not be your intent to create landscape these polygons can subsequently be combined, removing
fearures that overlap when developing or maintaining a the overlap and reducing the number of polygons and
GIS database, overlapping features may resulc as [he OU[- database records that describe the buffer.
pm of a GIS process. There are numerous reasons why Merging polygon GIS databases, as will be described
you may find overlapping features in a GIS databasei edit, later in this chapter, can also result in overlapping poly-
buffer, and merge processes can all lead to the develop- gons . When a merge process is used, the overlapping areas
ment of overlapping landscape feacures, especially with among polygons and lines ate genetally not affected,
GIS software that does nOt enforce ropological rules. meaning that no new nodes are created at the intersection
When editing polygon feacures within GIS databases, for of lines, and that overlapping polygon areas are not
instance. you can easily affect (he shape of polygons such removed. Quite simply, when GIS databases are merged,
that they either overlap or not touch at all (Figure 8.5).
When editing GIS databases. it is wise co understand the
process available within GIS sofrware programs to 'snap'
the verrices of one landscape feature to those of another.
With the abiIicy [Q snap vertices together. you can edit the
shape or position of polygons and allow a precise match
of the boundary of one to that of another. The challenge
for most GIS users is to remember to acriva.te the snapping
ability. It also requires practice. once activated, to learn
Gap
Overlap
Figure 8.6 Th~ results of twO buff~ring operations, on~ wh~r~ th~
Figure 8.5 Ov~rlap and gap r~maining aft~r ~diting polygon oY~rlapping ar~as of th~ buff~r around ~ach str~am ar~ r~moy~d, and
boundarj~s. th~ oth~r wh~r~ th~ ov~rlapping areas r~majn.
148
138 Part 2 Applying GIS to Natural Resource Management
How would you know whether a polygon GIS data- GIS database should contain polygons that are a subdi-
base contains overlapping polygons' One method vision of the ownership defined by the ownership
might be to examine very closely the boundaries of boundary. The stands GIS database has many poly-
each polygon-a tedious process. Another method go ns, and the boundary GIS database has only one
may be co compare the sum of the area of polygons in polygon, yet the sum of the areas should match. You
the suspect GIS database with another polygon GIS could also choose to combine all polygons within a
database of the exact same spadal extent. For example. copy of the stands layer. The area of the resulting com-
if you were concerned about overlapping polygons in bined stands database should also match. If the sum of
the Daniel Pickett forest stands GIS database, you the areas does not match. eith er one or more overlap-
could compare the sum of the area of the stands to [he ping polygons exist in the stands GIS database, or some
area of the boundary GIS database. The extent of the gaps exISts between polygons in the stands GIS
two databases should be exacdy the same: the stands database.
one set of landscape features is simp ly laid on top of gons should probably be broken down (split) into smaller
another sec. management unitS to enable land managers ro plan har-
vests mote app ropriately (Figure 8.7). In terms of linear
Splitting Landscape Features
3. l60-acre (64.8 ha) polygon and a stream that will
be used to split it Into two smaller polygons
The decision (0 use a splitting process general ly arises
from some need redefine the topology of spatial data. <r---------~ - Node of line defining
{Q
_ _ Polygon to be split
149
Chapter 8 Combining and Splitting landscape Features. and Merging GIS Databases 139
fea[l1res, assume mar you are involved with [he planning streams may need to be split to be[(et delineate the capac-
and maimenance of a road system for a namral resource ity to suppOrt (or not support) fish populations.
management organization . Over some period of time, the The way you go abour splitting polygons or lines (yet
scams of a porrion of a woods road may have changed. nor points) varies according to the GIS software program
perhaps from a rocked surface [0 a paved surface (or alter- being used. In some GIS software programs. splitting is as
natively, parr of the road was obliterated in a restoration easy as drawing a line through a landscape fearure (Figu re
process). Within the roads GIS database. splitting the line 8.7). This holds true for polygons or lines that are solid or
that represents the road at the location of the stams continuous. However. where a landscape fearure is repre-
change would seem appropriate, since each resulting piece sented by multiple regions (or objects). and a gap sepa-
of the road should be described by different attribute rates these regions (such as that illustrated in Figure 8.4).
data. The same argument for a sp!iHing process can be drawing a line through the gap. without touch in g either
used for stream data managemenr. In this case, assume a of the pieces of the landscape feature . may not result in
recent stream survey identified some differences becween (he fearure being spli t inro twO separate pieces. In these
(he GIS data and the acruai stream system. Some stream cases. a more com plex process using combining. clipping.
reaches, fo r example. may have been found [Q be ab le [Q editing. or pasting ptocesses may be more app licable
support fish populations. yet the GIS data indicates other- (Figure 8.8). Alrernativeiy. some GIS software programs
wise. In these cases. the various lines that represent have processes for convening multipart features to single
Stands
GIS database
Draw a polygon
Save the original
around one of Select the Ofiginal
polygon In a
the nl.lltiple po/ygoo
GIS database
representations
One portion of
Clip the original
polygon
Erase
Stands
GIS database
Figure 8.8 A complex process that can be used to split a polygon, initially represented by twO
regions, into twO separate landscape features.
150
140 Part 2 Applying
Applying GIS to Natural Resource Management
Streams Buffered
Buffer
GIS streams GIS
100 feel
database database
Roads Buffered
Buffer
GIS roads GIS
100 feet
database database
Merge
Merged GIS
dalabase
Unrestricted
Stands GIS
Erase areas GIS
database
database
Figur~ 8.9 A process that an ~ used to delineate unreuricted areas in a forested landscape.
here will be on developing several GIS databases that 870.9 hectares (2, I 52 acres) are thus unrestricted. The
describe me types of restricted areas, then on merging unrestricted areas, given the crireria noced above, are open
them together as a single GIS database. The polygons con- to (he full suite of management activities appropriate for
tained in the restricted area GIS database can then be the forest types and landscape conditions of the Daniel
erased from (he boundary or stand GIS databases, leaving Pickett forest.
unrestricted areas as a resulr. The process can be described
with a flow chart (Figure 8.9) to help visualize the steps
necessary [0 complete the task.
D Unrestricted areas
152
142 Part 2 Applying GIS to Natural Resource Management
Summary
The need to combine and splir la ndscape fearu res and polygon or line, rhen a splirring process would be war-
the need to merge GIS darabases together are influenced ranted. If there was a need ro combine features con-
by th e progression of GIS processes you choose in orde r rained in separate GIS databases. a merge process would
ro address a management issue. If there is a need co elim- be appropriate. The decis ion to combine or spli t land-
inate small landscape features c reated by some o th er GIS scape feacuces. o r [0 merge GIS databases must not be
process (e.g., clipping, erasing), co mbining rhese wirh made lighrly. While rhere may be a vari ery oflogical rea-
othe r landscape fearu ces would seem approp riate. If sons for us ing these GIS processes, there may be anocher
there is a need (Q combine multiple feacures within a sin- reaso n (such as the contem of the resuhing anribuce
gle GIS darabase (regardless of rheir size) to fac ilirare fur- table) that suggests an alternative process should be used.
ther analysis. combining them wo uld again seem pru- Documeming the workAow when using these processes
dent. If rhere is a need ro physically separare pieces of a is therefore important.
Applications
8.1. Characterizing unrestricted areas. The Region a) How much area ofland is umestricted?
Manager associated with the Brown Tract, Becky b) How much area of unrestricted land is included in
Blaylock. is very interested in the managemenr oppOrtu- rhe following land allocarions'
nities associated with this land, given its proximity ro an a. Even-aged
a rea of suburban growth. Since she knows you know b. Shelrerwood
so mething about GIS, she has again come to you for some c. Uneven-aged
information. Specifically, she is interested in understand- c) Develop a map of rhe Brown T racr, illustraring rhe
ing the extent of the forest resources that are outside of unrestricted areas. Include on the map the road
areas where fo rest ma nagement is restricted for one or and stream systems.
more reasons (either by regulation or by an organizational
policy). She defines rhe zones where fo rest management is 8.2. GIS processing. H ow would you have add ressed
restricted as: problem 8.1 if you incorporared a process rhar merged
• Areas wirhin 152.4 m (500 feer) of a urhor ized the GIS databases that represented unrestricted areas?
trails; H ow would you have add ressed problem 8 .1 if you incor-
• Areas wirh in 152.4 m (500 feer) of homes; porated a process that co mbined all landscape features
• Areas wirhin 2.4 km (1 .5 miles) of owl nest loca- representing unrestricted areas into a single polygon?
tions; Provide a Aow chart for each alternative process.
• Areas within the riparian zones:
- 30.5 m (100 feer) around large fish-bear ing 8.3. Combining landscape features . Your co-worker,
streams, Ka rl Douglas, has suggeSted during one of your
2l.3 m (70 feer) around medium fish-bea ring momh ly inventory meetings that all management un its
streams, in the stands GIS database smaller than four hectares
15 .2 m (50 feer) around small fish-bearing should be co mbined with another adjacenr managemenr
streams, unie. His a rgum ent is that [his will make the process of
- 21.3 m (70 feer) around large non-fIsh-bearing managing the forest more efficient. Besides the faCt thar
streams, some small polygons may represent sign ifica nt land-
- 15.2 m (50 feer) aro und medium non-fish- sca pe fearures (rock p its, wildlife habirar, erc.), and rhus
bearing streams, and should be disrincrly represenred in a GIS darabase, whar
6.1 m (20 feer) around small non-fIsh-bearing argument might you provide against this potential
streams; and change in GIS database management policy. particularly
• Stands with the following land allocations: from th e GIS processing and invento ry management
Meadow, Oak Woodland, Research, and Rock pir. perspectives?
153
Chapter 8 Combining and Splitting Landscape Features, and Merging GIS Databases 143
References
154
Chapter 9
Objectives structu re) . Si nce new landsca pe features are nOt being
created in th is process. the re is no need to create a new
This chapter provides an inrrodu ction to techniques that GIS data base; howeve r, this is also possible and we will
will allow yo u to associate fea mres in spati ally- referenced discuss this process later in the chapter. To present addi-
GIS databases with data from other sources (other types of tional methods of combini ng databases, two processes of
databases) which may not have a n explicir spacial refer- associa tion will be introduced: the jo in and the rel ate
e nce. Once this c ha pter has been completed. readers (link) processes.
should have a firm underscanciing of: The first section of this cha pter examines joining data
in non-spacial databases with landscape features in spati al
l. how (Wo or more databases ca n be remporarily com- d atabases. and desc ribes several of the common join
bined withom creating a new database. modifying a processes yo u might encounter. The relationship between
database rabie, or modifying landscape feacuresi the non-spatial data and rhe landscape fea tures is based on
2. what types of GIS processes are available when there is a common attribute value found in both da rabases. The
a need to associate data from different sources; second section of the chapter examines joi ning landscape
3 . how non-spacial data can be associated with spatial features from [wo differen t GIS databases. and how the
databases. and how data from one spa tial database can relationship between the landscape features in each GIS
be associated with data of a nother spatial database; and database is a fun ction of the location and type (poi nt.
4 . what it means to relate (link) two tables, and how thi s line, or polygon) of the features on the landscape. The
process is different than joining darabases. third sectio n of the chapter discusses how you can make
the temporary joined assoc iations among databases per-
In the last few cha pters a concentra rion was placed manenr. The final section of the chapter exam ines relar-
on taking (WO (or mo re ) G IS databases an d . with a ing {linking} features or data from one database to that of
process such as erasi ng o r clipping, creating a third (new) another. With a relate process. you can view one of th e
GIS database that featured differenr. o r modified, land- related databases. selecr a landscape featu re. then view the
sca pe features. The GIS databases were, in essence, com- associated related data in the ocher database even rhough
bined in a permanent fashio n in the new database. In th is the database will not appea r to be physically associated.
chaprer the databases will be combi ned in a way that is Join processes do not follow this ap proach. but. instead,
temporary bur that still retains each database's o ri ginal result in a single database that contains dara from borh
structure (both the spa tial structure and attribute table joined databases.
155
Chapter 9 Associating Spatial and Non-spatial Databases 145
Soon;e Soon;e
Comma-delimited Plot , Installation dale Comma·delimited Plot, Installation date
text file containing r- 1 1998 text file containing .---- 1, 1998
plot number and t--- 2. 1997 plot number and 2,1997
Installation date 3, 1999 installation date 3,1999
4, 1998 4, 1998
5,2000 5, 2000
6, 1999
Resulting Plot Vegetation Type Installation date Resulting Plol Vegetation Type Installation dale
database : 1 OF 1998 database : 1 OF 1998
The original 2 WH 1997 The original 2 WH 1997
permanent plot permanent plOt
3 OF 1999 3 OF 1999
GIS database with GIS database with
the temporary
4 OF 1998 the terTij)Orary
4 OF 1998
field Mlnstallation 5 WH 2000 field -Installation 5 WH 2000
date" 6 OF 1999 date- 6 OF
Figure 9.1 Performing a one-to-one join usi ng a fi le of installation Figure 9.2 Performing a one-to-one join with one r«ord missing
dates as the source table, and the Danid Pickett permanent piau GIS from the source table.
database as the target table.
6 (Plor 6, insrallarion year 1999) was missing from the I. Open the Daniel Pickett stands GIS database (t his is
source rable. If YOli were to perform a join process using the target table).
the source and target rabies. a one-to-one join wou ld still 2. In the table of contentS, right-click the target table
occur, yet Plot 6 in the GIS database would not be joined (stands GIS database). seiect 'joins and relates', then
with any data from the sou tee tab le (Figu re 9.2). seiect [he join option.
To work through a one~to~one join. assume you have 3. IdentifY the join item from the target table in option 1.
an ASCII text file (HSl.rxt) containing habitat suitability 4. Choose the sou rce table (HSl.rxt) for option 2.
ind ices (HSls) for salamanders related to every dmber 5. IdentifY the join item from the source table in option 3.
stand on the Daniel Pickett forest. HSls range from 0.0 G. Perform the join process (press OK).
(poo r habitat) to 1.0 (optimal habitat) and can be quite
complex ro calculate; therefore. it is nO[ unreasonable ro In ArcYiew 3.x these general steps can be taken to per~
assume that they were generared outside of GIS. perhaps form the join:
in a sp readsheet or stacisdcal sofrware package. The chal-
lenge. once HSI values have been calculated. is [0 bring I. Open the Daniel Pickett stands GIS database.
them back into a GIS environment [0 allow the creari on 2. Open the Daniel Pickett stands attribute table (this is
of a thematic map. To perform a join process of the non- the target table) .
spatial HSI database (HSl.rxt) and a GIS database (Daniel 3. Open the HSl.rxt database (th is is the source tab le) .
Pickett stands) the following general steps can be taken 4. I n the source table. use the mouse to seieer the join
when using ArcG IS 9.x: item (stand).
157
Chapter 9 AssoCiating Spatial and Non-spatial Databases t47
5. In the target table, use the mouse [Q select the join process, the likelihood of errors is minimized, and the
item (stand) . process of associaring different buffer width data with each
6. Click the table join button. stream is fitst and efficient. For example, Figure 9.4 illus-
trates a one-to-many join process where the source table
Once the one-to-one join process is complete, the HSI has four records and the targer table has seven records. The
values from the HSI.txt database should be temporarily join item is 'Stream type' in the source table, and the
srored inside of the stands GIS database attribute table. To 'Type' attribure in the target table. Two of the source table
confirm this, you muSt open and visuaUy examine the records (,Perennial - large' and 'lnterminenr') are associ-
stands GIS database attribute table. A thematic map can ated with more than one record in the ta rget table (hence
be created (Figure 9.3) using the HSI values, to illustrate 'many' records). The sou rce table could have included four
the spatial arrangement of habitat on the Daniel Pickett (or more, or less) items and me target table could have
forest. Areas with in each habitat grouping can also be cal- included 1,000 or more items-it makes no difference to
culated to enable the development of a report concerning the one-to-many join process. However. similar to me one-
the amount of suitable habitat on the forest for a particu- to-one join processes, should a record be omitted from the
lar wi ldlife species. source table, the affecred records in the target table would
be represented by null or missing values in the joined field .
One-to-many joins
Many-to-one (or many-to-many) joins
In COntrast to one-to-one join processes, the assumption
behind one-to-many join processes is that there are more In certain cases, the source table can contain errors a nd
records in the target table than in me source table, and that lead to results that are different than what was originally
each record in the source table may be associated with
Database Table structure
more than one record in the target table. Assume that you
have a streams GIS database that contains 1,000 stream
reaches. Assume also that you desi re to buffer the Streams
Comma·delimited Stream Type, Buffer
to create a map of diffe rent riparian management zone texl file containing · Perennlal-large", loo
policies, and that each stream needs to be buffered a dis- stream type and -Perennial-small". 75
rance that is based on its size. If you were interested in buffer distance "Intermittent", 50
"Ephemeral ",25
developing variable-width buffers <as illustrated in chapter
Target (Destination)
7) for each policy, the appropriate buffer width for each
Stream Type
stream must be associated with each stream reach.
1 Perennial-large
Manually updating the attributes of each of the 1,000 GIS Oatabase 2 Intermittent
streams for each riparian policy would be time consuming representing
3
permanent
and would likely contain errors. W ith a one-to-many join plots 4 Perennial-large
5 Intermittent
6 Ephemeral
7 Intermittent
Habitat SUitability
Index (HSI) value Joined database
Stream Type Buffer
CJ 0.000-0.200 Resulting
database: 2
1 Perennial large
Intermittent
100
50
CJ 0.201 - 0.400 The original 3 Perennial small 75
CJ 0.401-0.600 streams
GIS database with • Perennial large 100
Fi.gure 9.3 Habitat Suitability Index (HSI) valu~s for salamand~rs on Figure 9.4 P~rformjng a one-to-many join wing a fiI~ of buff~r
the Daniel Pick~tt forest. distances as th~ source tabl~, and streams GIS databas~ as th~ targ~t tabl~.
158
148 Part 2 Applying GIS to Natural Resource Management
intended. These are cases where twO o r more records in Oatabase Table structure
the source table (and one or more instances of such) are
Soun:.
associated with a single reco rd in rhe ta rget rable. These
can result in a many-tO-o ne join. For examp le. the many- Comma-delimited Stream Type, Buller
text file containing "Perennial-large", l00
to-one join process illustrated in Figure 9.5 shows that rhe stream type and "Pereooial-small ", 75
fourth and fifth records of the source cable have exacuy the buffer distance "Intermittent ",50
"Ephemeral", 25
same the join item value (,Stream type' = 'Ephemeral') . "Perennial- large", 125
When rhe join process is performed only one 'Buffer'
Target (Destination)
value from the cwo source table reco rds can be associated
Stream Type
with the ephemeral stream in the target table (the first Perennial-large
value in ArcGlS 9.x, the last value in ArcView 3.x). The GIS Database 2 Intermittent
representing
example in Figure 9.5 shows that the first value (25) was permanent
3 Perennial-small
present in the joined database, not the last value (35). 4 Perennial-large
plots
5 Intermittent
Which value is presem in the target table (the first instance
6 Ephemeral
or subsequent instances in rhe source table) depends on 7 Intermittent
the GIS software program being used. Many-to- many join
processes behave in a similar fashion (Figure 9.6). Joined database
The following two examples bring together some con- Stream Tyll" Butler
cepts that wefe introduced in (his and earl ier chapters. In Resulting 1 Perennial large 125
each exa mple. a non-spatial database is joined co a GIS database : 2 Intennlttent 50
The original 3 Perennial small 75
streams Perennial large
4 125
GIS database with
5 Intermittent 50
Database Table structure the temporary
field "Buller" 6 Ephemeral 35
7 Intermittent 50
Sou",.
Comma-delimited Stream Type, Buller
text file containing "Perennial-large", l00 Figure 9.6 Performing a many- to-many join using a Ale ofbufTer
stream type and "Perennial-small ", 75 distances as me source table and a streams GIS database as the target
buller distance "Intermittent", 50 table.
"Ephemeral ",25
"Ephemeral ", 35 -
-====::::::::-
Target (Destination) database. Then, a spatial query is performed to determine
Stream Type which of the point fearures is contained within an area
1 Perennial-large represented by a polygon feature. Ultimately, some info r-
GIS Oatabase 2 Intermiltent
representing marion that was originally contained in [he non-spada I
3 Perennial-small
permanent database is summa ri zed based o n its assoc iated spatial
4 Perennial-large
plots
5 Intermittent locat ion.
6 Ephemeral
7 Intermittent
Example 1: Determining the number of hardwood
sawmills in a state
Joined database
Assume (hat you currently work for Dunn and Herndon ,
Stream Tyll" Buffer
Inc. in cent ra] Tennessee, and are considering building a
Resulting 1 Perennial large 100
database : 2 Intermittent 50 new hardwood sawmill somewhere in (he state. Initia lly,
The original 3 Perennial .maD 75 what you might find helpful is an estimate of the number
streams 4 Perennial large 100
GIS database with of hardwood sawmills in the state of Tennessee. Another
5 Intermittent 50
the temporary piece of information tha t would be valuable is an estimate
6 Ephemeral 25
field "Buffer"
7 Intermittent 50 of the number of people that they employ. To develop
rhis info rmation we will use a CIS database of the south-
eastern US states, a GIS database of mill locations, and a
Figure 9.S Performing a ma ny-to-one join using a file of buffer
distances as the source table, and a streams GIS database as the target non-spa rial database of mill attributes. Mill locations and
table. their associated non-spatial attributes were acquired from
159
Chapter 9 Associating Spatial and Non-spatial Databases 149
rhe USDA Foresr Service (2006). The process includes rhe (Figure 9.7) . As a result, you might find that there are
fo llowing sreps: 329 hardwood sawm ills in the State of Tennessee that
employ 3,959 people, assuming that the data are current.
1. Jo in the non-spatial mill attribute data to the GIS data-
base of southeastern US mills. The non-sparial data- Example 2: Determining sawmill employment in a
base comains a field called 'MILL_lD'. This is rhe join county
item from rhe sou rce rable. The mill GIS database con- As a second, similar example. assume mat you are a con-
tains a field called 'MILL-lD' . This is the join irem sultant based in Mississippi. working for Saunders
from rhe rarger table. Once the two tables are joined, Geomacics, LLC. Assume also that you are doing some
the spatial features (poims) in the mills GIS database CQncract work for the Nuxubee County Chamber of
will have associated wirh them rhe attributes of mills Commerce. They want ( 0 know how many sawmills are
from [he non-spatial database. in the county, and chey want an estimate of how many
2. Query rhe southeasrern US srates GIS database for the people rhese mills employ. To develop rhis information
scate of Tennessee. This is a query that simply uses a we will use a GIS database of me
southeastern US coun-
field (srate) of the southeastern US "ares GIS darabase fies, a GIS database of mill locations, and a non-spacial
to locate the appropriate actcibuce of the scares (State = database of mill attributes. Once again . milliocacio ns and
Tennessee). thei r associated non-spacial attributes were acqui red from
3. Perform a spatial query of rhe mills GIS database to the USDA Forest Service (2006). The process includes the
determine (by location) which mills are completely following steps:
contained within the Scate of Tennessee (the current
selected feature in the southeastern US states GIS daca- 1. Join rhe non-spatial mill attribure data (0 the G IS data-
base). base of southeastern US mills. as was described in
example 1 above.
Once these steps have been performed, we will have 2. Query the southeastern US counties GIS database for
selected those mills mac are within the Scare of Tennessee. Nuxubee County, Mississippi . This is a query that
The question now is whether they mainly accept hard- simply uses a field (county) of the sourheastern US
wood [fee species, and whether they are cons idered a counties C IS database [0 locate me appropriate attrib-
sawmill. A final query using the attribures of the mills GIS ute of rhe co unties (County = Nuxubee). You need to
database is therefore needed [0 seiect from (he currently be careful here if there are muldple counties in the
selected features (all mills in Tennessee) those that are southeastern scares with me same name {e.g .. 'Floyd' is
sawmills. and mainly accept hardwood reee species (he name of a county in more than one s[a[e).
KY
.: ..
.
.. . . . , ' .
..
. ..
' ' . ..
". :
MS Al
160
150 Part 2 Applying GIS to Nalural
Natural Resource Management
3. Perform a spacial
spatial query of the
[he mills GIS dalabase [Q
GIS database to describes the coord coordina te division intervals.
in ate inrerva'!s, typically
determine
de<ermine (by location)
locarion) which mills are completely expressed in feet, feer. international feet, fec t, or meters. Spatial
Spatia l
contained within Nuxubee County (the current joins
joi ns are based on the comparison of feamre feature (point.
(poin t, line,
selected feature in the
selecred me southeastern
SQUmeasrern US counties
coumies GIS or polygon) locatio locadons ns to other feature
feamre locations.
locarions. The There
re
database). are many GIS processes thar that inherently recognize the
coordinate system of a layer without needing to know
Once these Steps
steps have been performed, we will have [he
the real-world definition of the map un it. Without the
unit.
selected those mills that are within rhe
(he county. The ques- unir definitio
map unit definition, however, sparial
n. however. spatial joins will usually
tion now is whether they are sawmills. An examination of nO
notI be possible.
the mills tab le finds
table finds that there are three sawmills in [he
the As with non-s non-spatial
patial jojoin processes, a sou
in processes. sourcerce database
county (al[hough
(although only two are seemingly visibvisible
le on the and
an target database are required.
d rarget required, yet the join item wi willll
an d that they employ 23
map), and 231I people, assuming
assum ing that be sligh tly different-it
slightly d ifferem-it is the spatial position of each
the database is currenL
currene. landscape feature in each GIS GIS dadatabase.
tabase. The [wo most
twO mosr
common
com types of
mon rypes o f spatial
spat ial join processes are those fhar that are
Joining Two Spatial defined by which features are closest (sometimes called
GIS Databases th
thee neareSt
nearest neighbor) and those [hose thar
that are evaluated by
whether a feature is intersecredinte rsected by another
another feature or is
With a spatial join process. our intent imenr is to learn aboul abour completely inside ano lher feature.
another feature . A th ird type of spatial
third
the qualities of some landscape features that are near other join invo
involves
lves linear features and is evaluated by deter-
featu res of imeresr.
landscape features interest. In joining non-spadaJ
non-spacial data- mining whether one linear feature feawre is located along or
bases [Qro spatial databases,
da[abases, a common field (the ([he join item) inside the extent of another linear feature feature.. The outpur
was used [Q associate the data data in the non-spatial database properties an and d options of the spatial join process will
[Q the landscape features in the
to [he rhe GIS database. The associ- depend upon Ihe the fearure (poim, line, or polygon)
feature type (point,
ation itself was non-spatia
alion I-the location
non-spatial-the locatio n of landscape of th
thee source and targe targett databases and are a re summarized
fearures in the
features [he GIS
GIS database (the target table)
rable) was not used in Table 9.2 .
fa
to assist in making the association spadallocation of
association.. The spatia!locarion The nea
nearestresr neighbo
neighborr spatial join works fo forr almost all
features can, however.
landscape fearures however, be used (Q associate land- feature
feamre type comparisons excepr except for lineli ne on line. Other
scape
sca pe fearures
features from one database with those in anothe anotherr than this exception,
except ion . the nearest neighbo neighborr join process
database. This is a powerful feature feam re that often goes allows the characrerisrics
characteristics of features (points, (poin rs. lines,
lines. or poly-
unused by GIS users. users. Both databases, however.
however, must mUSt co
con-n- gons) in a source table to be associa associatedted with the closest
example, if you were interested
tain spatial data. For example.
cain in terested in feature in a destination table. Thus you can usc use spatial
knowing the rype type of forest
torest stands that sources of water join processes to ro not oonlynly iden
idemifY rhe nearest
tify the ne-dtest point (e.g.
(ponds, sp rin rings, fan within,
gs, etc.) fall withi n, you might join a GIS GIS uee), line (e.g. road) oorr polygon (e.g. warershed)
tree), watershed) fearure
feature
database
data base containing a set of points (representing wa water
ter from all point (e.g., house) features in a GIS GIS database, but
data base containing a set
sources) with a GIS database se t of polygons ca n also determ
you can determine the distance to the neareSt point
ine [he
(dm ber stands) [0
(timber to understand the type of forest that su sur-
r- feature
feature.. Typ ically.
ical ly. the distance [Q to the nearest feature and
rounds each water wa ter source. the anribute
source. Thus rhe attribute data within the anribmes
anribures of me the nearest feature
feacure are included in the
timber stand database can be assoc
the timber associated arr rib-
iated to the arnib- database..
Output database
ute dara
me within the water sources database based on the
data wirhin A point-in-polygon or 'inside or of join process is rather
sparial
spatial locarion
location of the landscape fea rures within each GIS
features straightforward:
straightforwa rd: determinedeterm ine the polygon (from a source so urce
darabase.
database. rable) within
table) wirhin which each point (in a desrinario destinationn table) is
In some
so me softwa re packages. such as ArcGIS ArcelS 9.x, a localed,
located, then join the attributes of each polygon with each
spatial join results in the creation of a new layer that associated painepoint. For For exam ple. you may be interested in
example,
contains the joined info rmation . Check C heck you r GIS GIS soft- understand ing the rhe characteristics
characterist ics of t(imberimber stands con-
sta nds co n-
ware
wa to determine whethe
re CO whetherr new databases are 3re created taining [hethe owl nest locations mat that exist on [he the Daniel
spatia l joins. You should a150
during spatial also be aware that spa- Pickert forest (Figu (Figure re 9.8). In the Daniel Pickerr Pickett owl GIS
tial joins will usually requi require
re that a map projection be database [here there are twO owl nest location points.
associated w ith all invo lved layers.
with layers . A key component
co mponent of Associated with wirh eac eachh popoint
int is information, based on ow owll
every map projection is the definition of a map unit that surveys, regarding the number of adult and juvenile owls
surveys.
161
Chapter 9 Associating Spatial and Non-spatial Databases 151
TABLE 9_2 Spatial join options by target and source feature type
(Italics indicate output products for each option)
fou nd there (Figure 9.9), along with the first and last
sighting of the owls.
What is not known by simply viewing the owl GIS
dacabase are the characteristics of the forest surrounding
each owl nest. With just two points. this can be deter-
mined by visual inspection: owl poim 1 is located within
stand 25, a rathe r densely stocked l O-year old stand; owl
Owl Point #1 point 2 is located within stand 29, a 5D-year old stand of
• Owl Poinl#2 trees. However, when a large number of points are pres-
• em in me destination table, or the source table comains a
• • num ber of relatively small features (making visual inspec-
tion difficult)' an automated process may be preferred.
such as the general process noted below chat can be used
in ArcGIS 9.x:
Sourr:e
GIS database
representing
timber stands
. .
25 A I 260 I 70 I 37.7
: : :
29 I A I 200 I 50 I 21.1 "
Target (Destination)
Joined database
Resulting database:
the owl pOints database with the
appropriate stand conditions
that StXround eacfl point
Point Adults Fledglings Firstslght laslsight SIan<1 Veo_type Basal_area Age Mbl
1 2 1 19950618 20070821 25 A 260 70 37.7
2 1 0 19980623 20070901 29 A 200 50 21.1
Figure 9.9 Spatially joining the Danid Pickett stanch GIS database with the owl GIS
database.
will update to show you the types of feature classes While this example is relatively straightforward, imag-
that yo u are joining, in this case Polygons CO Points. ine a case where you have several hundred poines. such as
5. Use the radio or option burron and choose that you research plots. and the goal is to quickly and accurately
want each point to have the 3([cibures of the polygons determine what rype of stand each research plot is located
[hat 'it fulls inside' ramer (han 'is closest [0 it'. within. A poine-in-polygon join process would seem to be
6. Specify an outpUC location and name for the resulcing a logical and efficient option to accomplish this goal, and
joined database. would likely result in fewer errors than a manually driven
7. Choose OK to initiate the spatial join. process.
The spatial join process can also be used to identify the
In ArcView 3.x these general steps can be taken {Q per-
number of features within another point. line. or polygon
form the join:
database that are closest to features within a target data-
1. Open the D an iel Pickett owl GIS database (targer base. For example. suppose you had four possible ttail·
table) and stands GIS dat.abase (source table). heads withi n a watershed where you co uld park YOUT
2. Open the amibute tables of both GIS databases. vehicle in order to visit six rain gauges from which YOli
3. Clear all selecced landscape features in both amibute need {Q collect precipitation measurements. Using the
tables (to ensure no landscape fearures are selected). trailhead locations (poi nts) as rhe target database. you
4. With the mouse, click on the join item in the so urce could spatially join the six rain gauge locations (points)
table (e.g .• the 'shape' field in ArcYiew) . and determine wh ich of the nailheads was closest to the
5. With the mouse, click on the join item in the target largest number of the six gauges. This wou ld help you at
table (e.g.• the 'shape' field in ArcYiew) . least (Q pick a trai lhead locacion in which to begin your
6. Click the join table bunon to initiate the spatial join sampling. Another example might include examining a
process. number of watersheds (polygons) and wanting to deter-
163
Chapter 9 Associating Spatial and Non-spatial Oatabases 153
mine wh ich was the most densely forested according to both databases. With this process, the goal is to have the
(he number of uees, assuming that you had coordinates abi lity to display twO GIS databases, and to be able to
(points) of all trees throughout your watersheds. Using select a landscape feature from one and view the associ-
the watersheds as your target laye r, you could spatially ated landscape feature{s) in the other. For example,
join the trees laye r and return the number of trees, com- assume you have a source table represented by a GIS data-
plete with an aruibute summary (average tree height for base that contains multiple records related to landscape
example) for each wate rshed. featu res in another GIS database (the target table). In
Figure 9. 10, the tables of twO GIS database tables are illus-
Making Joined Data a trated; one represents a road system GIS database and the
Permanent Part of the other represents a culvert GIS database. As yo u may
notice, there are multiple culvertS associated with each
Target (Destination) Table
road (e.g., culvens 4 and 5 both are associated with road
After a join process has been completed, you might decide 602) . Joining these twO databases together would result in
that the joi ned data should permanently reside within the a manY-CQ-one joi n process or o ne-to-many join process,
target table. One strategy to accomplish this goal would depending on what is chosen as the source and target
be to add the appropriate number of empty fields to the tables. With a manY-(Q-one join process (culverts as
target tab le that will ultimately contain the joined data, source, roads as targetL some of the records in the source
and declare that the data type of the empty fields be the table will not be present in the target table after the join
same as the data type of the joined data. T he va lu es of the process has been completed . With a one-to-many join
empty fields can be calculated to equal the values of the process, (roads as source, cu lvens as target) you can iden-
joined data, thus filling the empty (yet permanent) fields tify which road is associated w ith each cu lve rt, however,
with the joined (yet temporary) data. Saving the target you will not be able to seiect a culvert and automatically
table at this point results in a permanent change to the view the associated road .
database, with the data from the source table now a per-
manent pan of the target table. In addirion, removing or
changing the source table will not result in a correspon- Database Table structure
2
3
1
-Type
Rock
Rock
-
agement processes, such as report gene ration, metadata culvertlocatlons 2 SIee1 544
creation, or other subsequent non-spatial analyses. 3 Cedar 544
4 Polyethylene 602
5 Polyethylene 602
Linking or Relating Tables 6 Polyethylene 714
7 Aluminum 714
On occasion, you may want to simply link or relate twO
GIS databases together, allowing you to view both the
source and target tab les as separate ent ities, and to view Figure 9. 10 Linking a roads GIS database with a cuJvcru GIS
landscape features that are assoc iated with each other in database.
164
154 Part 2 Applying GIS to Natural Resource Management
Which process-Joining or linking-is more some data are not linked (in either the source or tar-
dynamic? Perhaps linking. With linking. you can get ,able) they are still visible and ava ilable for further
visualize both the source and target tables. select ana lysis . When a join process is used, source table
landscape feamces from either table. and view the data not joined with target table data are unavailable
associated links from wither perspective. Further, if for funher spatial analysis.
To further illustrate the link or relate process, a general 1. Open the Brown Tract roads G IS database.
set of steps can be followed in ArcGIS 9.x to associate two 2. Open the roads GIS database attribute ,able (this is the
GIS databases related (Q the Brown T fact: a culverts data- target table).
base (Culverts. txt) and a roads GIS database: 3. Open the Culverts. txt file (this is the source table) .
4. Select the link item in the source table (road).
1. Open the Brown Tract roads GIS database and cul- 5. Select the link item in the target table (road).
vens text file. 6. Choose Link from ,he Table menu.
2. In ,he ,able of contents. right-click the target table
(roads GIS database). and select Joins and Relates. then At this paim a one-way link becween the roads and culverts
select Relates. databases has been created. The process may need to be
3. Selec, the relate field in the ,arget table. repeated with ,he roles reversed (roads GIS database as the
4. Identify the source table. source. Culverts.cxt as the target) to create a cwo-way link.
5. Select the relate field in the sou rce table. By linking the (wo tables together. you ca n select
6. After relating the two databases. perform an identify records in one database (or features in either database),
process. selecting one of (he roads that are noted in the and the landscape features they are associated. with may be
culvert database. You should be presented with infor- selected and highlighted in the other database. For exam-
marion for both the road and the associated culverts ple. after linking together the culvert database with the
along tha, road. roads GIS database, you can select one or more cu lvens.
and the roads associated with those culverts may be simul-
In ArcView 3.x, the following general set of instructions taneously selected and highlighted in the roads GIS da,a-
may work to create a link between the roads and the cul- base. In ArcGIS you can view the related data by using the
ven databases: identify tool.
Summary
Join and link processes provide GIS users with a way to A. Bring together spatial and non-spatial databases to
temporary assoc ia te two or more databases. allowing an make thematic maps.
expans ion of the mapping and ana lysis opportunities B. Funher the ab ili ty to perform other spatial operations,
within GIS without making permanent changes to the such as assoc iating non-spatia l stream buffer data with
databases. Before utilizing one of these processes you a streams GIS database in order to facilitate a buffer
should consider the types of databases ava ilab le. and the process.
type of association desired (e.g .. one-(O-one, one-to - c. Understand the spatial relationship between a sec of
many. and so o n). In addition. the purpose of the points and other landscape features (through a point-
process should be understood. which mighr provide in-polygon process) .
guidance in the choice of a join or link process. For D . Understand the association among multiple landscape
example. you may decide on different courses of action features in one database and their counterparts in
if the purpose is to: another database (through a li nk process).
165
Chapter 9 Associating Spatial and Non-spatial Databases 155
Joining and relating processes often produce databases exception to this vinuai [esuh is with a spatial join, in
char are only 'viccually' combined. meaning that no new which results are usually stored in a new database that
databases have been crea ted. but char ex ist ing informa- conrains all sparially jo ined info rmation. You shou ld
rion appears ro be associated either in one [able (with a check your software package to dete rmine wherher it fol-
jo in) or in twO tables (with a relate) . GIS users sho uld rec- lows these OutpUt resu lts in the same way. Regardless of
ognize mat this temporary condition exiS(5 and that fur- which process (tabular-based or spatial join) is used to
ther acr ian is necessary in order fo r a permanent record of associate two databases. users should track thei r proce-
rhe joined or linked info rmation to be created. The dures and manage the ourpur acco rdingly.
Applications
9.1. Salamander habitat suitability index. Bob Evans, Brown Tract stands GIS database, please add ress his needs
the Brown Tract's wildlife biologist/hydrologist, devel- noted below.
oped some habitat suitabili ty index (HSi) values for a sala- a) Determine how much land area of higher quality
mander. He suggests joining rhe data provided in habitat (0.6-1.0) is contained within the Brown
'SAL_HSl.txt' with the Brown T ract stands GIS database. Tract.
He then wants you ro answer several questions abour the b) Prod uce a single map of the sharp-shinned hawk
extenr and spadal distribut ion of these areas, which are habita r showing HSI values for the years 2010,
summarized below. 2020, 2030, and 2040.
a) How much land area is contained in the 0 .8 [Q 1.0
HSI range? 9.4. Water sources and land allocations. John Frewer,
b) How much land area is contained in the 0.6 to a forester associated with the Brown Tract, is interested in
0.79 HS I range? knowi ng what types of land allocations the water sou rces
c) How much land area is contained in the 0.4 [Q were located w ithin. To accomplish this task, perform a
0.59 HSI range? poine- in-polygon operation (or selection by locar ion
query), using the water sources as the source table and the
9.2. Newt habitat suitability index. Bob Evans has stands GIS databases as the target table.
also developed some habitat suitability index (HSi) values a) How many water sources are located in 'Even-aged'
for a newt. He provided data in the file 'NEWf_HS l. rxr'. stands on the Brown T ract?
After joining the dara with the Brown Tract stands GIS b) What types of water sources are loca ted in uneven-
database, please address his needs, which are noted below. aged stands (lis r the water source types)?
a) Determine how much land area of high quali ty c) How many water sources are located in research
newt habitat (HSI ~ 0.65) is contained with in 100 areas?
m of the road system.
b) Determine how much land area of high quality 9.5. Sawmills in a woodshed. You have recently been
newt habitat (HSI ~ 0.65) is contained wit hi n hired as a procu rement forester for Chupp and Daughters
1,000 m of the owl nest site. Sawmill in Floyd County, GA. Yo u need to understand
c) Determine how much land area of high quality the competit ion for wood in the area. To perform rhis
newt habitat (HSI ~ 0.65) is contained in even-aged task, use the southeastern counties GIS database, the
stands over 50 years of age. southeastern mills GIS database, and the mill data DBF
fi le. Jo in the mill data DBF file to the southeastern mills
9.3. Sharp-shinned hawk habitat suitability index. In GIS database and determine how many sawmills are
addition to his previously discussed developments, Bob within 100 miles of Floyd County, GA. The mill loca-
Evans has also developed some habitat suitability index tions and non-spatial mill a[cribures can be acquired from
(HSi) estimates for the sharp-shinned hawk covering the the book's website o r the USDA Forest Service (2006).
years 2010, 2020, 2030, and 2040. His rendeney to pro-
vide this data in a texr file continues, and you can fin d it 9.6. New mill location. You work for Walker, Avery,
in 'SSHAWK_HSl.txt'. Afte r joining the data with the and Housron Lumbe r Company, a company that is
166
156 Part 2 Applying GIS to Natural Resource Management
considering building a new hardwood sawmill mill in Join the county volume DBF file to the somheastern
Coffee County, AL. They need to understand how counties GIS database and determine how much hard-
much hardwood volume currently exists in (he area wood (soft and hard) volume is conrai ned in the counties
around the county. To perform this task, use rhe south- that surround, and include, Coffee County. The county-
eastern counties GIS database and rhe county volume level can be obtained from the book's website or the
DBF file. USDA Forest Service (2007) .
References
USDA Forest Service. (2006). US wood-using mill loca- USDA Forest Service. (2007) . FIA data mart: Download
t;0",-2005. Research Triangle Park, NC: USDA files. St Paul , MN: USDA Fo rest Service, North
Forest Service, Sourhern Research Stadon. Retrieved Central Research Station. Retrieved April 16, 2007,
April 16, 2007, from http: //www.s rs.fs.usda.gov/econ/ from http ://www.nc rs2 .fs.fed.us/FIADatamart/
data/mills/miIl2005 .htm . fiaclaramarc.aspx/fiadaraman.aspx.
167
Chapter 10
Process A Process B Process C from a few hours to a few months. Users of GIS databases
will ultimately suggest a variety of enhancements to the
Digitize an Digitize an
Collect GPS databases that would facilitate further ana lyses. For exam-
data lor an
area area
area
ple, the Brown T ract vegetation GIS database could be
modified to show more explicitly (he riparian areas, or
1
Erase overlaps
1
Erase over131>S
1
Edit spatial
could include more anributes that describe forest stand
structure. A roads GIS database might also be enhanced to
using corporate using corporale features (e.g., show the type of road surfacing or all of the trails (unau-
database database remove muttipath)
thorized roads) that weave through the property.
1 1
Select and
1
Select and
Updating these GIS databases ro include all of the infor-
marion (hat is necessary to make natural resource man-
Attribute the new
copy newly
delete features agement decisions may be, however, limited by the time
spatial features to be updated
digitized features (il necessary) and budget available ro make the changes, the quality of
(he information available to make the changes. and other
1
Update
t
Paste new features
1
AddGPS
organizational data standards. The needs of namral
resource managers. with regard to GIS databases. must
COij)Orate Inlo corporate features Into
eventually be considered along with (he costs of data
database database corporale database
development.
can range from very precise and accurate (collected with TABLE 10.2 Inputs and processes
a high q ual ity GPS receiver) to somewhat imprecise and that can be used to a ssist
inaccurate {drawn by hand from memory}. Keeping the a GIS database update
data used for making decisions accurate and updated is
Input
therefore imponant, and thus the interval between Hand-drawn maps GPS features
updates becomes important. For example, the update T2bu lar datab2Ses Field nOles
A person's memory GIS Features developed by field personnel
interval that a resource managemem organization uses to
Digital orthophotographs and subsequent interpretation
refresh the spatial extent {history} of their management
activities and the growth of their forest inventory is GIS processes
Digitiring Scanning
imponant, since subsequent management decis ions Joining Updating
might be affected by previously implemented manage- Linking Copying J p2Sting
mem decisions. The imerval chosen can range from six Importing Attributing
Querying and verification
momhs. to a year, or even (WO years between updates,
depending on the GIS database considered. The interval
chosen depends on the organization's perception of the mai ntained and distributed by the Washington State
usefulness and cost-effectiveness of such an update on a Department of Natural Resou rces.
GIS database. For example, if the goal of an organization
(e.g., a southern US forest management organization) Example 1: Updating a forest stand
were to generate revenue for its stockholders, the need GIS database managed by a forest
for updating the data related to its primary resource (pine management company
forest stands) may be more important, and updated more
frequently than data related to secondary resources (hik- A typ ical forest management company in Florida might
ing trails). Other resources, such as roads, streams, cul- update their forest stand GIS database on an annual basis.
vens, water resources, and wildlife may be more or less Their field personnel collect information related {Q
imporram, depending on the goals of the organization, changes in irs forest land ownership throughout a calen-
thus the frequency with which these GIS databases are dar year, and the forest stand GIS database is updated near
updated may vary according to the organization's per- the end of the calendar year. Why would they update the
ceived need to do so. At the extreme end of the spec- forest stand GIS database once a yea r? The forest stand
trum. every GIS database could be updated continuously; GIS database is arguably the most important GIS database
however, the cost of doing so may be qu ite high and the for assisting industrial forest management activiries, and
task would require employees {or consultants} dedicated field-level managers require high quality data (maps and
to the task. inventory data) to make managemem decisions. In addi-
Two ofche more important questions an organization tion, most corporations require an annual estimate of the
must address, beyond determining when a GIS database value and volume of resources, for planning and tax
should be updated, are how the update process will be reporting purposes. A less frequent updating interval may
accomplished, and who will do the work. As mentioned not be appropriate given the short rotacions typical of
earlier, the methods by which a GIS database could be southern industrial forestry operations. For example,
updated vary considerably; the fo rm of input cou ld range waiting two years between updates of a timber stand GIS
from hand-drawn maps to LiDAR-derived measurements, database may represent 8- 10 per cent of the lengrh of a
and the GIS processes could involve scanning, digitizing. forest harvest rotation. A more frequent imerval, say six
attributing, and other methods {Table 10.2} . As you may months, may provide field personnel with higher qualiry
have gathered from chapter 3, when a GIS database is information with which to make management decisions,
being updated, rhe database is being edited. In some form particularly in cases where a large amount of activity takes
or fashion , the imem is to change something about a GIS place over a six-month period. Some have argued (hat
database-either the landscape features or their underly- continuously updating GIS databases may be appropriate.
ing attributes, or both. Two examples of GIS update but the: time and cost required to update a GIS database
processes are now presemed, one related to a forest stands may make a nearly continuous update process impracti-
GIS database maimained by a forest industry organization cal. Further, field personnel could easily become confused
in Florida, and the other related to a streams GIS database when faced with a cominuously changing set of GIS data-
170
160 Part 2 Applying GIS to Natural Resource Management
bases. thus updating databases and leaving a window of database. and again checked for mistakes and omissions.
time {a year. perhaps} between changes may be perceived Finally. the forest stand GIS database is distr ibuted back
as more des irable. to the field office. either as a GIS database. or as hard-copy
The changes to the forest stand GIS database that are maps and tables. The field office may then have itS own
recommended by field foreSters and other natural verification procedures for checking the updated database
resource managers may be indicated o n hard-copy maps (or maps) fo r m istakes and omissio ns that may have
and timber cruise forms. or they may be comai ned in d ig- arisen during the update process. Processes such as these.
ital databases created in GIS or with GPS. Field foresters. with a systematic method for data collection. entry, and
timber procurement managers. or other profess ionals verification, are designed to ensure that high-qual icy data
responsible for managing la nd will typically indicate will be developed and avai lable for use in natural resource
{draw} on maps the changes {e.g .• harvest and regenera- decision-making contexts.
tion activi ti es} that have occurred on [he forest land base
as these act ivit ies have been completed. This informacion Example 2: Updating a streams
is usually sent to a central office {Figure 10.2}. which GIS database managed by a
takes ownership of the timber Stand GIS database. The state agency
cemral office checks rhe new data for mistakes and omis-
sions according to a set of organizational standards, and In rhe State of Washington, all fo rest harvest plans must
may ask for clarification from the field staff. The informa- be subm itted to t he Department of Natu ral Resources
tion is rhen digitized, either in-house or by an external {DNR} for review and approval. A map must accompany
con n actor. The resuhing digitized GIS database is each plan, and illustrate the juxtaposition of proposed
checked again for mistakes and omissions, and then ime- activities in relation to, among other landscape features,
grated into the official {sometimes called 'corporate} GIS the stream system. To ensure a consistent definition of
the 'stream system', the DNR provides (at a minimal COSt,
as was illustrated in chapter 3) a streams GIS database for
Field office Central office
the entire state. This database is conti nuously updated by
,,, ,,
stream illustrated in rhe DNR streams GIS database. The
Digitize changes ~ landowner has the option to submit ce rtain documenta-
,,, ,, tion [Q the DNR in suppOrt of a request to change the
Make management
,,, ~ ,,, DNR streams GIS database. The DNR d irects each request
,,
decisions using through a review process, and based on the outcome of
the database
, Check data for , the reviews, decides [0 ei ther accept or reject the pro-
,,
mistakes and r- J
,,
, L database, from initial submission by the la ndowne r to
, Integrate into official incorporation in the streams GIS database, may
,, corporate ~ -, require several months. The process is considered a con-
,, database
,,
tinuous one since approved changes to [he streams GIS
~ database can be made at any time during a calendar year.
Check data for Check data for , Therefore, landowne rs may need to continuously review
mistakes and mistakes and -J the statuS of the DNR streams GIS database in the areas
omissions omissions
where they own or manage land, and acquire updated
Figurc 10.2 A gcnerali"lcd proces.s for updating a forest stand C IS data as they deem necessary to reflect the latest stream
database. info rmation.
171
Chapter 10 Updating GIS Databases 161
GIS databases can be updated with new landscape features Vegetation Basal
Smnd Hectares Acus type area" Age MBP
(points. lines. or polygons) by either adding the new land-
scape features (Q an existing GIS database, or by editing 17.24 42.6 A 190 55 21.3
the existing landscape features. or boch . Two examples 2 15.t4 37.4 8 15 7 0.8
are provided below to illuStrate updating a GIS database
• squar~ f«t per acr~
by adding new landscape features . The firSt example
h thousand board fttt per ac r~
involves a land purchase and subsequenr addition of twO
forest stands co a stands GIS database. The second exam- gons were placed together. By simply copying the land-
ple involves the addition of new trails to a trails GIS data- scape features from the land purchase GIS database into
base. In each case, assume that the new landscape features the stands GIS darabase. it is possible to bring the newly
were either digitized or collected with a GPS SYStem and digitized land purchase polygons into the stands GIS data-
are available in a GIS format. Prior to [he iniciarion of the base, however. the attributes of the new stands may not
update process, you should assume that the new data are be present. depending on the GIS software program being
comained in GIS databases that are separate from the GIS used (Figure 10.4) . The new fo rest stand polygons would
databases that need updating. Refer back to chapter 3 for then need to be attributed a second dme, after they have
a review of methods and tools for development of a new been pasted intO (he original stands GIS database.
GIS database. To avoid duplication of effort in update processes,
three options are clear: (l) digitize the new landscape fea-
Updating a stands GIS database tures directly into the original stands GIS database. (2)
use a merge process to com bine the newly digitized stands
Assume that (he owners of me
Daniel Pickett forest have with the origi nal stands GIS database. or (3) if available in
pu rchased 80 acres (32.38 hectares) of land adjacent to
the southwest corner of the original forest boundary
(Figure 10.3). Following process B illuStrated in Figure
10. 1. the Stand bounda ri es of this area have been digi- D Forest stands
30 c 190 45 17.3
31 c 110 25 4.1
o o o 0
o o o o
Figur~ 10.4 Daniel Pick~n forest stands and land pu rchas~ a r~a aft~r
copying and pasting landscape fntures from th~ land purch3# GIS
Figure 10.3 Dani~ 1 Pick~[( for~$[ stands and land purchase area. datah3# to th~ stands GIS database.
172
162 Part 2 Applying GIS to Natural Resource Management
rhe GIS software program being used, use an 'updare' purchase polygons beyond che excent needed in the new
funcrion . ArcMap and ArcView 3.x, for example, both land purchase GIS database, creating an area of overlap
have (he ability to use an update function made available with the polygons in [he "ands GIS database (Figure
rhrough the XTools extension (Data Easr, 2007; Oregon 10.6). Then, erase from [he land purchase GIS da[abase
Department of Foresrry, 2003). When using a merge the area of overlap with the stands GIS database, creating
process or an update funC[ion, the stands GIS database a second (new) land purchase GIS database. In [his new
will be updared with rhe new polygon dara contained in land purchase GIS database, [he edges of the new poly-
the land purchase GIS darabase. If rhe land purchase GIS gons seamlessly match the edges of [he associated poly-
database includes fields named and formarred exactly as gons in the stands GIS database (Figu re 10.7).
those in the forest stands GIS database, the 3ttrihme data
wi[hin [he land purchase GIS da[abase will be moved Updating a trails GIS database
(along wi[h rhe associa red purchased polygons) to rhe
updared srands GIS darabase (Figure 10.5). The existing trails system for the Brown Tract was digi-
The assumprion was made rhac [he polygons in che tized several years ago using hard-copy maps provided by
land purchase GIS darabase seamlessly marched [he edges the forest recreation planner (Figure 10.9). While suit-
of polygons in rhe Daniel Picke" foresr scands GIS da[a- ab le for recreation planning and the development of
base. How is this possible? Matching rhe spacial juxtapo- recreation maps to guide visitors around the area, the trail
sition of the new landscape features to the landscape fea- syscem described in the [rails GIS database co uld very well
cures in [he GIS da[abase being updaced (the stands GIS be considered out-of-da[e. The [rail system, like ocher fea-
da[abase) can be accomplished using one of at leasc cwo [Ures of a landscape, evolves as the managers of the forest
mechods, depending on what rype of process is available develop new trails, or as people find different hiking or
within the GIS software program being used: (I) copy [he mountain biking rouces through the landscape. The latter
new po lygons into the original stands GIS database and
use snapping tools [0 properly match rhe new polygons Overlap
wi[h the original scands polygons, or (2) use a process as
described in the fi rst cwo sceps of processes A and B of D Or~inal stands
Figure 10.1. Here, you might firsc digi[ize the new land Stands in land
acquisition area
D Timber stands
D Original stands
Stand VegType Basal Area Age MBF o Stands in land
1 A 200 50 21.2 acquisition area
2 C 175 40 12.9
30 c 190 45 17.3
31 c 110 25 4.1
o A 190 55 21.3
o B 15 7 0.8
Figu~ 10.5 Daniel Pickett forest stands and land purchase ana after Figure 10.7 Land purchase GIS dat:lbasc after erasi ng the overlap
updlUing the stands GIS database wing the land purchase GIS database. with the stands GIS database.
173
Chapter 10 Updating GIS Databases 163
The term digitizing, as described in chapter I. means to ally based on <he standard protocols within an organiza-
cooven a hand-drawn (or other rype 00 map CO a digical tion, (he risks relared to potential errors in the resulting
image of a map. Normally. digitizing is performed using GIS database (e.g., errors mat may lead to making incor-
a digidzing table and a digitizing puck. A map is laid on rect management decisions in the future), the quality of
the table, taped down to ensure that it doesn'[ move dur- both hardcopy and digital products <hat would be used to
ing [he digitizing process. and at least four control points suppon manual or heads-up digitizin~ and the time and
on the map. for which on-the-ground coordinates are cost of the dara development effon. Thus a balance must
known, are emceed imo the compurcr system using the be struck between <he organizational policies. <he level of
digitizing puck (similar co a computer mouse) . The puck effon required to delineate landscape features, and the
is <hen used ro trace all of <he polygons or lines to be dig- need to adequately and accurately describe those landscape
itized, or (Q nme the poinrs that need ro be digjrited. features. For example. Figure 10.8 illustrates twO artempts
These landscape features are then saved as a GIS database. to digitize a young forest, with more effort (and rhus rime)
The person using the digitizer can control [he number of being applied to one over the other. Which one of these is
vertices that describe lines or polygons. Digitizing points more accurate or useful ro those making management
along 'salient features' (i.e.• placing more vertices at very decisions? Unfortunately the answer is uncenain.
distinct changes in stand boundaries. or road cUlVes) is a
common method of digitizing. Other types of digitizing
include allowing the creation of vertices along equal dis-
ranees moved by the digitizing puck {e.g., a venex created
every millimeter mat the puck moves} or at equal time
intervals during the digitizing process (e.g., a vertex cre-
ated evety second during <he digitizing process).
The term heads-up digitizing probably arose because
a person's head is up. facing a computer screen, when
landscape features are being digitized directly on a com-
puter monicor rather than on a digitizing tablet. When
performing traditional digitizing using a digitizing tab le
and puck. a person generally has <heir head down. since
they need to look down upon their map. With heads-up
digitizing, a reference GIS database (perhaps a digital
or<hop hotograph) is generally used as a guide for the cre-
ation of new points. lines, or polygons. A compucer mouse
is used to draw the new landscape features. Depending on
the ski ll of <he person performing the heads-up digitizing
function and factors associated with the supporting spatial
databases (scale and resolution), the accuracy of this
method may be just as good as when digitizing using a
digitizing table and puck. However, heads-up digitizing is
much easier and faster. In addition. the chance for error
through heads-up digitizing is greatly reduced because reg-
istration coordinares need not be entered and verified. Of
course, this assumes that the reference GIS database (e.g.,
<he digital orthophotograph) contains a limited amount of
error. Given these trade-offs, a decision must be made
with each digitizing project regarding the method of Figure 10.8 Two delineations of a young fores l, one using twice
developing new landscape features. The decision is gener- ;u many vertices when digitizing (above) than the other (below).
174
164 Part 2 Applying GIS to Natural Resource Management
---- . Trails
- - - Proposed
trail
- Roads
CJ Forest
boundary
\. ./ 1
.•..••.. I
i..
'. <" .......~ .
....... \
....•.
Figure 10.10 Proposed new trail on the Brown Tract.
For example. the new trail may not end with a node that
allows direct connection to a vertex of a trail in the o rigi-
nal trail system (Figu re 10.1 1). This creates a gap in the
linear extent of the trail at the intersection point and will
--- - Trails require some post-merging editing to co rrect.
- - Roads
To update the original trails GIS database, the original
[:=J Forest
boundary
trails GIS database could be merged with the proposed
trails GIS database. When doing so, only the fields (attrib-
Figure 10.9 Trail system of the Brown T r:lCL
utes) with in the proposed trail GIS database that match
exactly w ith the attributes within the original tra ils GIS
case usually involves the development of unauthorized database (i n both attribute name and type) will be moved
tra ils. which the fo rest managers mayor may not decide into the new merged GIS database. The spatial position of
to more fully deve lop and mainta in (or they may decide the proposed trails , as mentioned above and desc ribed in
to develop measures to hinder the use of those trails) . In Figure 10.1 I. may then need to be edited. In addition, a
addition, as resources become more popular and visita- verification of the attribu te data (Figure 10.12) may sug-
tions increase (as is the case with many urban-proximate gest some alterations as well (e.g.• the trail number of the
recreation destinations), there may be a need CO identify proposed new trail is the same as another existing (rail in
additional resources and trails with which to decrease the the original trails GIS database) . An understanding of the
density of use. In some cases, closing trails eith er season- update process (Figure 10.13) will be of value in the plan-
ally or permanently is necessary to prevem resource degra- ning of projects that involve alterations or updates to GIS
dation such as soi l compaction and erosion. databases.
The forest recreation planner decided that a new
authorized (rail would be of value (0 the recreation pro-
gram (Figure 10. 10). Mor the new trail was developed,
the spatial coordinates of the trail's location were collected
using GPS, brought into a GIS software program as a new
GIS database comaining line features, attributed, and saved ---- . Trails
as the 'proposed trail' GIS database. Since both the origin al - - Proposed
trail
trails GIS database and the proposed trails GIS database are
composed of line features, and not polygons, they can be
...., .""',.,.,"
brought together without the worry of creating landscape ",
featu res that overlap (and hence, in the case of polygons, .......
"',
leading (Q a double-counting of some areas in area calcu-
latio ns). However, careful anention must be paid to the Figure 10.11 Proposed new trail and iu relation to another trail from
connectivity of the network of lines that desc ribe the trails . the origina1 trails GIS d21abase.
175
Chapter 10 Updating GIS Databases 165
Collect GPS
data IOf an
area
~
c;. ---- Traits
c::::::J Fores.
boondary
Edit spatial
leatures (e.g.,
remove multipalh)
~
. . <. ., ,0
----'.'. ;
!
~:r, ..
Attribute spatial
features
:~
~
.: .'
><"'::~:;: "'~(' <./
Merge new
features into
original database
~
Trail Length Conation Source Edit spatial
410.5 AuthOfized Trails position of new
AuthOfized Trails features
2 1183.2
~
42 704.1 Unauthorized Trails Verify I edit
43 1261.5 Unauthorized Trails allribtJte data In
updated database
Figure 10. 12 Updated trail system of the Brown Tract. Figun 10. 13 The process used to update the trails G IS database.
Large GIS database updating projectS require careful con- 5. The removal of the old roads from the updated
sideration of the time and COst requ ired to successfully roads GIS database.
complete the project. For example, a roads GIS database 6. The connectivity of new roads [0 old roads that
for a 100,000 hectare foresr may have been originally were not updated.
digitized from hard-copy maps (drawn by hand) and, 7. The developmen( of a verification process to ensure
therefore, might contain some spatial position errors. If that (he attributes of (he new roads are correct.
you were to consider updating many of the roads in the
GIS database by collecting new data with a GPS, the fol- Determining the number of person-days required to
lowing should probably be considered: accomplish each step will depend on the people, equip-
ment, and technology available. The alternative [0 a
I. The development of a sta nda rd protocol fo r GPS large, single process fo r updating a GIS database is to per-
data collection (e.g., maxi mum PDOP), to ensure form it in small phases. However, while the COS( of using
an acceptable and consistent level of accuracy in multiple smaller phases may be lower than a single large
the data coUected. project (assuming it requires several years to complete all
2. The need to drive (or walk) all roads that need of the phases), the total cost of the update process will
updating. likely be lower if the entire project were completed as a
3. The need to differentially correct and manage the single project due to the economies of scale (fewer stan-
GPS-collected databases. up and clean-up operations) . In addition, fewer errors
4. The identification and elimination of erro r in the might arise since the same people will be working with a
GPS data (such as multi-path erro r). protocol that is clearly stated and understood.
176
166 Part 2 Applying GIS to Natural Resource Management
Summary
There are a variery of methods yo u can employ [0 update quite often: watershed boundaries change as the processes
a GIS database. Several of the approaches were described used to define watershed change, public land survey {PLS}
with the examples provided in this chapter. GIS databases section lin es may change as corners are reestablished.
are rarely static. and in only in a few situations, such as in stream locarions change as they are better mapped using
the delineation of national. provincial. sta te. or couney GPS or digital orthophotographs, and of course, vegeta-
boundaries. can you be con fidem that changes to a GIS tion stand boundaries change wi[h management of natu-
database will rarely occur. Landscape features can change ral resources or with nacural disturbances. Attribute data
178
168 Part 2 Applying GIS to Natural Resource Management
associated with GIS databases can change just as often, database will likely be different from one o rganization [Q
and may need periodic updati ng. In addition, given con- the next, and from one 'Ype of GIS database to the next.
tinued improvemenrs in measurement technology, it is a Careful cons ideration of the components of a system (the
certainty that the effort and COSt requ ired for collecting people involved. the databases cons idered. the data acqu i-
update informacion for natural resou rces will conrinue CO sition options. the softwa re and hardware techn ology
decrease in the future . The redu ced resou rces required fo r available, the budgetary constraintS), and the needs of the
collecting update information will likely lead to an ultimate customers (field perso nnel) will help determine
increase in update frequencies for many natural resource the appropriate update process for each GIS database. In
organizations. At the very leas t, update COSts will play less any update process, copies should be made of the data-
of a role in dererm ining how often to update a spatial or bases that are subject to updates. These copies should be
non-spacial database. kept until such time that the updates are veri fied, and that
The processes used to perform an update of a GIS no furthe r need exists for the updates.
Applications
10.1. Land purchase. In the middle of the Brown Tract polygons representing the land putchase and the polygons
you may have noticed a piece ofland that is managed or in rhe original stands GIS database was assumed to be
owned by someone else. Let's assume that the owners of seamless.
the Brown T ract purchased this piece ofland , in an effort a) What GIS processes co uld be used to ens ure that
to consolidate the ownership area. You have been asked to the edge would be seamless?
develop stand boundaries for this area, and incorporate b) Draw a Row chart of a process that could be used
them into the stands GIS database. Specificall y, you need to ensure a seamless edge.
to delineate the stands into logical age or structural cate-
gories, although the only attribute you are asked to add to 10.3. Adding new roads to the Brown Tract roads GIS
the GIS database is one for 'land allocations' (even-aged or database. Assume locations of a new set of roads have
uneven-aged). The forest staff will evemu ally develop an been captured with GPS equipment. The GPS-captured
inventory for these stands and produce age, timbe r vol- features are stored in the GIS database called 'New_roads'.
ume, and other statistics. To accom pl ish [his updaring Update the Brown Tract roads GIS database by incorpo-
task, you decide to use the digital orthophotograph asso- rating these new road features . Use your best judgment to
ciated w ith the Brown Tract GIS databases as a backdrop, att ribute them in a consistent manner with the attributes
and to use heads-u p digicizing techniques to delineate the in the roads GIS database.
new stands. a) How many kilometers (or miles) of dirt or native
The forest planning staff needs the following infor- surface roads were in the original roads GIS data-
mation : base?
a) How much area ofland in eve n-aged sra nds will be b) How many kilometers (or miles) of dirt o r native
added to <he Brown Tract? su rface roads are comained in the updated roads
b) How much area of land in uneven-aged stands will GIS database?
be added to the Brown Tract? c) How many kilometers (or miles) of rocked roads
c) A map of the new stands that ill umates the land were in the original roads GIS database?
allocation of each new s tand, and includes the d) How many kilometers (or miles) of rocked roads
Brown Tract roads, streams, and digital orthopho- are contained in (he updated roads GIS database?
tograph.
10.4. Update process for a streams GIS database. A
10.2. Pondering the update process. In one example in field forester working on the Brown Tract has compared
this chap ter an update of (he Daniel Picken forest stands mapped locations of streams to actual stream locations.
GIS database was described, where a 32.4 hectare (80 and has discovered some differences. She has proposed
ac re) parcel of land was purchased. The edge between (he that the mapped meams be updated and has asked for
179
Chapter 10 Updating GIS Databases 169
your guidance in how this process might be accom- 10.6. Update tools and approaches. You've been asked
plished. Describe three options fo r gathering the data nec- to create a s pacial data laye r representing scructures
essary to fuci lirate an update of the streams GIS database. (b uildings). streams. roads. and watershed boundaries
and the merits of each approach. within a relatively small 259-hectare (640 acres) experi-
mental fores( (hat is home to studies on hydrological
10.5. Update intervals and approaches. A recreation observarion and testing. At present, a polygon identifies
manager. who has learned of you r geospatial data skills. th e adm inistrative boundary of the experimental forest
has asked your advice abou t updating the I O-year-old GIS and only primary roads and perennial screams are
(fails system. Two trails have been added [0 the system included in exisring spatial databases. The exisring data
during (he past five years . The recreat ion manager is new was created from hard copy maps at a scale of 1:24.000.
to the area and does not know much about GIS and You have at your disposal a 1:24.000 digital topographic
rel ated techno logies. The trails system is near an urban quadrangle. a 30 m digital elevation model. a I m' reso-
cenrer and indications are that use demity is increasing. lution digiral orrhophotoquad. a consumer grade GPS.
Evidence of increasing use density includes a growing and a tOtal station. To use the rotal station, cwo reference
number of conflicts being repocted by horseback riders. benchmarks are located within 2.0 km (I.2 miles) of the
dog owners. and hikers throughout the forest. Additional forest boundaries.
evidence includes an unauthorized trail that is now clearly a) What data source andlor inscrumenr would you
visible on the landscape. and which shows signs of signif- use to capture the new spatial information relared
ieanr use at one of the primary trailheads. (0 :
c) How does any new spat ial and attribute info rma- b) Which of the new spatial information sources
tion collected be integrated into the exisdng GIS described in pan (a) would you incorporate into
trails database? existing GIS databases to update them?
d) What arrribures of trails would you encourage the c) For the data you identified to be updated into
recreation manager to collect during field visits co exisring GIS database (described in parr (b». how
the trails? Defend you recommendations. would you incorporate the new information into
existing GIS databases?
References
Data Easr. (2007). XTools pro. Retrieved April 21, 2007. Oregon Deparrmenr of Forestry. (2003). Guide to Xtools
from http://www.xtoolspro.com. extension. Salem, OR: Oregon Department of Foresny.
180
Chapter 11
Overlay Processes
covered by polygons in a merged GIS da",base may there- GIS database Spatial features Tabular attributes
fore be misleading, due to the presence of overlapp ing
polygons. Funher. you may be imerested in the character- Input GIS databases
istics of rhe actual areas that overlap, such as the overlap-
Database to be attributes:
ping soils and forest stands. and how this information can intersected : stands basal area, volume
help you make berrer (or more informed) management per acre, vegetation
type, age
decisions. To accomplish this with a merged GIS database
is difficu lt, as the overlapping polygons are independent
and share no informadon mher than that which the user
can obtain visually on a map or computer mon iroc.
Database used to
perform the attributes:
day, month, year
Intersect Processes intersectioo: fire
182
172 Part 2 Applying GIS to Natural Resource Management
~
meas ure and map changes in soil types is limited by the
Input GIS tremendous effort that is required to sample and del ineate
~,,
Database #1
soils. Nonetheless, by overlaying the twO GIS databases
using an intersect process (Figure II.3), a GIS database is
,
created where polygon boundaries are now defined by
Input GIS 2,
Database #2 ,:, 22 those lines that were present in both the stands and soils
2, 2. ,, 2, GIS databases. The outside boundaty of both the soils GIS
,, database and the stands GIS database was exacdy the
,
. 2, . 2, same, therefore no areas covered in either database are
excluded in the resu lting stands/soils GIS database. The
_~I.o'---
resulting sta nds/soils GIS database co ntains more poly-
Input GIS In#l and #2 gons (47 polygons) than what was fo und in th e original
Database #1
~ Inl1 , outside
01112
stands GIS database (31 polygons) and soils GIS database
(7 polygons) . Upon inspection, you may find that may of
these polygons are actually spurious (small and irrelevant)
Input GIS
Database #2 +-- --1- In #2, outside polygons crea ted simply due [Q the happenstance location
of #1 of the bounda ries of polygons from the original twO GIS
databases (Figu re 11.4).
The tabular data co ntained in the resulting intersected
stands/soils G IS database contains all of the anribures of
AP~r,on
Output GIS ola~ olaret, . GIS database Spatial features Tabular attributes
Oatabase
Aportion
Aportion Aportion of arc 2 ~
Input GIS databases
of arc 26 of arc 2,
~
Database to be attributes :
Figure 11.2 An example of the processing of landscape features basal area, volume
Intersected: stands
during an inH:rsect process. per acre. vegetation
type, age
~
tial forest fertilization project, and an examination of the
Database used to attributes:
inre rsecrion of [he D aniel Pic ke[[ stands and so ils GIS perform the soil type, response
databases would be helpful, since the decision to fertilize intersection: soils to fertilization
may be based on both fo rest srru crural co nditions and soil
conditions. Separately. each of these [\.'10 GIS databases
comains a theme: th e stands GIS database describes the
forest structural conditions of the Daniel Pickett forest
------ ------ ------
and the so ils G IS database describes the underlying soil Output GIS database
types and their characteris tics. The stand polygon bound- Resulting
database : attributes :
ari es are defined by tra nsitions in forest structural condi-
§i
stands, defined basal area, volume
tions (e.g., a change from young fores t to older forest along original per acre, vegetation
defines a sta nd boundary), roads, and perhaps st reams. stand boundaries type, age, soil
as well as soils type, response to
The soil polygo n boundaries are defin ed by changes in polygon fertilizati on
soil characteristics, although so me would argue that these boundaries
183
Chapter 11 Overlay Processes 173
where:
-;/jLy--J Age = the stand age attribute in the Daniel Picke[[
Height at this Width: about
20 meters Stands GIS database, and
end: about 1.5
meters Fenresp = the fertilizatio n response a[[ribute in the
Daniel Pickett soils GIS database
Figun 11.4 A spuriow polygoo that was created during the intersect With th is rype of query GIS will provide the locations
process. of areas where the imersecrion of stand age and so il type
meeting the criteria. As you can see in the case of the
each of the original stand polygons, and all of the attrib- Daniel Pickett forest (Figu re 11.5), the potential fertiliza-
utes of each of the original soil polygons. Thus for each of tion areas may not correspond directly with the original
the 47 polygons in the stands/soils GIS database, you now stand boundaries. Natural resource managers using an
know the stand conditions above ground as well as the analysis such as this will subsequently need to decide
soil conditions below ground level. With this GIS data- whether to fertilize whole Stands (not JUSt the part of a
base you can perform queries that rdate to both stand nand whe re me stand and soil condi tions are appropriate.
and soil conditions. For example. based on a discussion since stand boundaries are usuaIly easy to locate) or pans
with the foreSters associated with the Daniel Pickett for- of Stands. The advantage of fertiliz ing a whole Stand,
eSt, it may be decided that 20-30 year old Stands on soils when only a portion seems appropriate. is that you do
that we re ame nable [Q a high forest growth response [Q a nO{ need to waSte time trying [Q identify a vague transi-
fenilization treatment would be the most preferable areas tion in soil types. On the other hand, fertilizer, and the
What is a spurious polygon? When something is included with other larger, adjoining polygons. In
labeled as 'spurious'. it is meant [Q indicate that it is some cases. the spurious polygon could become a part
counterfeit. false. fictitious. or not legitimate of an adjoining polygon with which it shares the
(Merriam-WebSter, 2007). Within GIS, spurious poly- longest edge. The shared edge is essentially removed,
gons are certain ly genuine. and can be somewhat trou- and the difference between the spuriolls polygon and
bling to eliminate. These polygons arise simply its adjacent neighbor is lost. When using GIS processes
because the com pmer and GIS software are taking two such as me intersect, clipping. and buffering processes.
GIS databases and combining them according to the spu rious polygons will undoubtedly be created. How
instructions provided by the user. They are only doing you manage them (e .g .• ignoring them, elim inat ing
what they were told to do: break polygons along inter- them. etc.) once they have been created is a matter of
secting lines and create new polygons using the newly personal preference. or perhaps a reaction to organiza-
formed intersections. Spurious polygons might nO{ be tion 5[andards. Most natural resou rce management
considered legitimate. however. given the manage- decisions will not be affected by the presence of spu ri-
mem needs of an organization. Most organizations. in ous polygons, however the presence of spuriolls poly-
fact. have what they term 'minimum mapping units'. go ns may become a database management problem
and polygons below this size are eliminated by being and may detract from a message presented in a map.
184
174 Part 2 Applying GIS to Natural Resource Management
CJ Stand boundaries
[-":.......J Potential fertilization
areas Input GIS ~
Database #1
~
,, ,,
, ,
Input GIS
Database #2 ,,: 21 ,,: 22
2, ,,, 2, ,,, 2,
,
, ,
. 2, t 27
Figure 11.5 Potential fertilization areas on the Daniel Pickett forest
that consiSt of forest stands 20-30 years of age located on soils that
--------- , --------
provide a high response to a fertilil.3tion applic3[ion.
Input GIS
,,, /+-- In #t and #2
__ __ __ .J ___ _ _
Database #1
'--_ _ -./-'1-- - In #1, outside
applicado n of fertilizer. costs mon ey. and o rgan izatio ns 01#2
may want to operate as efficiently as possib le. Therefore,
Input GIS
rhe goal would be [Q apply treatments only where neces- Database #2 +---t- In #2 , outside
sary. Ie is becoming increasi ngly co mmon [Q provide a
fenilizar ion co ntraccor with rhe exact geograp hic coordi-
:-- ...... _,
, .........
01#1
Identity Processes
ing GIS database has a geogtaphic extent representing the
When performing an identi ty process, you hop e to same area as database #2, yet the arcs that defi ned the
incorporate information about the overlapping area of polygo n in database # 1 are present where the polygo n
one GIS darabase into a second GIS database. While the from database #1 overlapped the polygons in database #2.
term 'identiry' refers to a distinguishing character of a per- The resul ti ng GIS darabase now includes 4 polygons. 12
sonality (Merriam-Webster. 2007). this process is more arcs, and 9 nodes , as arcs 2 4 • 2 6 • and 27 were split into twO
likely similar ro the term 'identi ry element', w here pares of pieces (a and b) based on their intersection with arc 11>
the o rig inal data are left unchanged when combined with and arc 11 was split into two pieces based on its intersec-
other data. This is partially true-some portion of the tio n w ith arc 2 4,
original GIS data may be left unchanged {and present in To extend the idenri ry process exam ple (() the D an iel
the o utput)-w here a second set of GIS data does not Picken fores t, aga in examine the case of the stands GIS
co incide spatially . database and the fire GIS database. Suppose the intent was
Si milar to the intersect process, o ne GIS da tabase is [Q develop a GIS database that contained the entire stands
physica ll y laid onto another, yet there is usu ally a d isti nct data (geographic an d tabular). but with the fire bo und-
d ifferen ce in the resul ting Ol1[Pur when compared w ith aries being integrated into the stands database. Using an
th e in te rsect process . The resulting GIS database is ident ity process you ca n see that some stand pol ygons
defined by the boundary of o ne of the input GIS data- have been split along the fire po lygon boundary (Figure
bases, not by the boundary of the ove rlap between the 11.7), thu s the fire GIS database has an influence on the
two GIS databases . Figu re 11 .6 illustrates that the resulr- structure of the resultin g polygons. In addi tio n, 3nribure
185
Chapter 11 Overlay Processes 175
Oatabase to attributes:
perform the basal area, volume
identity process per acre, vegetatiOil
Oil : stands type, age
Oatabase used 10
attributes:
perform the
o
day, month, year
identity process:
fire
Resulting
~
database: attributes:
stands, defined basal area, volume Stand V
along original per acre, vegetation StandY
stand boundaries type, age, day, month,
and along the ,ear StandW
booodaries of the fire
Database used to
perform the
identity p(ocess:
stands
attributes:
basal area, volume
per acre, vegetation
type, age
-------------
Input GIS
Database"
8:. ---
_____ J____ _
~
In# 1 and #2
In ", outside
01112
Input GIS
output GIS database Database '2 +---t- In '2, outside
oil'
Resulting
database: attributes:
" " ;--- ....
fire, defined basal area, volume ./
,,' :
I
\~f--+- In 111 aOO'2
along original per acre, vegetation
fire boundaries type, age, day, month,
and along the year
boundaries of the 2,
stands
Output GIS
Database
Figure 11.9 Perfo rming an ide ntity process on the fire G IS database
using the n ands GIS database.
/'
o Fire area outside of
Figure 11.11 An example of the processing of landscape fe atures
during an union process.
Daniel Pickett forest
D Fire area inside 01
Daniel Pickett forest
based o n the ir intersection with arc 11. and arc II was
split into twO pieces based on its imersection with arc 2 4,
Stand M To ill ustrate a union process with a more realistic nat-
ural reso urce management problem. suppose a union
\Stand N
process were to be performed on the Daniel Picket[ forest
fire and stands GIS darabases. The res ul ting GIS database
has the combined geograp hic extent of rhe (wo GIS data-
bases, and co ntain s similar landscape fea tu res as we re
Stand VegType Basal Area Age MBF Month Oay Vear
120
fo und in rhe origi nal fire and stands GIS darabases (Figure
L C 30 5.6 7 2 2002
M 0 0 0 7 2 2002 I 1.12). This iliumares o ne adva ntage of using a union
N C 190 45 17.3 7 2 2002 process: rhe sparial delinearion of rhe polygons in rhe
U A 260 70 37.7 7 2 2002 resul ring GIS database is a fu nction of both of the origi nal
X B 20 10 1.8 7 2 2002 GIS databases. thus polygon boundaries fro m both origi-
Figure 11 . 10 A more detailed examination of th(' results of the
nal GIS databases are reta ined. However, it also suggests a
identity process of the standt G IS database overlaid on the fi re G IS disadvantage of the process: rhe resulting GIS data base
database.
may comain landscape features outside of [he boundary
187
Chapter 11 Overlay Processes 1n
Database to
perform the attributes:
union process day, month, year
on: fire
Resulting
Output GIS database
o No stand attributes, fire attributes
188
178 Part 2 Applying GIS to Natural Resource Management
-= - ..-
,pg."
.
.IiOi'_
Figwe 11.1 4 The result of a query on the union of soils. topography, land classification, and
zoning G IS databases developed for the Pheasant Hill planning area of the Qu'Appclle River
Valley. Saskatchewan (1980).
Query criteria Original database As an example. if you use a GIS database containi ng
Soil_type ", Canora Loam soils lines as an input GIS database. and then intersect it wi th
or Soil_type ", Indian Head Clay Loam soils a GIS database containing polygons (Figure 11. 15), the
or SoiLrype ,. Oxbow C lay Loam soils resulting GIS database wi ll be composed of line features _
or Soil_ rype ,. Oxbow Loam soils
or Soil_type" Rocanvillc C lay Loam soils
The line features will be split at all intersections with the
or So il_type II: Whiresand Gravelly Loam soi ls boundaries of the polygons in the pol ygon GIS database,
Topography = FLAT topography
an Overlay Analysis
Database In
2, • • •2,
,,
2,
,,
,
Although the overlay examples thus fa r have focused on
the analysis and manipulation of polygon GIS databases,
2.
• 2,
189
Chapter 11 Overlay Processes 179
and only lines that full within the extent of the polygons
will be retained in the outpUt GIS database. While this
represents a process similar [0 the clip process, the resul t-
ing lines contain the information (attrib utes) of the poly-
gons within which they fell. In the example in Figu re
11.15, a line (I) that represents a road (perhaps) is being
overlaid by the two polygons from previous examples in
this chapter. The line initially comains two nodes, but
.
<, 1.'1.
", 1.'. '..-: ".~>
when the overlay process occurs, it is broken into four
arcs (II' I" 1" and 1. ) with 5 nodes. The pieces of the
original road that fall outside the area covered by the ~ Research Plots
polygons (I I and 1, ) are subsequently eliminated. The [:=:J Forest Stands
resulting GIS database comains a ponico of the original
line (sections 12 and 13), and each port ion of the original Figure 11. 16 Research plots and forest stands on the Brown T ract.
190
180 Part 2 Applying GIS to Natural Resource Management
Additional Overlay
Considerations
Each of the three overlay processes discussed in this chap-
ter are designed for different end products (Figure 11.18).
- - Streams Although different outputs will usually result depending
Forest Stands on whic h overlay is chosen, there are situations where the
ompm of two overlay processes will be the same, regard-
Figure 11.17 Streams and forest stands on the Brown Tract.
less of which process is used. For example. if two polygon
databases have the same spatial extent, it will not matter
whethe r an intersect, identify, or union process is used. In
overlay would retain all the Stream segments, bur we addition, jf one spatial database is contained completely
would only find stand data in a resulting database for a within the extent of another database and is used as the
ponioo of [he stream segments. The selection of which primary overlay database, an identity or intersect com-
overlay to use-intersect or identity-will depend on the mand should produce the same resulr.
analysis goals. Let'S assume that the analysis goals suppon
retaining aU st ream segments in a final streams database.
An identity ourpm database between streams and stands Input GIS dalabase 1 Input GIS database 2 Output GIS database
contains 398 stream records since geometric intersections
are created at all coincident locations in the input data-
~
bases. The distribution of land allocation values fo r these
streams is rep resented in Table 11.2. Note that there are
40 stream segments that do not have a land allocation
value. These missing values represent streams omside the
0 bJIntersect Output
Brown Tract boundaries.
~ ~
Although point and line spatial databases can be used
with overlay processes to derive info rmation from poly-
gon databases, polygon databases are unable to serve as
0 Identity Output
~
TABLE 11.2 Frequency distribution of ..
land allocation categories ill
relation to stream segments
within the Brown Tract 0 LlSJ
Identity Reverse Order Output
Land allocation Number of research plots
~ ~
Even-aged 281
Meadow 2
191
Chapter 11 Overlay Processes 181
The order in which GIS databases are selected for an and attr ibutes of all input layers depending on operaror
overlay process may also have significance on the ompur choices. Bear in mind that overlay processes are complex
database, depending on your GIS software. The identity operations, particularly when many features are present in
overlay will take into accoum (he spatial extent of one of input databases. As such, and depending on computing
your databases, and reduce other layers (Q the same spatial resources, some overlay omput databases may take more
extent. For this reason it is imponam (Q recognize how time [Q complete than oilie r, less intensive. GIS processes.
you r soft\vare selects (he inpur database that is used to Users may have [Q be patient in awaiting overlay ompm
determine the idenriry spatial exrenL The union and results. Finally. many GIS sofrw-are programs allow users to
intersect overlays. on the other hand. are less discriminat- select the attribute fields from both the input GIS database
ing as to the order in which spatial exrencs are considered. and the polygon overlay GIS database that are ro be carried
The union output wi ll include the emire spatial extent of into the resulting output GIS database. Often you will find
all layers while the intersect OUtput w ill only include the that selecting a subset of attribute fields for the desired
common areas. Some GIS sofrware. however, may only analysis will reduce the time requirements related to inter-
include by default the attributes of the initial input layer preting and analyzing the results of overlay processes.
in the outpm database unless the user signifies otherwise. Given the considerations expressed above, you should
Depending on you r GIS software, you may also be able always carefu ll y consider the objectives of your a nal ysis to
co involve more than [Wo layers in an overl ay process. dete rmine which overlay process [Q use. In some cases,
Nthough this ability may be particularly useful for some knowing whether input vec[Qr databases represent point,
applications, the complexity of the Output product will line, or polygon spatial features, or some combination
increase with the number of layers that are involved. thereof, will help lead ro an appropriate ove rl ay command
Overlay ompm databases cake into account the topology choice.
Summary
With the conclusion of this chapter you have examined number of useful rools. The challenge lies in deciding
most of the common vectOr processes available within GIS which tool(s) to use to address each natural resource man-
software programs. As we have shown in this and previous agement issue. The intersect, identity, and union
chapters, to address natural resource management prob- processes each result in different outcomes, and you need
lems a number of different courses of action can be used, to match the process to the type of information you
each utilizing different techniques or different sequences desire. While the union process is restricted to polygon
of GIS processes. For example, the following three input and outpm databases. point and line vec[Q r data-
processes might be employed ro develop a summary of bases ca n be used in intersect and identity process. The
forest resources within owl buffer areas: intersect process only provides information for features
that overlap. An identity process breaks the featu res con-
I. Buffer owl nest locations. Clip the owl buffer areas tained in one GIS database along the lines provided in a
from a stands GIS database. Summarize appropriate second GIS database, yet retains the full extent of features
statlS[1cs. contained in the first database. In chis case. some of the
2 . Buffer owl nes( locations. Intersect a stands G IS data- fearures in rhe first database will not contain information
base with the owl buffer GIS database. Summarize from the second where the features in the second are
appropriate statistics. absent. The union process also breaks the features con-
3. Buffer owl nest locations. Overlay a stands GIS data- tained in one GIS database along the lin es provided in a
base on the owl buffer GIS database using an identity second G IS database, yet retains the full extent of features
process. Summarize appropriate statisdcs. contained in both databases. Where features overlap, rhe
attributes of both databases will be present in the attrib-
The GIS toolbox available to readers of this text, as it Ute rable. Where features did not overlap, only arrributes
relates [Q vector GIS processes, should now contain a from one of the GIS databases will be present.
192
182 Part 2 Applying GIS to Natural Resource Management
Applications
11.1. Fertilization Plan. You have been asked to help have taken advantage of the intersect process, and obvi-
develop a fertilization plan for the Brown Traer. In next ously used a buffer process at some point. T o illustrate the
year's plan of action, the managers of the forest may steps raken to accomplish the analysis associated with
consider fert ilizing some forest stands. However, the Application 11.1 , develop a flow chart similar to the one
managers need [Q know how much area of forest could below (Figure 11 . 19) that describes the process you used .
be ferr ilized, and what casc co anticipate. After a short
di scuss ion with the Brown Tract managers, the follow~ 11.3. GIS processing (2). Use a flow chart to describe
iog criteria for ident ifying potential ferrilization was (WO other (different) processes that could also be used to
determined: gene rate the same results as those ge nerated for
• Only stands;:>: 25 years old and $; 35 yea rs old Application I\,\, You may want to actually perform the
should be considered. process and check your results to see wherher the results
• Only stands on soil types leading to a high fertil iza- are identical to those obtained in Application I \.\.
tion response should be considered (soil types 'PR'
and ' ON'). 11.4 Fire losses. How much forest area, by vegetation
• Only stands oU[side of a 50~me[er stream buffer class, burned on the Daniel Picke(( forest during the July
(a round all types of streams) sho uld be considered. 2, 2002 fire? Use the '070202_fire' GIS database to
describe the boundary of the fire.
The forest managers wam co know the following:
a} How much area of land could be ferti lized, given 11.5 Operations around research plots. Assume that
the criteria noted above? the managers of the Daniel Picke(( forest have decided to
b} Assuming the forest will develop a contract for the clearcU( sta nd 28. They noticed, JUSt prior to allow ing
fertilization project, and assuming the contractor
will lise a hel icopter to spread the fenilizer, how Vegetation
much area of land would you recommend, and GIS
database
why? Consider the following in your recommenda-
tion: (I) Are some of the stands of the appropriate
age bisected by (WO or more soil types? (2) Would Buffer
streams
it be possible fo r the helicopter pilot to recognize 50 meters
these changes from the air? (3) Are some of the
areas suggested by the GIS analysis for fertilization
tOO small to be worth rhe effort? (4) Is there a min-
imum size assumption would you make regarding
pocenrial fenilization areas?
c) If the COSt of fertilization was $250 per hectare,
what might be the total COS t of the project?
d) How much fenilizer is needed if you expect [0 use
450 kilograms of fert il izer per hectare (about 400
pounds per acre)? Ouery
e} Please provide the staff with a map of the potential process
areas that yo u are recommending to be fenilized
(from part b above). Include rhe Brown Tracr
roads and streams on the map.
193
Chapter 11 Overlay Processes 183
logge rs to begin operatio ns, that a research plm (number on the map (either with annotation or with a shad-
3) was locared in me srand. If a 100 merer buffe r was left ing scheme) the basal area of all of me stands.
around the research plot,
a) How much fo rese area in srand 28 will acwally be 11.6. Integrating streams and vegetation data.
clearcur? Develop a strea ms GIS database fo r (he Brown T ract
b) If rim ber values we re $400 per rhousa nd board fee< where each stream contains the data related to the vegera-
(MBF). whar is the value of rimber thar will remain rion polygon within which it is located. Using this data,
around rhe research plor [h int: arrribure 'Mbf' rep- develop a thematic map that illustrates one of the vegeta-
resents thousand board feet of timber volume per tion characterisrics of the forest around each stream. In
acre)? this exercise, change the appearance of the Streams to
c) What is the djfference in dmber volume and value illustrate the condit io n of [he forest.
between leaving the buffer around the research plor
and not leaving me buffer? 11. 7. Fish bearing streams.
d) Develop a map thar describes the vegetation condi- a) How many stands in the Brown Tract contain fish
rions on the forest after the harvesting operation bearing streams?
has comple<ed. Assume rhar rhe 100-merer buffer b) How many srands are within 100 merers of fish
was maintained around the research plot. I1Jus[rare bearing streams?
References
McHarg. l. (I 969). Design with nature. Garden Ciry. NY: Merriam- Webseer. (2007). Mtrriam- Webster online
Natura l Hiseory Press. uarch. Rerrieved April 29. 2007. from hrrp :/Iwww.
m-w .coml cgi-binl dictionary.
194
Chapter 12
Synthesis of Techniques
Applied to Advanced Topics
cover a landscape. A similar problem is then addressed. perspeccive where srracificacion of land is based on eco-
where a landscape is delineated into Recreacion Oppor~ nomic and managemenr- relaced variables (roads. screams.
tunity Spectrum (ROS) classes. ROS classes are designed to erc.) . The example we provide below caprures (he essence
describe and emphasize the potencial recreation opportu- of this type of land classification. Alternatively. land clas-
nities across a landscape, ranging from primicive recre- sifications can be made purely from an ecological perspec-
ation opporcunicies with few visitors to chose where tive, using vegecation, soils. wacer, climare. and ocher
momrized vehicles and many visirors may be prevalenc. physica l variables. The fou r ecological classifications used
Again. the querying. buffering. erasing. and other GIS in Canada are a good example of these. They are designed
processes may be used to delineate the non-overlapping in a h.ierarchy and range from broader ecozones co smaller
ROS classes. Finally. wildlife habitat suitability index ecodiscriccs. Each of rhe c1assificacions have ecosysrems
measures across a landscape are examined. Here, suitabil- rhar are predominantly woody vegeracion, and are delin-
ity is a function of [he condition of the landscape, and eaced wichouc regard co commercial va lue (Canadian
how far each [}'pe of vegetation is from the road system. Forest Service. 2007).
A hypothetical habitat suitability index is presented to Mosr narural resource managemenr organizarions
provide you with a challenging spatial analysis. A number establish their management plans with in a land c1assifica-
of GIS techniques can be used to develop the habitat suit- cion framework. Therefore. one of che inicial sceps in che
ability index values. including complex mathematical cal- development of a managemenc plan is co describe che
culations within the attribute table of GIS databases. resources ([he land) that are managed. and the type of
In conjunction with these advanced narural resource managemenc appropriace [0 each portion of me land base.
management problems. we emphasize the use of Row After a land classification has been performed. the goals.
charts to mai nrain order in (he analysis process. The flow- scracegies, and implemenration of management can be
charting process may be useful for your own GIS analyses, planned and implememed accordingly. For example. afrer
as a means of developing a logical approach to addressing classifying the land base. an organ ization may decide co
management issues. Since many intermediace (cemporary) exclude ce rcain managemenr acrivicies in some areas, limic
GIS databases are created and used. tracking the process of the types of activities allowed in other areas. or allow full
an analysis wich a flow chart may prove co be very useful , consideration of silviculrural o r o peracional activities in
rhus several examples are provided. other areas (Table 12. I). For example. the Washington
State Parks and Recreation Commission (2006) uses a
Land Classification socio-economic, ecological land classificacion syscem mar
inregraces physical land feacures with porential human
Land can be classified by vegetation. soils. range. habitat.
landform (physiography). and other measurable physical
or soc io-economic characceriscics. Any map chac delin- TABLE 12.1 An e xample of a
eaces unique pieces of land can be considered a land clas- management-related
land classification sys tem
sificarion. Land classifications have many pu rposes in nac-
ural resource managemenc. from serving as a basis for Class I ( R~servcd)
Administratively withdrawn areas (offices and orh~r facili ties
assessing che scams ofland resources [0 serving as a frame-
related to resource managemem)
work for assessing me local management opportunities Wilderness ar~as
(Frayer et al.. 1978). Land classifications are necessary for Areas of special concern
providing both policy direction (knowing what types of Rock pits
Ponds or lakes
resources are availa ble) and for assiscing wich policy Viewsheds
implemenracion (knowing where che resources are Other areas where managem~nt activities are precluded
located) . Land classification systems are generally based Class 2 ( Limit~d management)
o n landscape characreristics char can be seen and meas- Riparian ar~as
ured. and they ideally would be based on flexible. logical. Visual qualiry corridors around trails
Areas designated as buffers around wi ldlife habitat
general. and professionally credible concepts. and th us Other areas where management is limi(~d
would be described with a quamifiable set of ru les (Frayer
Class 3 (G~nera1 managemelll)
et al.. 1978).
Areas not classi fied as Class I or 2
Land classifications can be made from a managemenc
196
186 Part 2 Applying GIS to Natural Resource Management
drained, and are low in fertility. The main limitadons of the following situations exist: (1) there is some overlap
are resuicted rooting depth. low fertility, excessive among the landscape features (polygons) in one or more
rock content, excessive soils moisture. and high levels of the land class GIS dacabases, o r (2) some area of che
of soluble sa lts and exposu re. Productivity of tree landscape is not being represented by any of the steward-
growth is between 0.77 and 2.16 m' per hectare per ship classes.
year (11-30 f" /adyea r). As an example of developing a management-related
7. Land with severe lim itatio ns on the growth of com- land c1assificacion for a managed property, we will illus-
mercial forests, where soils are shallow and may con- trare the appli cation of the general classes represented in
ta in tox ic levels of soluble salts. A large portion of T able 12.1 to the Brown T ract. First, some quantitative
these areas include poorly drained organic soils. The assumptions about the three land classes need to be made
main limitations are restricted rooting depth, low fer- to allow us to delinea te rhe areas on a map . We will
tility, excess ive rock content, excessive so ils moisture. assume that class 1 (reserved) areas will contain meadows.
and high levels of solu ble salts, and exposure. research areas, rock pits, and oak woodlands. C lass 2 (lim-
Productivity of tree growth is less than 0.77 m' per ited management) will be those areas of land that are
hectare per year (1 1 ft 3/adyea r). within 50 m of streams, 100 m of hiking trails, 100 m of
homes, and 300 m from any owl nest locations. Finally,
The land classification is based on potential natu ral tree class 3 (general managemenr) areas are assumed to con-
growth an d soil characteristics. The proximity of some tain the land that remains after class 1 and class 2 man-
areas of land to the ocean may also affect the class ifica- agement areas have been delineated. To delineate these
tion of forest land. These seven main classes can be fU r- three classes, a series of GIS techniques such as query ing,
ther subdivided into subclasses that are based on climate, buffering, clipping, and erasing processes may be requi red
soil moisture, rooring depth. and orher soils characteris- (Figure 12.2) . However, other arra ngements of GIS
tics. An example of the broad-based lan d classification processes could have also resulted in the same solution.
for a portion of southern Ontario (using data obtained The polygons rep resented in the resulting three land
from Natu ral Reso urces Ca nada, 2000) is provided in classes (Figure 12.3) should not overlap, which means
Figure 12. 1. that no single un it of land will be co unted twice. Put
An impo rtant aspect to consider in any land classifica- another way, each unit of land can o nl y belo ng to a sin-
tion process is that the sum of the area in the va rio us gle land class. In this example of a management-related
classes should equal the sum of the area in the landscape land classification, class I consists of 229 hectares (567
being managed. For exam ple, using the State of Oregon acres), class 2 consists of671 hecrares (1 ,657 acres) , and
system, the sum of rhe area in the special, focused, and class 3 consists of 1,222 hecta res (3,020 acres). When all
general stewardship land classes should equal the total three of the land classes are added togecher, chey equal che
area of the landscape being classified. If not, one or both size of the Brown Tract.
Port Rowan
Classes 1-2
Class 3
t
Classes 4-5 Nor1h
Classes 6·8
Figun: l2.. Land d usification cxamplt: for a portion of soum t:rn Ontario.
198
188 Part 2 Applying GIS to Natural Resource Management
Buffered
Buller Merge
0""
process process
trails process
GIS database
Buffer Clip
process process
(e) Class 3 stewardship areas
Erase Buller
process process
Figure 12.2 Hierarchy of intermediate and final GIS databases created in one process that facilitates me development of the Brown
Tract land classification.
Recreation Opportunity Spectrum [Quflsm o n fede ral la nd. and for integrating recreation
and tourism with other lan d uses (Clark & Stankey,
A number of classification processes for outdoor recre- 1979). ROS is used to describe and identi fy recreational
a rion have been developed, including t he Recreacion serrings. and to illustrate the likelihood of recreational
Opponunity Spectrum (ROS), ca rry ing capacity, limits of oppo rtunities along a spectrum that is divided inca several
accep table change. and th e Tourism Opportunity classes. This system combines the physical landscape char-
Spectrum (Bu rler & Waldbrook, 1991 ). The latter system acteristics of location and access (Q allow you [Q delineate
is based on (he Rec reation Opportunity Spectrum, and areas of land that may be used for differenc recreational
includes aspects of accessibility (i.e., trans portation sys- purposes. For exam ple, in the most recent forest plan for
tems) , murism infrastructure, social interaction, and other the Hi awa th a National Forest in norrhern Michigan
non-adventure uses. The ROS was developed by the (US DA Forest Service, 2006) it is suggesred that recre-
USDA Fo res t Service and the US DI Bureau of Land ation-rela ted development, activities, management prac-
Management as a tool for managing recrea tion and tices, and access will be consistenc with the delineated
199
Chapter 12 SyntheSiS of Techniques Applied to Advanced Topics 189
200
190 Part 2 Applying GIS to Natural Resource Management
Buffer Buller
roads m.ds
1.5 miles 0.25 miles
Erase Erase
process process
Query
process
(age ~ 50)
Erase
process
Aggregate Query
or combine process
process (size :<!: 500)
Figure 12.5 Hieruchy of intermediate and final C IS databases created in the development of the
primitive and semi-primitive portions of a Recreation Oppo rtunity S~ctrum map.
201
Chapter 12 Synthesis ofTechniques Applied to Advanced Topics 191
suppOrt habitat for a specific species of wildlife, or group Figure 12.6 BanI area scores for a range of stand basal areas.
of wildlife species (Mo rrison et ai., 1992) . These models
generally describe habitat suitability as the geometric
mean of two or more variables that represent (o r inAu- geometric mean of the scores of each variable. The pur-
ence) the occurrence and ab undance of a particular pose of rhis exercise is to obtain a graphical descriprion of
wildlife species. A geomerric mean is calculated by raking the landscape features that are important in describing
rhe nth root of the product of a group of numbers, where rhe habirar of the vole, given an undemanding of rhe
n is eq ual to rhe number of observations. Rempel and vole's habitat requirements.
Kaufmann (2003) define habitat as rhe set of foresr struc-
(ural conditions that provide some means (e.g. , nesting. HSI calcularion = (basal area score X stand age score X
reproduction. foraging) for a species of wildlife during its distance from road score) 113
life history. Each forest stand in a vegetarion database is
assigned a single habitat value based on rhe structural In order [Q calculate each of the individual parameter
conditions thar exisr in (and perhaps around) the srand sco res, a ser of quantirative rules is needed. These rules
during some period of time. conditions which can are generally developed rhrough research , lirerature
cha nge as man agement activicies are implemented . The reviews, or perhaps are based on the advice of biologists
suirabiliry of habirat is generally scaled becween 0 and I, who are experts on rhe life history of voles. Since rhe vole
and wildlife managers are called upon to determine what assumed here is a fictional species, the set of rules have
levels are appropriate (0 describe optimal habitat. While been developed by the authors of rhis book, and are
there is considerable debate concerning the usefulness hyporhetical. The basal area score, for example, is a func-
and accuracy of habitat suitabiliry models (see Brooks, rion of rhe square of srand basal area (fr2 per acre) mulri-
1997), when well-developed and validated, they do allow plied by a consrant, ro indicate a non-linear posirive
natu ral resource managers (Q examine rhe relative quality response of vole abundance to more heavily s[Qcked tim-
of one area versus another with respect to some species of ber stands (Figure 12.6).
inceresc.
To illustrate the developmenr and display of a habirar Basal area score = 0.0000 I 15 X (basal area) 2
suita biliry map, a hypothetical habirat suitabiliry index If Basal area score> 1.0, then Basal area score = 1.0
(HSI) is developed for a fictional species of vole. The
model will allow you CO evaluate habitat suitability as a The stand age score is a lin ear funccion of stand age
function of foresr basal area, age, and the distance of habi- (Figure 12.7), where age is multiplied by a co nsranr.
tat from roads. When combined with the basal area score, me [wo por-
tions of rhe HSI favor older srands that are well-stocked
HSI = j(basal area, age, disrance from roads) (where both rhe basal area sco re and stand age score are
high), over older srands rhat are not well-stocked, or
The HSI incorporates rhese three paramerers into a younger srands rhat are over-stocked (where one score is
single non-linear model that is used ro calculate rhe high and the other low) .
202
192 Part 2 Applying GIS to Natural Resource Management
1.2
1.0
Habitat scores
0.8 _ 0.80H.000
Stand _ 0.601 - 0.800
a,. 0.6 c::J 0.401-0.600
score
c::J 0.201-0.400
0.4
c::J 0.000-0.200
0.2
0.0 1----,--,----,--,----,--,----,--,----r----1
10 W M ~ W ~ ro W 00 @
Stand age (years)
Figure 12.7 Stand age scores for a range of stand ages. Figwe 12.9 Habitat suitability scores for a vole on the Brown Tract.
Scand age score = 0.01 X (scand age) 0.75 if 30.49 CO 45.72 m (100.1 (0
If Scand age score> 1.0, chen Scand age score = 1.0 150 feec) of any road, or
I .00 everywhere else
While the basal area and stand age parameters may
more likely describe the abundance of rhe vole, the dis- G raphically displayed, che map of HSI for che vole indi-
tance from road parameter describes rhe potential occur- cates the relative quality of vole habitat across the land-
rence of the vole species. In other words , the distance to scape (Figure 12.9). A score of 1.0 represen" opcimal
road factor is used {Q represent the assumption that areas habitat , a score of 0.0 represents the poorest quality
near roads will represent lower habitat quality than simi- habicar.
lar areas of land fa[(her away from roads (Figure 12.8) . Somewhere along che 0.0-1.0 range, biologisrs will
need to determine the threshold levels th at separate good
Distance from habitat from poor habitat. One process that can be used
road score 0.25 if wichin 15.24 m (50 feec) of to arrive at these scores is presented in Figure 12.10 .
any road, or Here, che roads are buffered chree cimes (15.24, 30.48,
0.50 if 15.25 (0 30.48 m (50.1 (0
and 45 .72 m). Two of rhe buffer GIS databases are chen
100 feec) of any road, or subjected to an erase process. resulting in a buffer band
around each road (a 15.25-30.48 mecer band and a
30.49-45.72 mecer band). The 0--15.24 mecer buffer is
1.2 then combined with these MO buffer bands (Q create a
GIS database that represents three of the buffer distances
1.0 by polygons, wich no overlapping polygons presem. The
Distance
0.8 I fourth buffer distance, as you can imagine. is everything
nor included in chese chree buffer discances. The buffers
from
road
score
0.6
I are then overlaid on the vegetacion GIS database. breaking
vegecacion polygons ac che buffer boundaries. The basal
D••
0.2
I area, stand age. and distance from road scores can then be
calculaced in che cabular ponion of che resulcing GIS daca-
base. The final HSI score can be calculaced as a funcrion
0.0
0 ~
of the basal area, stand age, and distance from road scores.
N
and a thematic map can be developed to illustrate the dis-
Distance from road (feet)
tribution of vole habitat across the landscape. In addition ,
Figure 12.8 Distance from roads scores for a range of distances from che final GIS dacabase can be queried co develop a cable of
the road network.
area by habicar class.
203
Chapter 12 Synthesis of Techniques Applied to Advanced Topics 193
Iv~m~
GIS
da!abase
I L R_GIS
database
/ I Roa~ I I I
GIS
da!abase
Roads
GIS
database
i ~ ~ ~
Calculate Buffer Buller Buffer
basal area roads roads r_
score 15.24m 30.48 m 45.72 m
~ ~ ~ ~
Calculate
stand age
score
I( BUllere,,';
(o-~~m)
I( II I( III
Buffered
(o-~~ m)
roads
Buffered
(0-45.72 ml
~
Erase
process
~
Erase
process
I I Bullered
roads
(3Q.48-
I I ~
Buffered
r_
(15.24-
30.48 m)
45.7Srn)
Combine
process
~
Overlay
process
~
/
/ Road
buffers
I
I HSI
GIS
database
IL
II
Calculate
road
score
calculate
HSI
score
Develop
mapaf
HSI scores
Figure 12.10 Hierarchy of intermediate and final G IS d:ltabue$ created in the devdopmcnt of an
analysis of potential w ildlife habitat suitability (HSI) areas for a vole on the Brown Tract.
Summary
This chapter illustrates juSt a few of [he more com plex need fo r quantirative rules and a log ical set of GIS
spatial analyses that may be performed (or requested) by processes [0 separate one set of landscape featu res from
natural resource managers. The number and arrangemem another in an analysis of ROS classes is important because
of GIS processes could vary in addressing analyses such as a single un it of land must be assigned only o ne ROS class,
these, and may include buffering. clipping, erasing, and and all units ofland must be assigned a class. The graph-
querying of landscape features. Therefore. the chapter ical display of the result of a complex GIS analysis. such as
represents a synthesis of the tools readers have acquired the ones illustrated in this chapter. is also important
from previous chapters in this book. It should be appar- because land managers rypical ly use these products to
ent by now that it is important to explicitly define the help them visualize and make decisions regarding the
quantitative rules and the GIS processes th at might be management of natural resources.
used to address complex spatial analyses. For example, the
204
194 Part 2 Applying GIS to Natural Resource Management
Applications
12. 1 Land classificat ion. Becky Blaylock, manager of processes, and then intersecting these GIS databases.
the Brown Tract, wants you to develop a management- (Why would you nOt use a merge process here?)
related land classification for the forest. She asks you to • Erase the special stewardship GIS database features
develop GIS databases for each of three classes using the from the focused stewardship GIS database features.
following rules: • Erase both the special stewardship GIS database fea-
1. Special stewardship areas will consist of the follow- tures and [he focused stewardship GIS database fea-
ing landscape features: Oak woodlands, Meadows, tures from the stands GIS da tabase, creating the
and Rock pits. general stewardship GIS database.
2. Focused stewardship areas will consist of the follow-
ing landscape feamces: 12.2 Recreat ion O p portunity Sp ectru m. The Dimict
a. streams buffered according co the Oregon State Manager associated with the Brown Tracr (Becky
Forest Practices Act (30.48 meters [100 feet] Blaylock) would like you to determine how much area
around large fish-bearing st reams [Size = 'Large' might be classified in the five recreation opportunity spec-
and Fishbearing = 'Yes], 21.34 meters [70 feet] trum (ROS) classes (see T able 12.2) . Based on this subset
arou nd medium fish-bearing streams, 15.24 of rhe ROS criteria,
meters [50 feet] aro und small fi sh-bea rin g a) How much land area is contained in the primitive
streams, 2 1.34 meters [70 feet] around large class?
non fish-bearing streams, 15.24 meters [50 feet] b) How much lan d area is contained in the semi-
around medium non fish -bearing streams, and primitive, non-mororized class?
6.10 meters [20 feet] around small non fish- c) How mu ch land area is contained in the semi-
bea ring streams); primitive, motorized class?
b. a buffer of 100 meters around all water sources d) How much land area is co ntained in the roaded
tha t are not culvert spills or water towers; natu ral class?
c. a buffer of 100 meters around all authorized e) How mu ch land area is contained in the roaded
(rails; and managed class?
d. research areas. f) Develop a thematic map illustrating the five ROS
3. General stewardship areas will consist of whatever classes on the Brown Tract.
land remains. g) Draw a flow chart [Q describe the p rocesses lIsed [Q
develop the ROS classes, including the GIS opera-
Do the following:
tions and all GIS databases used (original, interme-
a) Develop and illustrate a process (How chart) for
diate, a nd final GIS databases).
accomplishing the task of defining the land classi-
ficat ions of the Brown Tract forest according to the
12.3. Visual quality bu ffers. You have been asked by
rules listed above.
the manager of the Daniel Picken forest [Q evaluate the
b) D ete rmine how much land area is contained in the
potential impact of two proposed organizational policies
special stewardship land classification .
for the forest resou rces found there. It seems that the
c) Determine how much land area is contained in the
owners of the property are becomin g very concerned with
focused stewardship land classification.
the public perception of management on the forest, thus
d) Determine how much land area is contained in the
they are interested in the trade-off's assoc iated with alter-
general stewardship land classification .
native management pol icies.
e) Produce a map of the entire Brown Tract, ill ustrat-
Policy #1: Buffers next to neighboring landow ners.
ing the three land classifications.
Assume for this example that even-aged forest manage-
As a general strategy, yo u may want to follow [his process: ment is practiced across the property. This potential
• Develop a special stewardship GIS database. pol icy suggests that c1earcllt harvesting activities adja-
• Develop a focused stewa rdship GIS database by cent to neighboring landowners of the Daniel Pickett
performin g the appropriate buffer and query forest will be restricted.
205
Chapter 12 Synthesis ofTechniques Applied to Advanced Topics 195
a} If a 50-meter uncut buffer were to be left adjacent board feet (MBF). how much would you ask the
co all other property owners, how much land Scare [Q compensate [he owners of the Daniel
would this require as a volumary contribution [0 Pickert forest for the loss of this land?
rhe pCQ[ecrion of adjacent landowners resources? d} If a 30-meter visual quality (i .e.• uncurl buffer was
b} How much timber volume of vegetation class A then proposed around the I OO-meter highway cor-
would be found in the buffer (vegetation class A is ridor, what is the [mal effect [Q the forest resource
the older timber class. perhaps that which can be base, in terms of land area now affected in each
harvested in the near- term). and what perce mage vegetation type?
of rhe [Ocal volume in this vegetation class would
be affected? 12.4. Habitat suitability index fo r a vole. The biologist
associated w ith the Daniel Picken forest, Will Edwards.
Policy #2: Buffers next to paved public roads. This has recently become aware of a vole habi tat su itability
potential policy suggeSts that visual quality buffers model, and is interested in understanding the extenr of
may be maintained along paved roads within rhe vole habitat on the forest. Will asks you to apply the
Daniel Pickett forest. These buffers will not be man- model described in the 'Habitat Suitability Model with a
aged. bur rather treated as reserved areas, where har- Road Edge Effect' section of this chapter to the Daniel
vesting is precluded. Pickett forest, and m:
a} If a 50-meter buffer were required around all paved a) Calculate the amount of land area on the Daniel
roads, how much land area would this involve, and Pickett forest in the following habitat suitabil ity
how much timber vo lume in vegetarion class A classes: 0.000-0 .200 (low quality). 0.201 -0.400
would it affect? (low/moderate quality). 0.401-0.600 (mode rate
b} If the State decided to convert the North-South qual ity). 0.601-0.800 (moderate/high quality).
paved road on the Daniel Pickett foreSt to a high- 0.801-\.000 (high quality).
way, and required a 1DO-meter wide corridor [Q he b} Develop a map illustrating the habitat quality for
transferred to State ownership, how much land the vole by suitability class.
area would be affected? c) Draw a flow chart of rhe process yo u used to
c} If bare land values were assumed to be $200 per develop the habitat suitability classes.
hecta re. and timber volumes $400 per thousand
References
American Farmland Trust. (2006). Land classification Canadian Forest Service. (2007). Ecological land classifica-
sysum. Washington. DC: American Farmland Trust. tions. Onawa. ON: Canadian Forest Service, Natural
Retrieved February 17. 2007. from http://www. Resources Canada. Retrieved February 17. 2007. from
farmland.org/resources/furureisnowllanddassification hup:11ecosys.d1.scf. rnea n.gc.cal dassifl i n rro_strat_e.
system.asp. asp.
American Forest & Paper Association . (2002) . Sustain- Clark. R.N .• & Stankey. G.H . (I 979}. The recreation
able Fomtry Initiative (SFI)"'. Washington. DC: opportunity spectrum: A framework for planning, man-
Amer ican Forest & Paper Association. Retrieved agement, and research. GeneraL Technical Report PNW-
December 10.2007. from http: //www.afandpa.org/ 98. Portland . OR: Pacifi c Northwest Forest and
ContentfNavigation Menu/ Environment and Recycling! Range Experiment Sta tion, USDA Forest Service.
SFIISFl.htm. Frayer. W.E .• Davis. L.S .. & Risser. P.G. (I 978}. Uses of
Brooks. R.P. (l997). Improving habitat suitabil ity index land classification. Journal ofForestry. 76. 647-9.
models. Wildlifi Society Bulletin. 25. 163-7. Klingebiel. A.A .. & Montgomety. P.H . (I 973}. Land
Butler. R.W .• & Waldbrook. L.A. (l991). A new plan- capability classification. USDA agricultural handbook
ning tool: The tou rism opportunity spectrum. JournaL 210. Washington. DC: US Government Printing
of Tourism Studies. 2(1). 2-14. Office. Retrieved February 17. 2007. from http://
206
196 Part 2 Applying
Applying GIS to Natural Resource Management
Management
soils. usda.govltochnicaUhandbookicontents/part622p2.
soils.usda.gov/tech nical/handbookicontents/partG22p2. Rempel, R.S.,.. & Kaufmann
Rempel. R.S Kaufmann., C.K.
G.K. (2003)
(2003).. Spatial model-
modd-
html#ex2. ing of harvest co nsrransuainrs
inrs on wood suppsupply
ly ve rsus
Morrison
Morrison., M.L. ., Marcot.
Marcot, B.GB.G..•, & Mannan,
Mannan. R.W. wildli fe habi
wildlife habicat
tat objectives.
objecrives. £Ilvironmeruo
Environmental/ Manage-
((19 92). Wildlife-habitat relationships: Conupts and
1992). ment, 32.
ment. 32, 646-59.
applications. Madison.
Madison, WI : University
Universiry of Wisco nsin US Bureau of Reclamatio n. (195 1). Land classification.
Press. Bureau of reclamation man ull~ vol. V, irrigated land
manual
Natu
Naturalral Resources Canada. (2000). Overviewofclassifica-
Overview o[classifica- use, Denver, CO: US Bureau of Reclamation.
use. part 2. Denver. Reclamati on.
deurmining land capability for
tion methodology for determining USDA Forest Service. (2006). Hiawatha national form. forest,
forestry
foustry.. Onawa, GeoG racis Cli
Ottawa, ON: GeoGrads C li enc
ent Services.
Services, 2006 forest
fomt plan. Milwaukee,
Milwaukee. WI: USDA Forest
Nacural
Narurai Resources
Reso urces Canada. Rerrieved
Retri eved Augus[
Au gust 10, Service, Eastern Region. Retrieved February 18.2007.
Service. 18,2007,
2007, from http:
2007. //geogratis.cgdi.gc.ca/C LI /frames.
hrtp:lIgeogratis.cgdi.gc.ca/CLl from http://www.fs.fed.us/r9/hiawarhalrevision/2006/
from http://www.fs.fed.us/r9/hiawatha/revision/2006/
html.
htm!' ForPlan .pdf.
Depareme", of Forestry.
Oregon Department Fo rest ry. (2007). Oregon admin- Scate Parks and Recrearion
Washington State Rec reatio n Com
Commission.
mission.
iJtrah'vt! ruiLs,
istrative o/forestry, Division 35. man-
nlus, department offorestry. (2006).. WAC 352-16-020 land classification. Olympia.
(2006) Olympia,
ngeuullt
agement of o[ statt Salem , OR: Oregon
state forest lands. Salem, WA: Washington Srate Recrea(ion Com-
State Parks and Recreation
Depart ment of Fore5[ry.
Depanme", Forestry. Retrieved March 12. 2007.
12, 2007, Reuieved February
mission. Retrieved Feb rua.ry 17. 2007. from http://www.
17,2007, htrp:/iwww.
h((p:llarcweb.sos.sta
from http://a te.or.us/rules/OARS_6001
rcweb.sos.sta te.or.us/ rules/OARS_GOO/ parks.wa.gov/plans/lowerhoodcanaI/Srare%20Parks%
parks.wa.gov/ plansllowerhoodcanaI/State%20Pa rks%
OAR_G29/629_035.html.
OAR_629/629_035.html. 20Land%20C lassificat ions.pdf.
20 Land%20Classifications. pdf.
207
Chapter 13
A contour. [Q most people. represents the ou dine of plow lines are laid parallel to the contour of the land-
some figure or body. Contour intervals. as used on scape [Q reduce the erosion potential of rhe agricultural
maps. represent the oudine of all areas thar have the practice. This also reduces strain on farm machinery;
same elevation. It would be as if you were to slice (hor- this practice encourages moving laterally rather than
izontally) the landscape every 100 feet (or whatever perpendicularly through elevation gradients. Each sec-
interval was chosen) in verrical elevation. Contour tion of a plow line is. theoretically. at about the same
plowing is a common practice in agriculture. where elevation as every other section of the line.
or will be too dangerous to travel (if the vehicle is travel- vatlon umts (i.e. meters. feet) do not match horizontal
ling downhill) . With many raster GIS software programs, mapping units. a unit conversion factor may be needed in
users have the ability [Q choose a contour interval and the order to bring the units into agreement. Within ArcGIS a
starting elevation value at which contours will be created. OEM must be opened as a layer, the Spatial Analyst
To creare contour lines a process such as rhar Extension must be activated. and the Spatial Analyst
described in Figure 13.3 can be used. In cases where e1e- menu must be opened. From the Spatial Analyst menu.
choose Surface Analysis. then choose the Contour option.
This should open the Contour dialog box, which will
prompt you for the Input Surface. conrour dimensions,
and an output database name. Using the Brown Tracr
10m DEM, a COntour interval of 50 feet with a base con-
tour elevation of 100 feet was chosen (Figure 13.4). Using
(he 100-foot base elevation should result in comour lines
Select that o ri ginate from 100 feet and incremem in 50-foot
contour
steps. The contour line GIS database that is created is a
interval
vector GIS database, and each line contains an att ribute
describing the elevation . Users can then modify this vec-
tor GIS database to display different color shades or line
Setect thickness for differenr contour lines of interest.
base
elevation
value to Brown Tract
start contours ContoIS Interval
- 50''''
OEM Value. (feet)
0 100 - 150
o 1S1-200
W 2{)1 -25O
Verify
2S1-lOO
elevation _ 301 - 350
units _ 351--400
_4()1 -~
_ . S l -5OO
_ 501-S50
_ 551-600
_ 601- MO
_ 6S1 -700
Figure 13.3 A general process for the development of a contour line Figure 13.4 A contour line GIS database for the Brown Tract
GIS database from a OEM. displayed on top of the Brown Tract 10 m OEM.
210
200 Part 2 Applying GIS to Natural Resource Management
(raslerl
Shaded Relief Maps
Figure: 13.5 A gene:ral process for the: devdopme:nt of a shade:d re:lie:f
Another product that can be derived from a OEM is a GIS database: &om a OEM .
shaded relief map. Shaded relief maps are intended ro
simulate the su n-lit and shaded areas of a landsca pe when tal map unit (Z factor), an ompur cell size. and an output
assuming thar the sun is positioned at some location in database nam e. Usi ng the Brown T ract 10m OEM, an
rhe sky. La ndscape fearures that face roward the sun will azimu rh of 210·, and an altitude of 45·, a shaded rel ief
appear more brightly lit than objects facing away. For map is created (Figu re 13.6) that shows (rel atively speak-
raster GIS software program s that provide the abiliry co ing) how much sunl ight reaches each parr of the landsca pe
create a shaded reli ef map . the resulr of performing a in th e late afternoon (the su n azimurh of 21 0° indicates
shaded reli ef map process is a raster GIS database, and [hat the sun is located directly co the southwes t of the
each grid cell typically contains an attribute value describ-
ing a gray cone rangi ng from light (facing cowards rhe
sun) ro dark (f..ci ng away from the sun). The shaded relief
map is useful for illustraring rhe ropography and provides
a th ree-dimensional perspect ive of the landscape.
Shaded relief maps can be created with the genera l
process described in Figure 13.5. The azimuth selected
specifies the d irection from which rhe sun is sh in ing. An
azimuth of 90°, for examp le, indicates that the su n is posi-
tioned in rhe eaSt, and an azimuth of 1800 ind icates that
rhe sun is positi oned in the so uth. The altitude defines the
angle of the sun above the landscape. An alti tude of O·
typicall y indicates that the s un is located directly over-
head, whereas an altitude of 90· wou ld indicare thar the
sun is at the hori zo n. With in ArcGIS a OEM must be
opened as a laye r, the Spatial Analyst Extension must be
act ivated, and the Spatial Analyst menu must be o pened.
From [he Spatial Analyst menu, choose Surface Anal ys is.
the n choose rhe Hillshade option. This should o pen rhe
Hillshade dialog box, which will prompt you for th e
FigllR 13.6 Shade:d relief map of the: Brown Tract using a 10m
Input Surface. Azimuth, and Altitude amOunts. Options OEM, an illumination azimuth of 210°, and an illumination altitude
are also provided for vertical unit conversion to horizon- of 45°.
211
Chapter 13 Raster GIS Database Analysis 201
The oriemacion and presentation of 'direction ' has (and directed towards the East or West). Thus an
not been discussed co great extent in this book, how- azimuth of 353° represents a bearing of N7°W. since
ever, it is important for readers to know the differ- the angle would arise from the North half of a com-
ence between an azimuth and a bearing. Why? pass, and is directed towards the West r.
Similarly,
Because compasses used in fieldwork either represent an azimuth of 89° represents a bearing ofN89°E (the
di recdon as azimuths or bearings . In some cases, angle arises from the North half of the compass and
both types of measurements will be represented. is directed towards the East 89°). and an azimuth of
Azim uths are degrees of a circle, with No rth being 0° 190° rep resents a bearing of S I OOW (t he angle arises
(or 360°), East being 90°, South being 180°, and from the South half of the compass and is d irected
West being 270°. A compass line indicating an towards the West 10°). Property deeds, commonly
azimuth of 353°, therefore, indicates a d irect ion of used within North America co legally state ownership
almost due North. A bearing is represented as any of a land area, often use bearings to describe the land
angle of 90 0 or less from eithet the North or South boundary locations.
landscape, and the 45° altitude indicates a sun position a corner point and four neighbo ring cells will share a side.
halfway between 'direcdy overhead' and 'setting'). With Theoretically, eight possible grid cell values can be used to
this shaded relief analys is, you can obtain a sense of the calculate the slope class. Many raster GIS software pro-
varied ropography of the Brown T ract. Other landscape grams lise a formula that takes into account me values of
features. such as study areas, roads, and streams, might these neighbo ri ng grid cells in calculating the average slope
[hen be displayed on tOp of the shaded rel ief GIS database elass of a single grid cell (Burrough & McDonnell, 1998,
to allow an exam ination of how chese resources might be pp. 190-3). In Figure 13.7, the weighted average slope
infl uenced by landsca pe tOpography. gradient between the cell of interest (the center cell with a
293 m elevation) and the eight neighbors can be calculated
Slope Class Maps to determine the slope class change by computing the ele-
vation change among the cells. You can imagine. however.
A third product that can be derived from an analysis of that perhaps only the cells that share a side might be used
DEMs are GIS databases that represent the slope class, or to calculate the slope class for the cell of inte rest, or a
gradient, of each portion of a landscape. Slope class values broader window can be used. (e.g .. one more ring of cells
are measurements chat indicate me steepness of a land- around the cell of interest, or 24 neighboring cells) .
scape, and provide insight into the rate at which other To create a layer representing slopes within ArcGIS a
resources, such as water, vehicles. or people. are likely to DEM must be available, the Spatial AnalySt Extension muSt
travel over [hose portions of [he landscape. Since each be activated, and the Spatial Analyst menu mUSt be opened.
grid cell in a DEM contains both ho riwntal (e.g., latitude From the Spatial Analyst menu, choose Surface Analysis,
and longitude) and vertical (elevat ion) measurements, the then choose the Slope option. T his should open the Slope
slope of each grid cell can be computed based on the posi- d ialog box, which will prompt you for the Input Surface
tion and he ight of the ne ighboring grid cells. MoSt raster
GIS software programs have the abi li ty to compute slope
1 2 3 Legend
classes. and are able to express slope class as an angle
302 m 300m 298 m
12~m l
(degrees) or as a percentage of the difference in elevat ion Neighboring cell
4 5 (3) and elevation (298 m)
of each grid cell as compared to the neighboring grid cells. 293 m
290 m 295m
lr is important to understand that there are a number Cell lor which slope
of different methods used in choosing the values for slope 6 7 8
287 m 288m 290 m
1293 m1 class will be computed
class calculations. In a raster GIS database. each raster grid
cell will have eight neighbors that share a portion (a side or Figure 13.7 Slope class computation within a raster GIS
environment.
a point) of its boundary: fou r neighboring cells will share
212
202 Part 2 Applying GIS to Natural Resource Management
0
0
0-2.3
2.4-3.8
3.9-5.2
--- ---
Brown Tract slope (degrees)
5.3-6.5
6.6-7.8
7.9-9.1
9.2-10.8
10.9- 13.1
13.2- 21.8
CoUnt:o number units (10 m grid cells) in Range ,. (maximum value - minimum val u~)
the database Mean z averag~ slope
Area .. squar~ feet Srd '" standard deviation o f values in [he database
Min. minimum valu~ in [h ~ da[abas~ Sum = sum of the slope for aU units
Max .. maximum valu~ in me darabas~
214
204 Part 2 Applying GIS to Natural Resource Management
number}. With this value, you could join the tabular data both a hydro logic and fisheries perspective. For example,
co the stands GIS database. using a one-to-one join process you might need [0 understand the abilicy of Streams to
(see chapter 9 for a review of join processes), and facilitate support fish populations, o r to understand the potential
a graphical display of the slope class for each managemenr water runoff im plicar ions from extreme rainfall evems.
unit. The variables 'Co unr' and 'Area' list the number of Stream slope class (gradient) is one common measure of
grid cells from the slope class GIS database that F...l1 within the condition of a stream system. Stream slope class can be
each management unit, and the area mat the grid cells rep- calculated by field personnel using clinometers or other
resent. The 'M in', 'Max', and 'Range' provide the mini- surveying instruments or hypsometers, yet this requires a
mum slope class value within each management unit, the visit to each stream to provide measures for the e ntire
maximum slope class value, and the difference becween landscape , a very costly and time co nsum ing proposition.
these [wo values for each management unit. The 'Mean' is The slope class conditions of streams across a landscape
the average percent slope (what was hoped to be obtained can, alternatively, be estim ated rather quickly if a OEM
for the thinning opportunity analysis) and the 'Std' vari- and a streams GIS database is available for the landscape.
able is me standard deviation of the slope class values of rhe The straightforward approach to calculating slope val-
grid cells located within each managemem unic. The stan- ues for streams would be to fo llow the previous example of
dard deviation provides information on rhe disrcibucion supporting a thinning operation. and use the slope class
and variat ion of slopes classes within each management GIS database for the entire Brown Tract. However. si nce
unit, Large standard deviations indicate a wide variado n of the slope class GIS database was created for the entire land-
slope class values whereas small standard deviations indi- scape and only a small portion of the landscape is of inter-
cate a narrow varia don. est (the streams), a different approach might be approp ri-
In the managemenr of namral resources, the condition ate (F igure 13 .1 1). One solution would be to create a
of a stream system may also be imporram [0 know from raster GIS database of the streams . A raster database of
Conversion
to raster
database
Overlay
analysis
Select
attribute that
uniquely
identifies
streams
Summarize
slope
conditions
Slope
class
report
Figun: 13.11 A general proces.s for the development of slope inform:uion for each individual
stream on a landscape.
215
Chapter 13 Raster GIS Database Analysis 205
Intervisibility is a term used to describe the number of areas of the viewshed may be visible to a single home.
viewpoints with a view of each unit of land. For exam- From a management perspective, this information may
ple, a number of homes may be within the viewshed of be impartanr. and allow natural resource managers to
a property being managed by a natural resource organ- focus thei r public relarions efforts to rhe directly
ization. These homes could be considered viewpoims. affected homeowners. If you we re to develop a GIS
By performing the viewshed analysis described above. database that describes the intervisibility of a landscape.
however, you do not necessarily understand the imer- the phrase 'cumu la tive viewshed map' (rather than
visibility of the landscape. or the number of homes that 'viewshed map') mighr be used. to illustrate the num-
acmally have a view of each unit of land. In fact, SOffie ber of homes viewable from each land unit.
streams that matches the spatial extent and resolution of adonal visitors are influenced by the visual appearance of
other raster GIS databases previously developed for this the landscape. and thus can be negatively affected by man-
landscape wou ld fucilitate future overlay analyses. The grid age mem activities that leave visible impactS (Ribe. 1989) . A
cells th at contain ac cuai values (other than 'no data') key to reducing (or heading off) potential public relarions
should only be those that overlap a stream in the vector problems in natural resource management is to ascertain
screams GIS database. An overlay ana lys is is then per- what pardons of a landscape are visible to recrearional vis-
formed in conjunction with a OEM CO enable the creation itors, and to adjus t the management plans associated with
of a raster GIS database thar describes the elevation of each those areas accordingly (Wing & Johnson. 2001).
grid cell represent ing a stream. Now that only those raste r Vicwshed analysis can facilitate an understanding of
grid cells that touch a stream have been identified. and the the portions of a landscape that are visible from specific
elevation of each is avai lable. you can calculate the average landscape features of interest. For example. observation or
slope class values for each of the streams . viewing si tes (overlooks) may be represented in a GIS
Si milar to the previous analysis, the res ult of this database by poinrs. and the location and elevation of the
analysis is also a tabular database. By using the attribme points would be used to determine which other parts of
that uniquely identifies each stream. yo u could join this the landscape would be visible. If rhe viewing sites were
tabular data with the streams GIS database to facilitate the described by lines, the vert ices (points where the line
display of the slope classes for each stream . A similar pro- direction changes) of each line would be used for the
cessing approach could be used to identifY slope or eleva- viewshed analysis. Fo r example. lines that represent a road
tion characteristics for any vector GIS database that con- or trail through a landscape. could be used to determine
tains lines (e.g .. roads, trails, facility corridors, etc.) . which other parts of the landscape can be seen from those
featu res.
Viewshed Analysis The landscape in a viewshed analysis is represemed by a
OEM or a TIN (see chapter 2 for a description of a TIN).
The maintenance or enhancement of aesthetic values is The objective of a viewshed analysis is to calculare rhe line
becoming increasingly important in natural resource man- of sight berween the viewing sites (e.g., observation points,
agement. Research has shown that the experiences of recre- homes) and other landscape features (F igure 13. 12) .
Figure 13.12 Line of sight from a viewing site to the surrounding landscape.
216
206 Part 2 Applying GIS to Natural Resource Management
Features [hat are identified as being in [he line of sight of To illumate [he development of a viewshed analysis, a
the viewing sites are considered visible, whereas all other GIS database rep resenti ng home locat ions surrounding
landscape feamces are not considered visible. the Brown Tract will be used as the viewing sites. A cur-
A number of considerations must be taken into sory in vestigation of [he homes GIS database reveals [hat
account when conducting a viewshed analys is . Ahhough [here are multiple homes along rhe eastern half of [he
a OEM assoc iated with a landscape may have been Brown Tracr (Figure 13.13). A viewshed analysis will
acquired (perhaps from rhe US Geological Survey), an allow yo u to determine what portions of the Brown Tract
assessmem of its fitness (Q represent the landscape in a are visible by residents of [he n... rby homes. One of [he
viewshed analysis should be performed. I n heavily first steps in the viewshed analys is is to define the observer
forested landscapes. the OEM may nor represent the effect height. You might assume that the average person has a
of tree heights on your view, as [ree canopies extend above view height (above ground level) of 5.5 fee<, and [hat
the elevation surface (t he ground. as represented in the owners of [he homes around [he Brown Tract could likely
OEM) . The current management of rhe landscape will view rhe foreS[ from [heir second Aoor windows (add 10
also affect a viewshed analysis because different aged feet), resulring in an adjusted observer heighr of 15.5 fee<.
stands have different heights, and therefore [he (Op of rhe To perform the viewshed analys is. you might pursue a
current canopy (which is what is usually seen in a scenic process similar to that described in Figure 13.14. Since
view) may be misrepresenced. One solution to this prob- [he original OEM for rhe Brown T racr was clipped (0 the
lem is co acquire a vegetation GIS database that contains ownership boundary of the tract, you could acqu ire USGS
tree height information , and [Q incorporate these meas- OEMs and creare a new OEM GIS database rhat includes
urements inco the DEM elevations. Another consideration rhe Brown Tract and the areas that cover the homes. As
is to make sure that the DEM surface cove rs the entire mentioned earlier, addressing vegetarian height in the
landscape area between a viewing site and the landscape viewshed analysis might be app ropriate. since much of
bein g analyzed. In some applicat ions. a managec might be [he Brown Tract is foresred . The stands GIS database con-
interested in determin ing the visibility of a resoucce from tains a vari ab le named 'H eight' that provides the average
surrounding viewing sites (homes oc roadways) but only height of each of the management units. By co nvert ing
has access to a OEM that describes the area managed (such this vector GIS database to a raste r GIS database format.
as the OEM for the Brown Tract, as shown in Figure height information can be added to the Brown Tract
13.2). To perform a viewshed analys is, i[ will be necessary
to acquire a OEM that covers not only the landscape of •
interest ([he land being managed), but also contains [he •
areas whece the viewing sites are located.
One consideration in viewshed analyses often ovec-
........, .
•••• •• •
••••• •
•
•
looked is [hat G IS users can generally modify rhe height of •
the viewing site. For example. the height of the viewing
site is genera lly considered to be the acrual ground-level
elevation at the location of the viewing site. If the viewing
si tes were meant to represent people who were standing
and viewing [he landscape, then an observation height of
five or six feet higher than the ground elevation at the •
viewing s ite might be more realistic than assuming a
ground level view of 0 feeL This relatively modest change •• •
in viewing elevation can have significant impacts on view-
shed resules w hen large land areas are involved. As view-
ing elevation rises, the amount ofland returned by a view-
shed ana lys is will typicall y also increase. Orher
considerat ions in performing a viewshed analysis might
D Brown tract tocation
• • •••
include sen ing limits as to how far viewing sites are
allowed to 'see' ac ross the landscape. and limits on view- • Homes
ing angles. Figure 13.13 Locations ofhome.s near the Brown Tr:lci.
217
Chapter 13 Raster GIS Database Analysis 207
Stands
OEM
GIS database
(raster)
Create
observer Conversion
height to raster
attribute database
Overlay
GIS database
analysis
(raster)
Viewshed
analysiS
(raster)
Figure 13.14 A general process for the development of a vicwshed analysis for the Brown Tract
based on a set of vicwshed sites (nearby homes).
"...
from each home. With in ArcGIS, this can be accom- 81-100
101-120
plished by using the Viewshed command. under the lZ1-140
141-180
Surface Analysis roo Is within the Spatial Analyst exten- ISHel
sion . A dialog box will open and offer prompts for the "'''''
inpuc surface (OEM or other modified elevation surface) Figure 13.15 Average tree heights for managemcO( units contained
and observer points (locations from which the input sur- in the Brown Trace stands GIS database.
218
208 Part 2 Applying GIS to Natural Resource Management
the nearby homes are located mainly along [he trac[ bor-
ders, howeve r a significam amount of land within [he
tract boundary is also visible from one or more homes
(a lthough you cannot, from chis analys is determine how
many homes have a view of each piece ofland).
Watershed Delineation
GIS has come to be a standard tool for hydrologic research
and wate r resource modelling. GIS applications for water
resources are commo n and vary from simply mapping
water resources (Q sophis ticated ana lyses t hat co nsider
water qua lity infl uences and [umce water ava ilabi lity
(Wilson et aI., 2000; Marcin e< al., 2005). A primary use
of GIS for water resource managemenr is that of water-
shed delineation. A watershed can be defined as a land-
sca pe area [hat shares a common drainage. This definition
assumes that if water were able [Q flow freely over a land-
Figure 13.16 OEM G IS databuc fo r the Brown Tract and. scape area, jt wou ld follow a downhill trajectory and exit
surrounding areas that includes me :average tree hcighu of the
management uniu contained in the stands G IS database.
(he landscape a rea at a common painr. W atershed bound-
aries are commonly used by federal . St3te, and provincial
organizations ro separate a landscape inro smaller man-
face will be analyzed). Depending on the size of the DEM, agemenr areas. In addition, watershed councils-groups
this processing dme may be lengthy, however, afrer pro- that help (Q determine management acdv ities within a
cessing is complete. a raster GIS database is created (hat specific watershed-are becoming mo re common in
illustrates the areas with in and around the Brown Tracr North America. Some refer {Q watersheds as 'catchmems'
that are visible from the nearby homes (Figure 13.17). but the intent is rhe same: {Q describe an area according to
The areas within [he Brown Tract that are vis ible from the fl ow of water ove r its su rface. The delineation of a
watershed boundary is a func[ion of topography and
changes in landscape relief. You must decide on the scale
of the wate rshed to be created and have access to topO-
graphic information in order to begin delineation.
Previous to digi[al GIS and the availabili<y of DEMs,
watersheds were created primarily by using available con-
tour maps and using the visual clues provided by comour
shapes to draw or digitize a watershed. boundary. Clues
from contour shapes included saddles. peaks as indicated
by closed COntours, and [he direc[ion of funnel-like con-
tour shapes that represent water fl ow paths o r ridges
(F igure 13.18). If existing meam ne<works were present
on the comour map or on additio nal maps, these features
also provided clues as to watershed boundary locations.
The delinea[ion process was usually begun from [he per-
ceived lowest elevation point of the watershed and then
continued uphill, with ,he goal of identifYing the ridge
lines that su rrounded a watershed and separated it from
othe r wate rsheds. Contour line funnels indicated either
Figwc 13.17 Arc:as (dark shade) within and surrounding the Brown water flow paths or ridges. with water flowing from the
Tract that are visible from the ncarby homes. bottom of [he funnel (u- or v-shaped end) to the open
219
Chapter 13 Raster GIS Database Analysis 209
~
.. ~ ............ ~ .. ... E ) .
::::------:::::
a b c
Figure 13.18 Watershed boundary location and Stream flow patterns derived from contour
inu:rvai shapes: (a) watcrsh~ bound2.ry parallels contour saddles and (b) splits peaks as indicated
by a dosed contour homes, and (e) waler Rows from the bonom of conlour funnels through
the tOp.
end. Closed conrour shapes were ro be spl ir rhrough rhe steps for the watershed creation process is represented in
middle as [hey indicared a peak. and boundaries should Figure 13.20. A separare darabase muse firsr be creared
split CQmour saddles in a parallel orientarion. This that represents on ly this stream network portion, or at
required those involved in the delineating watersheds co least the lowest elevation point within the porrion. This
continually ask themselves 'which way would water flow lowest elevation point in this database will serve as the
if a bucket of water were dumped at a parcicular location?' watershed source, sometimes referred to as a pour point.
The delinearion process could be drawn direcdy on rhe Rather than risking a misidentification of the lowest
coorou r map o r accompl ished rhrough heads-up digiriz- point, it's probably more expedient and reliable to clip, or
ing on a monico[ with backgro und databases of streams otherwise separate, the ent ire portion of the stream net-
and contours being displayed . Nonetheless, manual work into a new GIS database. Within ArcGIS, you can
watershed delineation is a tedious process with significant use the Select Features tool to select all of the stream fea-
opportunities for human e rror. If a common drainage tures and then ex port (he selected feawres into a new
point. line. or area can be digitaUy represented in a GIS da<abase (righr click on rhe layer and choose Dara. [hen
and a OEM exists of the area. many GIS can automatically Expon Dara) . Some GIS software will require rhar line
generate a watershed area boundary given some basic data and polygon features intended to serve as a watershed
manipulations. source must be converted inm a raster database, Within
In addition to a feature that represems the drainage ArcGIS, once the selected streams database is ready. the
locarion(s) and OEM. a darabase represeming flow direc- Spatial Analyst Convert menu contains a 'featu res to
tions is usually required for watershed delineation. A flow raster' command that w ill make this conversion.
direction database is represemed through a raster database
structure and assigns an expected direction of water flow
to each raster cell. Fortunately, a flow direction layer can
usually be creared from a OEM rhrough an a1gorirhm rhar
evaluares rhe e1evarions of each rasrer cell and all neighbor-
ing cells. The possible direcrions include rhe parh co each
poreorial neighboring raseer cell (eighr direcrions) as derer-
mined by rhe lowese devarion among rhe neighbor cells.
In addition, a 'no direction ' choice is possible and is
' ... .' :
\~.j
referred to as a 'sink'. A sink occurs when a raster cdt has
an elevation value mat is less than all surrounding cells.
Any ponion of a landscape can be analyzed for irs 1.,;"- ""
;
watershed boundary given that a OEM is ava ilable of the
..,.'
emire pmential watershed extent. If the OEM does not
cover the entire potemial wa[(~:rshed area, an incomplete
watershed boundary may resulr without any warning ··~····'J·····,··.>m \·
from rhe supporting GIS software as (Q its incomplete-
ness. As an example of GIS-based warershed delinearion. a .'
J
portion of the stream network within (he Brown Tract
that falls within the smaller incerior private ownership Figure 13. 19 The portion (in dark bold) of the stream network
within the Brown Trace for which a watershed area is to be created .
area is considered (F igure 13. I 9). A logical sequence of
220
210 Part 2 Applying GIS to Natural Resource Management
Summary
The examp les in this chapter have demon strated several erate contou r lines. a shaded relief image. and a slope clas-
GIS operations [hat are possible when using raster GIS sification map. Rasrer GIS databases can be integrated in
databases, and have concentrated on [he wealth of oppor- spatia l analyses to calculate slope classes for management
tunities associated with using a OEM. From the basic ele- units as well as gradiems of streams. and to create a data-
vatio n information contained within a DEM, you can gen - base of me viewshed relared to nearby landscape feamres,
221
Chapter 13 Raster GIS Database Analysis 211
such as the homes located around the Brown Tract. In sample of the types of applications that are possible with a
addir ion. DEMs can be used to analyze landscape topogra- single raster GIS database in terms of examining landscape
phy and can create addition al raster databases to support (Opography. We turn our anemion in rhe following chap-
watershed delineation . These examples are but a small ter to exploring orner poremiai raster data applications.
Applications
13.1 Shaded relief map. You have been asked by the engineer associated with the Brown Tract has asked you
manager of rhe Brown Tract ro create a shaded relief to calculare road slope gradients (percent slope) for the
map that simulates rhe sun 's lighr on rhe landscape in roads in the Brown Tract using two GIS processing
early morning. methods. For the first method. the slopes should be cal-
a) What values would YOli use to approximate the culared using [he entire DEM available for the landscape.
sun's azimuth and altitude? For the second method. the slopes should be calculated
b) Develop a map that illustrates the shaded relief. using only those raster grid cells that overlap the road
network. The engineer wants to understand the differ-
13.2 Slope map of the Brown Tract. During one of ence, if any, (hat would be observed in the average
your monthly planning meetings. it was suggested that a slopes gradients when using these two methods. Prepare
slope map would be of value to the foresters who plan a short report to convey this information (0 the forest
timbe r sales on the Brown Tract. This map would be of engIneer.
equal value [0 (he recreadon manager, who is interested in
potendal trail systems throughom the forest. 13.6 Brown Tract viewshed analysis. The manager of
a) Create a slope GIS database of the Brown Tract the Brown Tract would like you to develop a viewshed
that has 80 ft con [Our lines that originate from a analysis using only those homes located on the north side
300 fr base elevation . of the Brown T racr. Use the assumptions and processes
b) Develop a map illuStrating the slope classes. described in the example provided earlier in this chapter.
How do the viewshed results differ from [hose of the
13.3 Viewshed analysis planning. Your supervisor has example presented earlier in this chapter?
approached you and asked that you assist in a viewshed
analysis for part of your resource management area . She is 13.7 Brown Tract watershed analysis. The hydrologiSt
interested in knowing what port ions of your resource for the Brown Tract, Samantha Wasser, has asked for
management area are visible from a nearby road. She your help in identifying a watershed for a portion of the
needs the info rmation quickly and has asked you to scope Brown Tract stream network. The lowest elevation
our the project with regard to how this mighr be accom- stream segment in the portion is identified through a
plished in GIS (e.g .• what GIS databases are necessary. numeric value of 123 in the stream variable within the
what processes are necessary, etc.). Provide a brief descrip- streams database. Develop a watershed for this stream
rion that lists required GIS databases, techniques, and network portion and report the resulting watershed area
potential pitF.Uls of conducting the visibility analysis. in both acres and hectares.
13.4 Road gradient analysis planning. Your supervisor 13.8 Brown Tract beaver watershed analysis. T he
is interested in knowing the average slope gradients of a Brown Tract manager has asked you to delineate the
set of roads within you r organization's management area. watershed area that Aows into a large beaver pond. The
She has asked you for a one-page description of how this beaver pond location is described in the water sources
might be accomplished in GIS. Prepare a reporr for her database as a point location. Create a warershed for this
that describes the necessary GIS databases, potential tech- point and repOf[ the resulting watershed area in both
niques, and conside rat ions that would be involved in acres and hectares.
using GIS for this purpose.
13.9 Brown Tract stand watershed analysis. The
13.5 Road gradients on the Brown Tract. The forest Brown Tract manager has asked you to delineare rhe
222
212 Part 2 Applying GIS to Natural Resource Management
watershed area that flows into a stand inside rhe Forese. 13.11 Combining raster GIS databases. Wha t is the
The stand is identified as number 36 with the stand field result when two raster GIS databases are combined. yet
in rhe Brown T f aCt stands database. Create a wate rshed 'no dam' values are present in some portions of rhe land-
for this stand and repon rhe resulting watershed area in sca pe in one of the [wo raster GIS databases?
bmh acres and hectares .
13.12 Highest and lowest elevation stands. Which stand
13.10 Basic characteristics of the Brown Tract. Becky in the Brown Tract is located at (he lowest average elevatio n?
Blaylock. the manager of rhe Brown T ract, is interested in Which stand is located at the highest average elevatio n?
some basic knowledge of the landscape. Specifically. she
wants to know rhe following: 13.13 Elevation information for a single stand. What
a) What is rhe m inim um, maximum , average. and are the ave rage, minimum , and maxim um elevations of
standard deviation of slope (degrees) fo r the Brown the stand described in question 13.9 (stand 36)?
Tract?
b) What is rhe m inimum , maximum, ave rage, and 13. 14 Water source elevations. What is the average ele-
standard deviation of slope (percent) for rhe Brown vation for each of the points described in the water
T racr? sou rces database?
References
Burrough. P.A.• & McDonnell. R.A. (1998). Principles of emp ir ical preferen ce resea rch ta ught us? Environ-
geographical information systems. Oxford: Oxford mental Managemen t. 13.55-74 .
University Press. US Depart ment of Interior. US Geological Survey.
Martin. P.H .• LeBoeuf. E.J .• Dobbins. J.P .• Daniel. E.B .• (2007) . USGS Geographic data download. Retrieved
& Abkowirz. M.D. (2005). Interfacing GIS with water May 26. 2007. from hrrp:lledc2. usgs.gov/geodatal
resource models: A state-of-the-art review. Journal of index.php.
the American Water Rtsourus Association, 41 , Wilson. J.P .• Mitasova. H .• & W right. D.J. (2000).
1471-87. Water resource applications of geographical informa-
Natural Resources Canada. (2007). Mapping. Retrieved tion systems. URlSAjouma!, 12(2).61 -79.
May 26. 2007. from hrrp:llwww.nrcan-rncan.gc.cal Wing. M.G .• & Joh nson. R. (200 1). Quanti /Ying forest
com/subsuj/mapcar-eng.php. visibility with spatial data. Environmental Manage-
Ribe. R.G. (1989). The aesthetics of forestry: What has ment. 27. 4 11-20.
223
Chapter 14
users the nex( time [he software is resrarred. Depending closest feature. The function can be appl ied to either vec-
on the raster software, work ing environment parameters ror or raster databases. As an example, consider the water
may need co be reestablished ar rhe beginning of every sources poim locations within and around the Brown
analysis session. T racr (Figure 14.1) . Ir mighr be beneficial for emergency
An important rasrer parameter (Q consider is an anaJy~ response units combating wildfire to know how far away
sis mask. An analysis mask, as esrablished by rhe dimen- the closest water sou rces are located, parriculariy if heli-
sions of anQ[her GIS layer. will restrict processing to on ly copters will be used ( 0 carry water from sources to a fo r-
those areas coincident within the layer. The extent oprions est fire and stra ight line distances were of imerest. A dis-
allow you co further resrricr the areas that will be consid- tance function cou ld demonstrate relative distances [Q the
ered when new raste r output is created . Depe nding on nearest water source (F igure 14.2).
you r software, possible choices include existing layers. spa- An allocat ion distance functio n assigns areas [Q the
rial combinarions of exiscing laye rs. or a bounding ser of closest feature. In this case, raSter cells will be assigned a
coordinates. In addition to raster databases. vector data- pixel value that recognizes the nearest wne of influence,
bases can usually also be used (Q create an analysis mask. similar to the vector representation of a Thiessen polygon.
Another critical choice for processing out pm raster A Thiessen polygon is created for each feature in a spatial
databases is cell resolution. Typically, working pa ramete r database a nd represents the area that eac h feature is nea r-
choices will allow users CO set a designated raster cell res- es(. In the case of the nine potential water sou rces, nine
olution for Output databases. This can typically be set [Q allocation zones are identified with each water source hav-
match orher analysis layers. combinations of other layers. ing irs own zo ne of influence (F igure 14.3) .
user-specified cell resoiurions, or a user-specified set of A cost weighted distance function allows for ass igning
columns and rows. Sening a cell size and analys is extem different weighting to raster cells that take into account
[Q match an existing layer will ensure that our pur raster what is required for a pathway to cross through the cell
cells are registered to the existing layer. and that output (Chrisman, 1997). This fill1crion mighr be used ro assess
raster cells from both layers will be coincident and nor the amount of time needed for water to flow through one
offset from one anot her. These potential parameters end of a srream nerwork to anorher, the relative costs of
described here, and orhers rhar may be available depend- materials [Q co nstruct or resurface a trail, or resources nec-
ing on software, can help make raster analys is more effi- essary to develop access ro areas in mountainous te rrain.
ciem. These choices can help establish a common resolu- The COSt weighted function requires that in add ition to
tion, analysis area, and output location for raster
processing results. The appropriate options should be set
prior [Q any raster analysis session.
I
Distance Functions
Distance functions calculate the measured distance [Q fea-
tures of interes(. There are va rious ways of computing dis-
tances, ranging from a straight line measurement to more
involved approaches (i .e., shorrest paths) that use con-
straims of moving across a landscape due [Q cha nges in
D
relief or other impediments. Distance functions can be
used to help determine the next closest feature, areas th at
might be ecologically sensitive because of their proximity
to namral features. or the most expedient route to take
from one feature to another. Typ ical dista nce functions
include the straight line, allocation distance, cost
weigh red disrance, and shorresr parh (Theobald, 2003).
The stra ight line distance function will create a raster ... Water sources
output wim direct (also called Euclidean) distances ro rhe Figure 14. 1 Water source5 in and around the Brown Tract.
225
Chapter 14 Raster GIS Database Analysis II 215
.'
3
W,t.r source distance (ft) _ 4 medium Slope accumulation
0 0- 1.000
LIZJ 2.000-3.000
.. 4.000-4.000
_ 5.000-5.000
• 7h~" _ "",mula""
_ 6.000-7.000
_ 8.000-8.000
_ 9.000-10.000
Figure 14.2 Straight line distance categories to the nearest water Figw e 14.4 Cost weighted slope values to water sources in the
source in the Brown T raet. Brown Tract.
the raster database representing desired destinations, the The shortest path function is intended to do what the
cells contain values representing ilie weights. The weigh ts name implies: identify the path of least distance or resist-
represent the cost inherent in accessing the cell, be it sym- ance to a desired destination. The shortest path function
bolic of steepness. required constructi o n materials, or requires supporting databases representing cost weighted
some other value th at has significance. The COStS are the n distances and least cost directions. The least cost direction
added togecher. starting at the destination(s) and moving raste r is ge nerated for each raster cell and is used to desig-
outward. to form an output raster that sym bolizes the nate which of the eight neighboring cells is upon the least
entire COStS o r resources from each cell to the desired des- COSt path.
[ination(s) . A cost weighted distance surface wi th the
water sources as destinations and the Brown Tract slope Statistical Summary
values as weights is shown in Figure 14.4 . Search Functions
,---------- ----- ------- ----- ------A------ ------------- - -- ----, Srariscical summaries can be generated from individual
// I raster databases. multiple raster databases. and combina-
r-''''-o!''/ i tio ns of raste r and vecto r databases using raste r- based
! search funccions . These fu nctions search within a data-
base and recurn summary values based on search criteria
provided by the user_The search crireria may be based on
areas within a second coincident database, a search area
within a given pattern and size, or values comained within
multiple raster fi les_ Three general types of raster statisti-
cal summary search functions include cell. neighborhood.
and zonal statistics opti ons (DeMers. 2002) _ Cell and
neighborhood search functions are sometimes called local
and focal searches, respectively. Each search function
requires user input to direct the search extent and the con-
L=
_ _ _=_ _ _ __=____=___ =_ _ _ =_____=__
... ±:
~ ____...L.L
___=______=
_:b
[em of statistical summary information that is returned .
Cell, or cellular, statistics allow multiple raster data-
bases to be evaluated in the creation of a new raster data-
base. Each coincidem raster cell in all input databases is
... Water sources considered and a statistical summary of cell values is
selected fo r output into the new database. Stads[ical sum-
~ ......J Allocation areas
maries can include average. summary, minimum. maxi-
Figure 14.3 AJlocation areas for water sources in the Brown Tract. mum. standard deviadon. most common val ue. or other
226
216 to Natural Resource Management
Part 2 Applying GIS to
possibilities. Values Values within input darabases databases are arc also zones
wnes can be designated
designa<ed by an attribute value in either either
restricted to to numerical formats formats.. The cel cellular statistics
lular srariscics numeri
numeric c or ca tegorical
catego rical format,
format , such as counry county names,
capabili~ represents aa type
capability cype of raster overlay operation but bur catego ries, or road numbers. Output
land cover categories, Qurpuc includes
va lues in
all values in all input
inp"' databases are treated
"eated equally acco accord-
rd- aa statistical summary in tabular format for each idenrified identified
ing CO [he
to the statistical su mmary
summary selected. Potential ap plica-
applica p
zone
zone and contains the che number of of coincident raster cells
tions of cellular slatisrics
tions statistics involving multiple raster data- and associated
associa ted aarea.
rea. In addition,
addition. numerical summaries
summa ries
bases include adding ground and and structure
srructure elevations
e1evarions co (0 include theme minimum, maximum, range, average. stan-
create
creare aa surface elevacion
elevation layer,
layer. developing a composite dard deviation,
deviation ) sum, variety,
va rie ty. majority.
majority, minoriry,
minority , and
ind<x by summarizing poremial
fire risk index potential fuel and an d land- median val ues found within each zone. Zonal
values Zona] statistics
qualities , and developing an average temperature
scape qualities. offer
off'er the advantage of allowing raster
ilie advanrage ...ster databases to ro be sum-
given a set of databases that contain con[ain annual temperature marized in relation (Q to zones described with w ithiinn a vector
veccor or
measurements.
measurements. raster database in a single analysis. The vector
raSter veccor database
Neighborhood statistics functions are for single s ingle raster line. or polygon format. Examples in the
can be point, line.
oorr vector
vecmr files and allow for statistical summaries based on previous chapter
chapcer included calculating slopes s lo pes for forest
aarea
rea sea rches within a sin
searches gle database.
single database. The sea rch will
search stands and streams. Other
srands Oilier potential applications include
co nsiderr the emire
conside entire extent
ex;,rem of (he
the database bur will consider dete rmining maximum elevations of precipitation gauges.
determining
each feature {point. (point, line,
line. or polygon}
polygon) or raster
rasrer cell and average aspect of a srream.
scream, and the me average elevation In in
apply the[he search area parameters
parame«rs for each. Regardless of the home range of a wildlife speeies.species.
raster or vec(Qr
vecco r input.
input, a new Outputou tput raner
raster is created that
conrains rhe
contains the results of area a rea evaluations
evaluadons in a summary Density Functions
value within each output outp ut raster
raste r cell.
cell.
Neighborhood search functions funcdons ca cann have several dif- The intensity or frequency with which something occu occurs
rs
ferent shapes including rectangles,
ferenr rectangles. circles,
circles. and wedges. In across a lan dscape or portion of a landscape can be
landscape
addi[ion,
addition , an annulus shape is possible which has the [he func- demonstrated through a density function . Implicit in the
rional appeara nce of a donut.
tional donut, with an inside area (donut requiremenrs of density calcu
requirements lation is the tabulation of
calculation
ho le) (hat
hole) that is ignored
ig no red in searches and an outside area a rea so me
some resource in magnitude or location
locat ion relative to so me
(donut) that is evalua<ed.
(donu,) evaluated. The user designates the size of area quantity (Chang. Within many raster-based
(Chang, 2002). Wiiliin
,he
the neighborhood search area shapes. Within each area, a rea, a GIS programs. density can be calculated for point and line
statisrical summary is possible of any si ngle numeric field
single vector
vecror layers wirh ourput results being wrinen
with output written to a ras rer
in the input
inpur database. 5tadsdcal
Statistical numeric summariessumma ries database. The creation of smoothed density densiry surfaces is
include me rhe average.
average, summa
sum mary. ry. minimum
minimum,. maximu m aximum, m. a lso possible for poinr
also point anda nd line fearures
featu res (Silverman,
(S ilverman,
deviation, mOSl
standard deviation. mOSt common value. value, and other fre- 1986).
1986).
quencyevalua<ions.
quency evaluations. Possible uses of neighborhood search sea rch Density estimates are useful for describing rhe the road
functions include
in clude identifying the number of available syste
system m within a forest. assessing
assess ing the relative quality
qu ali ty or
sou rces occurring within a 100 km radius or any
water sources suitabi lity ofhabirat
suitability of habitat areas given iliethe number of wildlife
wildl ife or
feature, the number of nest locations locacions at least 50 m away other features
fC'dtures present in an area, and for demonstrating
but less than 2,000 m distant, disrant. and ilie the maximum tree conglomerations or 'hot ' hot spars'
spots' of an acriviry
activity or resource
heigh,
height of al alll trees contained wiiliin
within a 20 m by 20 m plot. plot. condition when many features are present in a darabase. database.
statistics, applied in examples
Zonal stadsdcs, exam ples in the rhe previous Hot SpOts are a re ap
apparent
parent locations or areas where stronger stro nger
chaprer.
chapl er, are si milar (Q to neighborhood search functions in concentrations
concentratio co nditio
ns of some condir obse rved. When
io n are observed.
(hal locadon or area is being evaluated.
that a location cOntrast co
evaluated . In contrast (Q of locations are present
thousands oflocarions presenr in a database, irit may be
neighbo rhood fun
nei ghborhood ctions, zonal
funccions, zo nal sra tistics functions offer
statistics challenging to ro map and determine locations rhat that have
,he
the advantage of allowing twO rwo databases to (Q be evalua<ed
evaluated heavier co concentratio
ncentrations ns than others (W ing & Tynon.
o thers (Wing Tynon ,
ssimultaneously.
imul taneously. A new outpUl o utput raster
raste r darabase
database is is created particularly true when point features are of
2006). This is panicularly
that provides a numerical summary of values in one data-
(hat a nd many occur in the same location
interest and loca tion.. A single
si ngle
coincident with areas in a second database.
base that are coincidenr point in [his
point this sicuacion
situation can obscure other poims points when
The areas in the second database are consi considered
dered co (Q be pioned on top of one another on a map or computer
ploned compurer
analys is or summary zones for which values in coincident
analysis coincidenr monitor. In
monimr. I n rhese
these siruations,
situations, density function
functionss can
ca n be
locat
locatioionsns in the other da<abasedatabase will be analyzedanalyzed.. The applied
app to create shades that
lied (0 that demonstrate concentration
227
Chapter 14 Raster GIS Database Analysis II 217
What is a hot spot? In terms of GIS analysis. hot SPOtS can also create a hotspot. In other words, a subset of
are locadons where some feamre of interest is occur- att ribu te values might differ markedly from other
ring with greater frequency. A hot SpOt can be indi- a([ribure values. The locations of the features would
cared through increased density of point, line , or then be used to identify the hot spot's location. Hot
polygon features in a vector database. Groupings of spots are frequently mentioned in spatially-based
raster cells can also mark hot spots. Beyond the den- crime research and a number of analyt ical techniques
sity of spatial features, an 3nribuce field that contains have been developed to identify hot SpOt locations.
one or more features with increased or heightened These techniques can also be app lied to natural
an ribure values in comparison (Q mher feature values resource applications.
high density
Figure 14.5 Simple density surface for roads in the Brown Trac[
wing a 2,000 ft search radius.
228
218 Part 2 Applying GIS to Natural Resource Management
4. Rascer
Raster values may need to to sup-
[ 0 be rescaled in order [0 sup· Whether
Whe ther one o orr more raster databases are used, ras raster
rer
O f[ a single raster
pore
P raster analysis. map algebra results
resulrs in a new rasterasterr database that coma ins
contains
5. Raster vavalues
lues may need coto be rescaled in order
o rder [Q
ro sup-
SUp- the resul"
results of the mathematical evaluations specified by
porr
port a mulciple
multiple raster analysis. the user. Some forms fo rms of map algebra can be accom plished
accomplished
through techniques discussed earlier, earlier. such as cellular sta-
Reclassification
Reclassification is differem
differenc from altering the symbol- that
tistics th a llow for statistical
at aHow sracis ri cal summaries to to be calcu lated
ogy or legend of a raseer
raster database fo forr display purposes in from mu multiple
ltiple raster databases. Operations th at require
that it
ic goes beyond simply altering the rhe appearance of a mathematical manipulations of single or multiple raster raste r
raseer dacabase.
raster database. Regardless of the reasons for reclass ifYing
reclassifYing databases,, however.
databases however, requi re more d direct approaches..
irect approaches
rhe reclassificat.ion
a raster database, the recl ass ification process leads to a With
Within in the Spat
Spatiial
al Analyst function of ArcGIS.ArcGIS, the raster
new raster data base with pixel values reflecting ceRecting the rhe calcu latO r is provided in support
calculator algeb ra,
suppo rt of raster map algebra.
val ues. The new raster database and its reclassi-
recoded values. and also provides access to additiona additionall raster
raste r related
fied values can then be used for mapping and analysis funcdons.
functions.
purposes.
Within the ArcGIS Spatial Analyst,
Analyst. a reclassifY com- Database Structure Conversions
mand is available. Selecting the reclassify
reclassifY command will
open a dialog box that[hat prompts the selectionn of a raster
rhe selecdo It may be necessary fO to convert a spatial database from
fro m a
database.
database, reclassification field
field., and input
inp ut cells for
fo r reclassi- vector to raster or from a raster to
to vector
vec(Or data structure
structu re for
fication values. By default,
default. this interface will use the exist-
ex ist- a variety of reasons. Potencial
Potential reasons include:
incl ude:
ing symbolization used m to display the raster. For example.
should
sho uld current raster values be displayed using five ranges I . sup
1. porting a GIS
supporting GIS process or analysis
ana lysis that only
on ly acco m-
accom-
or categories.
or categories, these same five c1assificacions
classifications would be dis- vector data.
modates veccor
played on the reclassifY cel celll options.
o ptio ns. To select different 2.. supporting a GIS
2 analysis
G IS process or analys is that only accom-
classifications from which to begin the recoding.
recoding, the 'clas- modates raster data.
modares data,
button can be chosen.
sifY' butmn 3. sharing data with a colleague who can o nl y access one
only
data structu
structurere type.
Raster Map Algebra 44.. meeting the data requ irements of a client or funding
requirements
oorganization,
rgan ization. and
T he abilicy
The m access and evaluate values within multiple
ability to 55.. database storage
srorage size considerations.
rasterr databases and Qurpm
raste output resu
results [Q a new raster data-
lts to
base presents powerful analysis oppormnities.
o ppo nunities. Raster
Ras ter map As your work with GIS conti nues.
nues, it is likely that you
algebra involves a mathematical eval evaluation
uation that is applied spatiaJ data from one srrucmre
will have to convert spatial structure to
to one or mo more rasterr databases [Q
re raste to create a new database anothe r. Regardless of which Structure you are converting
3re co nvening
(DeMers.
(DeMers, 2002). Mathematical
Mathema, ical evaluations for fo r single decisions
to, there are decis
to. ions that mUSt
must be made fo r eithe
e itherr (Cans-
tra ns-
raster databases may include add adding
ing or multiplying raster format ion . The good news
formation. newS is that a seco nd database is
cells by a constant val ue, or app lying trigonometric.
value, trigo no metric, loga- cypically created through
typically throu gh the conversion
conversio n process. This
rithmic. mathematicaJ
rithmic, and other mathe transformations co
marica1 transformarions to raster usually ensures that if the rransformadon
transformation is unsuccessful
unsuccessfut.
values. A common example of single raster map algebra subsequent
su bseq uent attemp ts can be made unc untilil a satisfactory
might be takin
rakingg an elevation-based raster and multiplying product is created.
created .
thee elevation values by a co
th conve rsionn facto
nversio factorr ro
to move from The creadon
creation of point.
point , line, or polygon
po lygo n features is of
one measurement unit co to anome
anothe r, such as converting ele- interest
imeresr in conven
convertinging vector
Vec[or databases [Q to raste
raster.
r. Usually
vation values from meters to feet. Mathema Mathematical evalua-
tical evalu a- attribute
an arrri bure field is selected as the information (0 to be car-
rions
tions for multiple rascer
raster databases
data bases might involve addin addingg ried into the new raster database. Depending on the soli:-
soft-
or multiplying raster values, compa
valu es, com rin g muhiple
parin mulriple raster use, [he
ware you use. outpUt ras
the OutpUt raster
ter format might be integer
imeger or
remrning the largest value for
databases and returning fo r all coinci- floating poine. Integer and floating
Roaring point. point
Aoat in g poi the two
nt are {he twO pri-
dental cells, or using raster database values within a for-
demal mary rypes rasterr dara
types of raste data formats supporred
supported within typ typical
ical
mula that cap capmres
tures landscape processes such as thar that for
fo r software.
GIS softwa re. A key distinction between these twO types rypes is
waterr velocity
ware velocicy and discharge
disch arge rates. that integer raster da
inreger raster databases
tabases will usually accommodate
229
Chapter 14 Raster GIS Database Analysis II
Database 219
230
220 Part 2 Applying GIS to Natural Resource Management
raster databases can be used. The cell size options are pro-
vided in the third tab of the options dialog box. and can
be used CO establ ish the resolution of Output raSte r data-
bases. Settings include other analysis layers. minimum or
maximum area covered by all input databases. and user-
specified resolutions. The number of columns and rows
in [he raSter can also be chosen . Setting a cell size to
match an existing layer will lead to spatial agreement
Brown Tract
berween the layer and any output raster databases. This is • Rock pit
a key choice that can help ensure consistent spatial regis- • Southeast
tration of raster databases, an attribute that helps support entrance
reliable analysis output. - Roads
The default ra ster format with in the Spatial Analyst
extension is an ESRl grid. The grid data structure bears Figure 14.6 Rock pit, south~ast ~ ntr.tnc~. and road 5yst~m in th~
similarities to that of ESRI coverages in terms of trans- Brown Tract.
231
Chapter 14 Raster GIS Database Analysis II 221
Conversion Reclassify
to raster slope
database categories
Develop
Reclassify Combine cost path &
road type values cost direction
(raster)
Best
path
algorithm
(vector)
Figure 14.7 A general process lO identify the shortest path between two locations on the
Brown Tract.
In these simations, the number of potenrial fOUCes can Shorrest path algorithms can assist planners and managers
surpass (he ability of transportation planners to sysremar· in making sound decisions.
ically evaluate and select from a full range of options.
Creating a Density Surface for
the Number of Trees Per Acre
Density functions can be used to demonstrate [he relative
abundance or strength of the locations of features an d
anributes, The stands database for the Brown Tract con-
tains an attribute named 'trees_acre', This attribute has a
relative weighting of the trees that you would ex pect to
Brown Tract
• Rock pit
find in each stand within the Brown Tract on a per ac re
basis. It may be of interest to determine the areas in the
• Sootheast
entrance forest where this field is strongest, indicating where higher
- Shortest path numbers o f trees are more likely to be fou nd. Deter-
- Roads mining this info rmation could be done through plotting
the polygons and using shaded symbols to demonsttate
Figure 14.8 Shortest path between rock pit and southC:l$t entrance of intensity values of individual polygons. This approach,
the Brown Tract, given cost weights for road surfaa and road slope. however, would neglect the influence of neighboring
232
222 Part 2 Applying GIS to Natural Resource Management
What is a centroid? A centroid is a coordinate pair that is irregular or non-homogenous (is not round, square, rec-
intended co represent memid-point of a feature or group tangular, triangular, etc.), patricularly if some or all of the
of fe-drures. A centroid could be creatai co represent {he boundaty that make up a polygon contains curves, as is
center of a group of points by taking the average of all the orren the case when describing narural features. The cen-
longirude and latitude coordinates. In terms of a line fea- troid of such a polygon is determined through mathe-
ture, a centroid position is easily determined. by dividing matical integration (calculus) with the goal of determin-
the tQ[al length of the line in half and using a coordinate ing where the center of gravity of the polygon is located.
pair [Q represent the half-way point. A polygon centroid The center of gravity can be thought of as the point at
can be more difficult to determine if the polygon shape is which the polygon would balance if set flat upon a pole.
polygons in irs representation . A more helpful approach strate the detected densities. Figure 14. 10 shows the Out-
might be to create a densi ty surface which would search put that results for a smoothed density surface using the
surrounding areas and determine inrensicies that take into same stand centroids and a 1,000 ft search radius for trees
account (he nllmber of trees for each stand while consid- per acre.
ering the number of trees in neighboring stands.
A density surface must be created from a point or line
feature type. In order [Q apply the density function to the
stands layer in the Brown Tract, we'll need ro conven the
stands polygon feamce rype. A point representation is Simple density surface
probably preferred over a line feature type for the con-
--
Trees per Icre
vened stands. A common method for representing poly- o lOw density
-
support centroid creation. CJ
After the stand polygons have been converted to II!llI
_ moderate density
poims, the density surface can be created. Figure 14 .9 i ..
shows the resuh of a simple density surface based on the _ high denslty
number of trees per acre. The darker shaded areas high-
light the areas where greater numbers of crees would be
expected. The search rad ius was set to 1,000 ft and den- Figure 14.10 Smoothed dcns ity sUrhce for num~ r of trees per acre
sity circles were created for each stand cencroid to demon- based on a 1,000 ft search radius.
233
Chapter 14 Raster GIS Database Analysis II 223
Summary
We demonstrated in (his chapter how raster databases can bases. The procedures facilitate spatial analys is and su p-
be manipulated and analyzed (0 solve questions related [0 POrt ,he ability [Q prepare spa,ial daubases so ,har ,hey
natural resource app licado ns. A host of functions are are su ited for specific analytical purposes. In add itio n, we
available ro supporc analysis including distance, sracisrica1 presented [Wo potential applications in which some of the
search summary. and density functions . The functions functions and procedures discussed earlier in the chapter
differ in their application and in the types of database were applied. The raster analysis p rocesses and examp les
structures that can be used for analysis. Omput may be we presented by no means represent the extent of the
tabu lar, veC(Of, or rast er depending on the function . porential of raster analysis. Rather, these processes an d
Several common procedures within most raster-based functions describe so me of the more usefu l and co mmo n
software include raster reclass ifi cation, raster map algebra. commands and processes for namra1 resource analys is
and conversion routines between vector and raster dar3- with raster data.
Applications
14.1 Straight line discance function for points. A!; parr ' PLOT' to describe) has rhe highesr e1evarion and
of your position as a natural resource manager. you manage what is the elevation?
the research areas on the Brown Tract. Concerned abom c) Which research plor (use ,he numbers in ,he field
their dimibu<ion across ,he landscape, you decide rhac a ' PLOT' ro describe) has rhe lowest e1evarion and
simple rasrer analys is mighr shed lighr on rheir spacia l what is the elevation?
arrangement. Create a straight line dismnce raster database
for research plot pointS co nrained in the Brown Tract. 14.6 Neighborhood statistics. Using ,he elevation laye r
for the Brown Tract as an analys is extent and a template
14.2 Straight line distance function for lines. The for Output cell reso lution , what is the longitude and lati-
density of stream syste ms can be used to define their cha r- rude of ,he cenrer of rhe ,hree by rhree grid cell neighbor-
acter. Given the st ream s GIS database for rhe Brown hood wir h rhe highest e1evarion'
Tract , creare a srraight line distance rasrer database for
streams contained in the Brown Trace. 14.7 Zonal sta,inics. Assume ,har a fire has s<arced in
srand 140 of ,he Brown Trace. Ifhand crews canno[Con-
14.3 Straight line dinance function for polygons. A!; trol the fire, water must be acquired from nearby sou rces
another analysis related {Q the distribution of research to help extinguish the flames. What is the average dis-
areas, create a straight line distance raster database fo r the tance to the nearest water so urce for stand 140?
"and polygons in ,he Brown Traer where ,he LANDAL-
LOC field is designared as 'Research '. 14.8 Zonal statistics. What is the average distance {Q
the nearest water source for so ils polygon 166? Use the
14.4 Allocation distance. As we mentioned earlier, in SOILS_ field to determ in e where this stand is located
devel oping an allocation distance, ras te r cells are ass igned wirhin th e so ils database in the Brown Tracr?
a pixel value that recognize the nearest zone of in Auence,
si mil ar to the vector representation of a Th iessen polygon. 14.9 Density surface for basal area. C rea,e borh a sim-
Create an allocation raSter database for resea rc h plot ple and smoorhed density surface for [he Brown Trace
po ints contained in the Brown Tracr. stands. Base rhe den sity upon (he basal area field con-
tained with (he stands attribute table.
14.5 Ceu statistics. To furrher you r undersranding of
the spatial distribution of research plots on the Brown 14. 10 Density surface for research plots. Creace borh a
Tract, you decide (Q embark on a series of raste r analyses simpl e and smoothed dens ity surface fo r rhe Brown Tract
to determine their venical distribution . research plors. Base rhe density upon [he field named 'sl'
a) What is the average elevation of the resea rch plots? which co ntains a numeric value for the site index of eac h
b) Which research plo< (use rhe numbers in rhe field ploe.
234
224 Part 2 Applying GIS to Natural Resource Management
References
Bettinger, P., G.A. Brndshaw, & Weaver, G.W. (I 996). Mitchell, A. (2005). The ERSI guide to GIS analysis.
Effects of geograph ic information system veC[Q f- rasrer- Volume 2: Spatial 1nf!asurements and stah'sties. Red-
vector data conversion on landscape indices. Canadian lands, CA: ERSI Press.
journal ofFomt Restarch, 26,1416--25. Silverman, B.W. (I986). Density estimation for statistics
Chang, K. (2002) . Introduction to geographic informa- and data analysis. New York: Chapman and Hall.
tion systems. New York: McGrnw-Hill. Theobald, D.M. (2003). GIS conupts and ArcGlS methods.
Chrisma n, N . (1997). Exploring geographic information Fort Collins, CO: Conservation Planning Technologies.
systems. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Wing, M.G., & Tynon , J.F. (2006). C rime mappi ng
DeMers, M.N. (2002). GIS modeling in raster. New and spatial analys is in National Forests. Journal of
York: John Wi ley & Sons, Inc. Forestry, 104(6),293- 8.
235
Part 3
236
Chapter 15
Figure 15.1 A GIS database of urban treC$, and an associated hyperlinked picture of a trcc
(Courtesy of Andrew Saunders).
238
228 Part 3 Contemporary Issues in GIS
ing non-spatial data to GIS databases. Having the abi li ty the tree canopy is least dense. or by scheduling GI'S mis-
to view (with actual photos) oblique perspectives of land- sions during periods when an increased number of CPS
scapes from various vistas or overlooks represents another satelli tes will be available.
valuable use of hype r/inking data for natu ral resource Spadal data collect ion technology conti nues to evolve.
management purposes. and natura l resource managers are likely to see new tech-
niques that im prove upon present CPS, satellite im agery,
High Resolution GIS Databases and LiDAR data collection methods in the upco ming
yea rs. One of the mos t promising secrors o f improved
New areas of resea rch and develo pment, call ed 'precision data collection technology is related to high spatial reso-
fo restry' or 'p recision agriculture', have recently been lu tion GIS data. GIS databases developed from the raster-
introduced in natura l resource management. These areas ization of color ae rial photography and developed from
of research and development seek co use digital technolo- satelli tes such as IKONOSTM (GeoEye. 2007) are becom-
gies for improving, and making more efficient. namral ing available at 1 m to 4 m spatial resolutions (Figu re
resource management activities. 'Precisio n tech niques' 15.2). While geo- registered color aerial photography of
might include using GPS as a navigational aid for farm or large land areas can now be collected, processed . and
forestry equipment. capturing remotely-sensed imagery co made avai lable to clients the following day. acquiri ng
describe the status of soil properties (e.g .• the need for fer- satell ite imagery at 1 m resolution requires a longe r time
tilizer or pesticides), or using digital aerial photography to period (generally 10 days o r more) and depends o n the
record crop planri ngs and outcomes. Precision agriculture area and time frame of inte rest. Another promising area of
techniques have been actively used and recognized as a improvement in data is high spec cral resolution raste r
discipline for at least a decade. In contrast. the first fo rmal databases. Normally. aerial photographs that are con-
recognition of precision forestry occurred in June 2001 at verted into digital o rrh op ho tographs cove r a 0.4 to
the University of W as hin gw n's Precis ion Forescry 0.9 micromete r range of the electromagnetic spectrum.
Symposium. High among the list of goals of precision Some satellites systems captu re energy in longer wave-
forestty is the identification of methods fo r the collection. lengths. but usually within 10 distinct bands (ranges of
analys is. and use of hi ghly accurate and precise data from energy) or less . Higher spectral resolut ion data implies
the Earth's surface w facilitate bener management of nat-
ural resou rces. Examples of precision fo restry techniques
might include using electronic distance measuring (EDM)
(Ools ro capture the precise spatial position of forest land-
scape features, capturin g precise and timely sa tellire
imagery (0 ass ist in monitoring threats (0 forest health
(e.g .• fire or disease). or developing precise. fine-scale
DEMs to identify steep forested areas susce pti ble ro poten-
tiallandslide activ ity.
The main o bstacle ro implementing precision forestry
or agriculture techniques in natu ral reso urce management
remains that of obtain in g accu rate. prec ise. an d timely
spatial data of landscapes . Some applicatio ns of precision
technology may be implemented more easily in differing
land uses, however. For example. in COntrast ro many
agricu ltu ral applicatio ns, forests are characterized by a
dense ca nopy cove r and so meti mes by mountainous ter-
rain, which can limit the types of technologies that can be
used {Q coll eCt precise spatial data. A thi ck canopy cover,
for instance, often hinders CPS receptio n. and hillsides
can prevent satel lite signals from reaching a CPS receiver. FigllR 15.2 IKONOS satellite image at 4 m resolution of Copper
There are ways to avoid some of these problems, such as Mountain located in the Colorado Rocky Mountains (Imagc.s courtesy
by co llect ing CPS data durin g rhe winrer months when of GeoEye).
239
Chapter 15 Trends in GIS Technology 229
that many mOte bands of enetgy have been captured, caprured, and ognizing that more timely analysis and map products can
can be used co to monitor
mo nito r and evaluate the Earth's Earm's surface. be obtained if the wo work rk is more closely situated co to the end
AV1RIS (National
AVIRIS (National Aeronautics and Space Administration, user (Bettinger, 1999; Wing & Berringer, Bettinger, 2003).
2003) . [n In addi-
add i-
2007) is an example of one o ne such high spectral resolution rion , rhe
tion, the increased power of com compurer
puter [echnologies
technologies
system, although it has been available for almost al most 15 years.
years. (speed and memory) and the [he advancements made in the
With this system, 224 bands of data can be captured for operaring
operating systems of perso personalnal compurers
compute rs have borh bo th
a single landscape at one o ne point in time.
time, aUowing
aIlowing scientists allowed a wider user base to use GIS technology (Faust, (Faus[,
and managers [0 to use the appropriate spectral reflecrances
re£lecrances com puter systems are relatively inexpensive
1998). Since computer
for analyzing various nacurai namrai resource
reso urce management issues. (a GIS workstation
worksrarion can now be purchased for unde underr
Sdll
Still among [he the primary co concerns
ncerns of most naturalnam ral $2,500) , and GIS
$2.500), GIS software has been developed with end
resource
resou rce management organizacionso rganizations is (hethe COSt related [0 (Q users (e.g., field personnel) in mind, the trend is [Oward toward a
acquisi tion of high-resolution spatial
the acquisition spatial data. While GIS sysrem
system where, in larger organizacioorganizations,ns, data
dara develop-
initially relrelat ively high,
atively high , as new technologies and data mem
ment and maintenance
maimenance casks tasks are performed at a cemeal cemral
sources become available avai lable the cost and ava ilability of high-
availability office, and data clara analysis and map productionproductio n [asks
tasks are
resolu tion G IS databases might be as low as $0.03
resolution $ 0.03 per performed at remote rem ore field offices. In smallersma ller organiza-
acre. Anomer
Anorher issue of concern is the dara s[Qrage re'luire-
data scocage require- rions,
tions, the d distriburion
istribution of processes may be less clear. dear.
menrs.
ments. H High-resolution
igh- resoluti o n images can require massive mass ive because the [he distinction becween a central office and field
distincrion between
amounts of computer hard drive dtive space.
space. Although large offices may be blurred (or (o r non-existent).
hard drives (I (10000 GB and above) have become the norm, In some organizations.
o rganizatio ns, approved person personnel
nel who work
storage space can be filled quickly as images are ga<he gathered
red in the field perform th thee data maintenance tasks tasks.. Changes
C hanges
and stored digitally. GIS
to G IS databases can be made at the field office, sent elec-
Managed and integrated properly, high-resolution GIS tronically co [he the central
cemral office for verification and integra-
databases w will
ill help facilitate
facil itate the creation
crea tion and maintenance tion, and eventually passed back to field offices. In sys-
of databases (hat mat have tremendous potencial pmential for organiza-
o rganiza- tems such as these, only o nly one person can be mak making
ing
tions that manage large land areas. These GIS GIS databases changes at each point in time. time. As a result, daradata being
can be associated with metho methods ds marchar keep lanland cover
d cover edited is 'checked out' (like a library book) until umil [he edit-
the ed it-
currene, and allow yo
informacion current, youu [Q conduct
co co nduct remporai
tempo ral ing has been completed. The transfer of updated informa-
analysis of ofland
land cover co conditions.
nditio ns. Two of the challenges tion toro [he
the field offices would wo uld ideally be instantaneous,
[0 high- resolution
to usi ng high-reso lution GISGIS databases will be in deciding not. A delay of 15-30 minutes is required for
but it is not.
how often ro to acquire
acqui re new dara,data. and how (0 imegrare new
CO integrate centraljzed
centralized systems co to complete [heir the ir rasks.
tasks.
GIS databases with exisring
GIS existing GIS databases. These chal- The benefits of a distributed GIS GIS system are aimed at
lenges are markedly different differenr from those [hose experienced in enhancing local or o r field office productivity
productivi ty and decision-
the receor
recent pasr,
past, where mosr narural resource managemem
most natural management making. Two T wo of me the main benefits include a more timely
struggled due 10
organizations Struggled to a lack of data. Now, the response co to analysis and map productionproductio n needs of field
amounr of data
amount dara avaiJable
available to [0 an organizarion
o rganization can ca n become offices, and a decreased work load on a centralized GIS
overwhelming. The high resolution of these GIS databases (al lowing more time and effort to be devoted to GIS
office (allowing
w ill also help
will belp provide a morc: more accurale
accura te representation
represen ta don of database quality and maintenance). Within a distributed
natural resoresources,
urces, which has typ typically
ically been one of the GIS system.
GIS sys tem, dearer
clea rer channels of communication should shou ld
d rawbacks of using raSter
drawbacks raster GIS databases (Faust,
(Fa uS!, 1998).
1998) . exist, since generally speaking, (he the customers (rhose (those
requesting maps or analysis) and suppliers (those perform-
Distribution of GIS Capabilities ing the analysis oorr making maps) are in the same office (or (o r
to Field Offices perhaps are the same person). This fuce-to-fuce face-eo-face communi-
cation is often
o ften more effective
effecdve in meering
meecing rhethe goals of a map
There are a number of reasons why me the use of GIS has,
has. or analysis request than chan comm
communication
unication processes mat that rely
conrinues ro,
and cominues (0. spread from a cemraliz.ed
centralized organizational on e-mail or phone calls. ca lls. [n
In addition
addition,, field personnel
to field offices: more and more people are becoming
office to involved in GIS analysis and map productio productionn are likely (0 to
comfortable using GIS. colleges and universiries
universities arc:
are edu- feel as if rhey
they have a greate
gre-arerr investmenc
investment in [he(he GIS program.
program,
cadng
cating srudc:ms
students in the use and application
appli cation of GIS inin natu
nacu - responsibiliry for
and perhaps will develop a greater sense of responsibility
raj resources,
ral namral resource organ
reso urces, and natural o rganiizarions
za rions are rec- maintaining accurate
accurare GIS databases (Bettinger,
(Berringer, 1999)
1999)..
240
230 Part 3 Contemporary Issues in GIS
Given the ongoing technological {software and hard- The benefits of the system include reduced paper-related
ware} advancements related co GI S. and the proliferation processes {e.g., transfer of maps and data to a centralized
of GIS training, it is high ly likely that the distributed GIS office} , and an empowerment of people to adopt and use
model of capabilities wiH continue to grow, and become new technology at the field level. Users in field offices can
more prevalent than the centralized model. At some point, update GIS databases using heads-up digitizing, and sub-
the distributed model may replace the centralized model mit data and repons on progress in managing the state's
completely in many organizations. The challenge in man- forests. Future endeavors include extending the real-dme
aging this paradigm shift will be to ensure that organiza- capability to hand-held data recorders equipped with GPS
tional prococols and monitoring are in place to protect dis- technology to all ow an immediate data capture and
tributed users from using spatial data improperly. update to occur, which can increase the efficiency of map-
ping and reporting wildfires, water quality problems, and
Web-based Geographic insect and disease outbreaks. Although the intent of the
Information Systems system is to make administrative functions of state land
managers more efficient, as with the previous discussion,
The widespread use of Google Earth has suggested to there may arise some data quality issues related to
many that GIS can be both affordable and easy to use remotely-performed modifications of databases that are
across the Internee. Some organizations have recognized not consistent with organizational standards. Only time
the need to provide GIS data management services over will tell whether these advances will result in COSt- and
the Internet as a way [0 more rapidly update databases and time-savings and in increased productivity with no sub-
provide information to users in the field. Ideally, a natural stantial reduction in data quality.
resource organization would maintain a system where data
being updated by an employee in a field office can be Data Retrieval via the Internet
'checked our' over the Internet and managed (updated or
modified) . While the data is being modified remotely, As we discussed in chapter 3, the Internet is becoming a
other users would have the abilicy to view the data, but not common source for acquiring GIS databases, GIS meta-
simultaneously modify the data. Once the data has been data, and other information regarding the acquisition of
checked back in, orner users in the organization can then GIS databases. In fact, the current popularity and preva-
use the modified data. Overall, [his type of process has the lence of GIS can at least be parely attributed to the
potential for substantially reducing the time required to Internet. As public agencies began to produce and make
traditionally update GIS databases (see chapter 10). GIS databases available, customers who wanted the data
However, there may be some data qualicy issues related to were often required to pay for the storage medium (tape,
remotely-performed modifications of databases that are co, etc.) and for the time required to place the GIS data-
not consistent with organizational standards. base{s) on the medium . Since the media had to be mailed
As an example of a system such as this, the Virginia to the customer, this process also required a period of sev-
Department of Forestry has recently implemented the eral days (to weeks) before the user could actually use the
Integrated Forest Resource Information System (IFRJS). GIS databases. Presently, most public agencies offer their
Many organizations have developed their own Intranet. tion information) to the sophisticated {those that offer
These are private, networked computer environments graphical interfaces for access to data, software, or links
in which only members within me organization have to other organizational services}. Each of these services is
access. Imranets look and act like the Internet, and can provided through an internal (co the organization) web-
range in complexity from the vety simple (a set of fold- site. Inrraners are a method that can facilitate a disrrib-
ers or subdirectories containing data or other organiza- ured GIS system within an organization.
241
Chapter 15 Trends in GIS Technology 231
non-sensitive
non-sensidve GIS databases over the Imernet,
Internet, allowing
allowin g mon GIS
man GIS databases
darabases that
rhar can also be used to
ro visually check
GIS users the opportunity [0 quickly
to qu ickly acquire
acqu ire the data at measurements, as well
wel l as to faci
faciJir3re
li tate a uaverse
traverse of {he
rhe
no COSt. In cases where GIS
GIS databases are very large and landscape.
therefore nO(
nO{ practicaJ Imernet
practical for Imern et transfer (for
(for example, dara collectors
Hand-held data collecrors are moderately
moderarely expensive
as wi rh OOQs
with DOQs or orher
other high- resol urion raster
high-resolution rasrer imagery).
imagery) . ($1.000 to $5.000).. depending on the
ro $5,000) rhe quality of the
rhe
agencies
public age ncies may still require that co
consumers
nsumers pay for instrument and the functions they allow. POAs are less
data cransfer
transfer costs.
COSts. However,
However. data compression sofrware
software expensive (around $500).
$500) , and can be used as data
dara collec-
conrinues [0
technology condnues im prove, which reduces the
to improve. me need tors.
to rs, but they are generally less rugged and more prone to
for non-Inrernet
non-Internet transfers. Privare
Private organ
organizations
izatio ns that mar- damage from environmental facto factors (e .g.,, rain) and
rs (e.g.
ket
ker and sell
sel l GIS databases customers ro
darabases also allow cusromers to down- human error (e.g.,
(e.g.• dropping
droppin g the
rhe device). Some GISGIS con-
load the databases from the lnrernet.
Internet. In these cases,
cases) cus- sultants
sulranrs have developed sof1ware
software that
rhar will run on POAs.
PDAs.
[Omers usually need ro
tomers to be regisrered
registered w ith rhe priprivate
vate ArcPad (Environmemal
(Environmental Systems Research InstitU[c,
Inst itute, Inc.,
Inc. ,
organization because access roto the data is restricted. 2006) is perhaps the
rhe mosr widely known produce.
product. A
IiSl of accessories can also be purchased to make
growing list
Portable Devices to Capture, POAs more durable and useful in inclemen,
inclement weather and
Display, and Update GIS Data under
under other conditions.
conditions.
[n
I n rhe
the pasr
past decade the
rhe use of hand-held data
dara collectors
collecrors Standards for the Exchange of
digital
and personal di giral assistants
assisranrs (POAs) quite
(PDAs) has become quire GIS Databases
common for collecting
co llecti ng forest inventory
in ventory dara
data and other
attributes
anribures of
oflandsca
landscapepe fearures.
features. G
GPS
PS receivers,
rece ivers, in faCt, use The deve10pmenr
development and use of srandards
standards for exchanging
hand-held data
dara collectors ro allow you [0
collecro rs [0 ro capture
caprure the
rhe spa- GIS databases may seem like a trivial exerc
exercise
ise for govern-
attributes of
tial anributes landscape features.
oflandscape features.lntegradon
Inregration of the rwo
two mental
mcnral em ployees and university researchers, since meo-
employees theo-
philosophies, allowing you ro
philosophies. to collecr
collect spatial loeational
sparial locarional retically data ((ansferred
rerica1ly dara transferred among US fede
federal government
ral governmenr
infortflalion
info rmation aboullandscape
about landscape features and to coliect
collect anrib-
a([fib- oorganizations
rganizatio ns (for
(fo r example) must adhere to federal data
ute data, results in posirive
positive benefits to a natural
namral resource standards
sra (J1[[p:llwww.fgdc.gov/standards) . These sran-
ndards (hrrp:llwww.fgdc.gov/srandards) stan-
management organ iza tion. Traditionally,
organiz.ation. T radicionaHy. data collected
coUected data formars
dards specifY dara formats that
rhar are intended
inrended co facilitate
to facilirare
natural resource inventories wou ld be recorded in a
for narural the sharing of spatial data among organizations.
organizations. Many
field notebook or on a map, map. and would requ
require manual
ire man ual university
universiry researchers also urilize
utilize this
th is protocol (or
(o r some-
data enrry
dara entry inro
into a sp readsheet
spreadsh eer or GIS
GIS database
darabase (through
(rhrough thing very similar)
sim ilar) in some cases because they imeract interact
attributing
an ributing spatial
spatia l landscape fea(Ures).
features). This manual with federal granting agencies durin duringg the course of
process is time consuming and presents several
severaJ opportuni-
opporcuni- research. However, most private namral natural resource manage-
ties for human error coto be introduced
incroduced into a GIS
GIS database. menr
ment organizations are not no t bound by these daca data stan-
The integration of digital technologies allows information
info rm ation dards. Thus acquacquisition
isition and modification of GIS data-
to be recorded in a computer database while a person is in bases by private natural natura l resource managementmanagemenr
the da,a collecrors
rhe field. Hand-held dara PDAs are able co
collectors and POAs to orga nizations
organ undocumented; transformations
izations proceeds undocumenced:
conneCt to wired or wireless computer systems, allowing and re-projections regularly occur CO to allow an integration
,he dara co
rhe data to be rransferred
transferred to GI . This greatly
ro GIS. expedites
grearly exped ires of the
rhe acquired GIS databases
darabases into
inro rhe organization's
organizarion's sys-
the rransfer
rhe transfer of field-collected data to
field-collecred dara GIS database
ro a GIS darabase where tem, since the rype form at of data exchanged can vary
type and format
the da,a can be analyzed and mapped. Th
rhe dara is process also
This considerably (Figure 15.3) . Moving co to a standard data
srandard dara
me
removes some of the error opportunities
op portunities char
that might occur excha nge formac
exchange fo rmat usually suggescs
suggests that
thac oone
ne of cwo
twO organi-
organ i-
through ,he
rhe manual coding and inpu
inputting
tting of data. Da,a
clara. Dara zational policies will be used: (1)
zational ( I) organizarions
organiza tions coconven
nvert all
coHeetors
collectors also offer th e abil iry
offer users the ro examine maps and
ity to of [he
the GIS darabases
databases curren dy in use to
currently [Q a srandard
standard format.
format,
images of
oflandscape
landscape features
fearures as they
rhey are being measu
measured.
red. thus
rhus avoiding rhe the need to conven
convert GIS GIS databases when
Field personnel
person nel can use this heads-up display
d isplay to
ro visually data exchange processes occur, or or (2) organizations
organizarions con-
determine whether their measurements are in agreement vert GIS databases ro to a standard exchange format only on ly
with the landscape
landsca pe features beibeing measu red. Digital
ng measured. data exchange processes occur.
when dara occur. There is a cost asso-
onhophotoquads o r digital raster graphics
orthophotoquads or graph ics are two com- ciated with both policies, and it i, is a function of how often
242
232 Part 3 Contemporary Issues in GIS
,, ,
I \
I I
Siale
organizations
I I
'4
"
\
\
. \
\ \
-- ....
,
....
"
I I
\ \
\ \ I
' \
\ \ I
" \ \
I "I \ \
I I \ \
Universities
Forestry
,, companies consultants ,
I \
I I
I I
-- - , , ,,
I
\
, ,
an organizacion perceives th at it might exchange data particularly those (hat are used by the most common GIS
with orner organizacions. If an o rganization positions irs software programs.
internal data standard closely to that of the data exchange
standard, the cost w ill be minimized when acqu iring GIS Legal Issues Related to GIS
databases from. or sharing GIS databases with. federal
agencies. If an organization does not plan (Q acquire GIS Legal issues confront (he GIS commu nity on several fronts
databases from, or share them with, federal agencies. including issues related to privacy. liability. accessibility,
the cost of deviating from the federal standard may be and licensing. Some of these issues are relatively new,
minimal. while others have been associated with GIS since its incep-
Even if a natural reso urce management organization tion . In either case, the issues will continue to evolve as
avo ids imp lementing a data exchange standard a few GIS sofrware becomes more widely used. Licensing and
co mmon data excha nge formats are used by other organ- certification of GIS professionals is an issue of cur rene
izations. For example. it is not uncommon for public concern to many GIS users and other professionals, and
agencies to make GIS databases available in both ArcInfo will be discussed in more detail in chapter 17. Therefore
export file format (eOO) and ArcView shapefile format. issues related to privacy. liability. and accessibility are pre-
Among com purer-assisted design (CAD) software pro- sented here.
grams, the DXF (drawing exchange format) format is GIS data is being co llected at an ever-increasing pace,
commonly used to exchange files. Most GIS software and used in novel ways as people begin to understand the
manufacturers recognize that users will need to accommo- power of connecting information to spatial position. For
date data formats designed by other software vendors . For example. some o rganizations now rely on the ability co
this reason, it is not unusual for a GIS software program relate data abom purchasing decisions with demographic
[Q make ava ilable conversion and integration processes and location information (Cla rke. 2001). This informa-
that make it possible [Q view other GIS database formats. tion is used by businesses to direct mass mailings, CO sug-
243
Chapter 15 Trends in GIS Technology 233
245
Chapter 15 Trends in GIS Technology 235
Summary
GIS technology is evolving almost as quickly as general has c reated an efficient avenue [Q make GIS databases
co mputer systems (hardware and software) evolve. People available in a timely manner. These developmems have
are thinking about natural resource managemem issues in had a posicive effect on the acceptance and use of C IS. and
ways unimagined juSt a few yea rs ago, and spatial data is encourage furthe r G IS technology development. As G IS
facilitating these effons. Natu ral resource management technology and use evolves. however, other issues (p ri-
o rganizations are actively engaged in testin g and imple- vacy . access ibil ity. li ab ility. etc.) arise that mu st be
menting new [Ools for collecting and analyzing spatia l addressed. These issues may require a close exam ination
data. Organizations are also making GIS technology avail- of policies and practices related to the use of GIS in naru-
able to a large portion ohheir workforce. and meInternet ral resou rce managemenr.
Applications
14.1 Local regulations regarding GIS distribution. 14.4 Precision forestry and agriculture. You work for
Select an agency in yo ur area (state. province. city , the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in central
coumy, townsh ip, etc .) tha t uses and m ighr distribute GIS Colorado, and your supervisor, Mark Miller, has recently
databases. learned of precision forestry and agriculture. He has asked
a) What types of GIS databases are publicly available? yo u how precision techniques might benefit the manage-
b) Are the GIS databases available for down load over menr of BLM land in Colorado. Write a brief memo that
the Imerner? out lines the GIS databases, hardware , and sofrware related
c) What data exchange form ats are availa ble? to precision techniques. and how rhey might benefit the
d) Is <here a COSt related to acquiring the G IS databases? management of BLM land in Colorado.
e) Are there specific laws that relate to GIS database
distribution , and how do they affect your abi li ty (Q 14.5 Distributed GIS. A timber company in the south-
acqu ire GIS data from rhis age ncy? eastern United States has JUSt hired you as a field forester.
You are eager to use the GIS skills you have learned in col-
14.2 Product liability (1) . Yo u work fo r a private lege to help yo urself (and others) make informed forest
organizat ion that makes GIS databases available to cus- managemenr decisions. The timber company has a cen-
tome rs. How might you help prQ[ec( your organization rraIized GIS deparrmem and five remote field offices and
from liab il ity that could arise from CUS(Qmers that pur- they are in the midst of developing a system whereby per-
chase yo ur serv ices and products? sonnel (foresters, biologists, hydrologists, etc.) in field
offices (where you are located) can use desktop G IS soft-
14.3 Product liability (2). You work for a public ware to make their own maps and pe rform their own
agency that makes spatia l data available to customers. analyses. What can you do to ensure that the dist ribution
How might you help protect your organization from lia- of respons ibilities (map development and analysis) to
bility thar could arise from customers that use you r serv- your field office will be successful?
ices and products?
References
Beardslee, D.E. (2002). Do it! Or, call them before they Bettinger, P., & Wing, M.G. (2004). Geographic infor-
call you. Proftssional Surveyor, 22(2), 20. mation sysums: Appfications in forestry and natural
Bettinger, P. (I999). Distributing GIS capabil ities to resources management. New York: McGraw-Hill, Inc.
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Korte, .).. Santa Fe.
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247
Chapter 16
resource management. Public organizations. such as rhe the ciated with updating
updati ng and managing the state-level GIS
USDA Forest Service and the USDI Bureau of Land databases.
Management. provide a wide variety of GIS databases ro to There are also a number of cases where priva private
te natural
rhe
the public at no COSt; as we discussed in chapter 33.. many
ma ny resou rce organ
resource organizations
iza tio ns actua lly have shared data with one
actually
rhese databases can be accessed over rhe lorefncr.
of these Inrerner. another
another.. For example.
example, a number of watershed analyses
namral
State-level natu ral resource management orga.nizarions
organizations were conducted in Washington State in the late 1990s. In
generally provide a more narrow range of GI GI S databases performing a watershed analysis, analys is. one of the major
to the public, if they provide any at all. State-level GIS landowners in the watershed genera generallllyy coo rdinates
rdi nates the
dacabase clearinghouses.
database clearinghouses, on the ocher
other hand.
hand . generally comp
compiillation
ation of the GIS G IS databases associated with w ith the
provide a wide vari
variety GI S databases (DEMs,
ery of GIS (O EMs, digital wate
watershed. lan downers interested in helping
rshed. All other landowners
orthophotographs, land cover, etc.) to the public at no
orthophorogrdphs, contribute GIS data-
develop the watershed analysis can comribure
(orr low) cose.
(o cosc, Private natural
namral resource management
manage ment ' lead' organization. Mo
bases to this 'lead' More
re than likely, the
organizations general ly [rear
o rganizations generally their GIS
trear their GIS databases as propri- amo unt of GIS data shared amongst different
amount d ifferent private
etary-that they are not freely ava ilable [Q
erary-that is, rhey to rhe
the general oorganizations
rganizations will be limited to a level that
th at is suffic ient to
sufficienr
public (anyone outside of the organization) . W hile the
While rhe analysis. For example,
complete [he example. the spatial extent
exrent of
original source of the data
dara for many of the private
privare organ- tthe
he GIS databases shared will likely be limited to the
ization databases may have been a public organiza-
izatio n GIS darabases boundaty of the watershed being analyzed, and the attrib-
boundary
the private investmenc
tion, once me investment has been made in main- ute data associa ted wit
withh landscape featu res may be
taining and updating (h thee data, concern arises
ari ses about
abom how reduced to a small subset of rhe
the roral
rotal set of attributes prior
the cost
me cOSt can be recouped
recouped., and whether competirors
competitors may data. In addition, it is likely that the projec-
to sharing the data.
gain insight into the management
man agement practices being used tion
[ion and coordinate systems for each shared GIS database
(e.g
(e.g.,.. management COSts. productive capaciry),
managemem COStS, capacity), thus gain-
gain - will need to be changed to conform
co nform to the system
sYStem used by
ing a competitive edge in the marketplace. Although the lead organization.
organizarion.
some may argue that organiz.arions,
organizations, public and private.
private, An example of multiple public organizations
o rganizations joining
dara so that more informed decisions can be
should share data tOgether to creare
together ro spatial database is the
create a significant spadal
made for a landscape, the goals and objectives of each Puget Sound LiDAR consortium (PSLC,
(PS LC, 2007). The PSLC
oorganization
rgan ization wi ll guide ,he develo p ment of policies
the development polic ies formed
fo rmed in 1999 and now includes metropolitan,
metropol itan, aca-
to data
related ro da ra sharing. couney, state, and federal o rganizat
demic, county, ions. The
rganizations.
As a resu lt, many private natural resource oorganiza-
result, rganiza- group's original goal was to use LiDAR to develop public
tions do nor
nO( sha
share with [hose
re GIS databases wim those outside of domain high-resolution topographic data initially for sig-
organizarion , unless they can place a value on doing
rheir organizadon, nificant parts Washin gtOn. More recenrly
pans of WashingtOn. recendy,, public
so. There are a number of cases, for example,
example. of private organizarions withi
organizations withinn O
Oregon PSLC.
regon have also joined the PSLC,
organizarions sharing GIS databases through coope
organizations cooperarive
rative and large portions of land in Oregon are also included in
ofland
planning andan d management efforts.
effons. For example.
example, in Funding
data acquisition plans. Fund ing has come from the oper-
Washington State, the Depart ment of
Depanment Natural Resources
ofNarural ating budgets of group members and also from grants that
(WADNR)
(WADN R) has taken an ownership role in the develop- membe
members rs have received co
ro suppOrt landscape hazard mit-
severn I stare-level
ment of several state-level databases: roads, Streams,
streams, and efForrs. This unique collaborative
igation efforts. effort w ill resulr
collabo rative effon result
the public land survey to name a few. The WADNR has forr most
in LiDAR data being available fo population
moSt of the po pulatio n
whereby
developed protocols whe reby both public and private nat- centers in Washington and Oregon , and surrounding
lIral resource organizations can share their GIS data with
ural lands. The joint efforts
efforrs of these organizations have
rh
thee WADNR in an effort
effo rt to
[Q improve rhe state-level GIS
im prove [he undoubtedly resuhed
resulted in significant cosr
COSt savings for LiDAR
Whilee rhe
databases. Whil the process is open for contributions
cont ri butions of data, particularly in light
ligh' of the fragmented ownership
information and knowledge from those more directly
mo re di recdy tied patterns represented by all groups. Aerial data acquisition
management
to the man agemenr of particular areas of land ., irit comains
cOlHains is more efficient
efFicienr when cont
continuous
inuou s swaths of land can be
ofland
Fairly rigid guidelines for contributors.
fairly co nrributors. The GIS
GI databases im aged rather than disjoinred sections,
imaged sections. which reqUire
shared
sha red with the WADNR, for example. must have been add itional
addit ional fli ght lines.
fl ight
249
Chapter 16 Institutional Challenges and Opportunities Related to GIS 239
Sharing GIS Databases within a maintenance, d istribution, and d ata quality may be
shared. Defining the ap propriate roles for each pe rson in
Natural Resource Organization
an organ ization can result in a difficult negotiation
The issues of GIS database ownership, ma intenance, di s- process, part icularl y whe n the roles are considered for
tribution, and data quality within an o rga nization a re change.
problematic, and partly a result of how a GIS database Establishing a process fo r sha ring GIS databases at all
developme nt and disuihurion sys tem may have been levels within an orga nization is becoming more impor-
designed. For exa mple, a road engineer may be the most tant as both field personnel and upper-level managers are
appropriate person (0 own and maimain a culverr GIS becoming interested in using GIS technology. Data shar-
database, and a wildlife biologist may be most appropriate ing can be as simple as routing a com purer d isk from per-
person to own and maintain a GIS database related to so n-to- person or office-to-office, or as sophisticated as
locations of threatened or endangered species. However, placing all GIS databases o n an organization's Internet (or
the readiness of each person to perform these tasks within Intranet) site or FTPserver. In the laner cases, the ab ili cy
GIS, and the time they have ava ilable to do so may be to access the Interne t sites and FTPservers may be limited
limited. Therefore ass igning the ownership, maintenance, to authorized person nel.
and mher tasks to either a GIS technician, GIS manage r, Technology and processes for sha ring GIS data are
or a GIS contracto r or consuhant may be more logical. advan cing, however, leading to the potential for two-way
More than likely, GIS databases will be shared at some transac tions of data within a nam raJ resou rce organiza-
stage to facilitate GIS database management, as a verifica- tion and nearly real-rime updates of the informa tion. For
cion step in the maintenance stages of GIS database man- example, some organizations allow field ma nagers [Q
agement, or [Q facilitate namral resource managemem update GIS data directly in the corporate databases, a ro le
(after the GIS databases have been updated). If you were tradirionally held by a centralized office. These updates
co assume that a namral resource managemem organiza- are sent electronically m the centralized office, and after
don was structured in a tradidonal manner, with a cemral data ve rification and consistency filrers have been ap plied,
office and a set of field offices, the GIS da tabase sharing redi rected to other field offices. In an efficient system, the
process should be viewed as more than a o ne-way transac- othe r field offices can acquire these updaces in a matter of
tion between a cemralized GIS departmem and everyone minutes. The importance of using up-m-dare informa-
else (Figure 16. 1), because the roles related to ownership, cion is perhaps most imponant when dealing with rime-
Role: Rotes :
Use, OwnerShip
Field office 1 Field office 1 Maintenance
Quality
User
Updates needed Updated Upd ated Distributed
for database as,
datab database database
Roles : Roles:
Ownership Coordination
Centralized Centralized
Maintenance Distribution
GIS office GIS office
Distribution
Ouality
Figun: 16. 1 Example pathWll}'S of actions when sharing data within an orga.niu tion. for (a) a
typ ical forest v~getation (stands) GIS database and (b) a road culvert G IS database.
250
240 Part 3 Contemporary Issues in GIS
The following story indicates nor only rhe motivation tion that shou ld have been incorporated imo the cor-
of field office personnel !O use GIS [<chnology, but also porate GIS databases. As the d iscussion grew related to
a residua l negative effeer of the abi lity !O share GIS sharing the modified corpo rate GIS databases wir h the
databases with in an organization. co rporate office, it was determ ined that th ere were
One natural resource managernem organization the over 1,000 variations of the corporate GIS databases
authors were famil iar with had a central office where stored across the organization's computer systems.
30- 40 'corporate' GIS databases were ma inta ined: Each GIS database required Storage space on hard drive
roads, streams, timbe r scancis, and others. T he organ i- and it was likely that hu ndreds of megabytes of space
zation had a distributed system. where GIS users in we re dedicated for th is effort. I n some cases, field per-
field offices could access a server and download (copy) sonnel believed that their modified version of the cor-
rhe GIS darabases !O their field office computers. Field porate GIS database was of higher qual ity than other
foreSters, biologiSts, and hydrologisrs subsequently did user's versions (eve n better than the corporate version
juSt rhat-r hey copied rhe GIS databases !O rheir per- of the GIS darabase) . As expected, a nu mber of d iscus-
sonal computers and used [hem fo r a va riety of pur- sions regarding the quality of these mod ified GIS dara-
poses related ro rhe management of rhe land. water, bases arose, and the process of changing the GIS dara-
wildlife. and recreation resources. Some of these GIS base maintenance policy for the co rporate databases
da rabases were even updated with pen inenr informa- was begun.
sensitive decisions. such as those related [0 wildfire con- Where GIS databases are concerned
trol and suppression. With GIS capabilities now available • Clarify GIS database ownership and mall1tenance
in hand-held computers, manage rs in the field can make Issues .
more timely and informed decisions when necessary. • Ou tl ine data acquisition protocols.
Develop data distribution systems.
Distribution of GIS Capabilities • Develop quality control measures.
to Field Offices
Where the technology is concerned
With rhe development of desktop GIS software the ability • Facilitate the acquisition of appropriate hardware and
of every employee in an organization to use GIS is now software.
possible. Bettinger (I 999) has noted that the dep loyment • Control the purchase, update. and maintenance of
of software and GIS databases to field offices is a signifi- software.
cant challenge, and, as nmed in chapter 1S. that is a trend
that will likely continue. Some of the challenges to naru- Where the leadership of the organization is concerned
ral resource management organizations interested in • Demonstrate st rong suppOrt for the program.
imp lemenring a distributed GIS system, as noted by • Make a long-term budgetary commitment to the
Bettinger (I 999) incl ude: program.
• Adjust reward systems for added responsibilities of
Wh ere people are concerned field managers.
• Provide the approp riate training to reduce computer- • Document the direction and strategic goals for the
related anxiety. system.
• Provide a statemem of purpose behind imp lementi ng
a distributed system. Most young profess ionals in natural resource manage-
• Implement methods to reduce the resistance to mem o rganizations will likely be called upon to provide
change. assistance in the development of maps and GIS databases
• Provide mmivation ro use the system . to facilitate the day-to-day management of a landscape.
251
Inst~utional Challenges and Opportunrties
Chapter 16 Instrtutiooal Opportun~les Related to GIS 241
Thls
This is a relatively new job expectation (hat that may not ordi- bases could be storedseo red in a searchable database or it might
narily be placed on [he more seasoned foresters and natu- ca[alogued in a less formalized manner. Regardless of
be catalogued
ral resource professionals. At the onset of a program such how ffiis informadon is g:nhered
this information gathered. and stored,stored. personnel in
as [his,
this. you should acknowledge [hac that it
i[ adds responsibil- an organization who use GIS G IS should be able co to easily iden-
ity [0 the field
to [he Reid manager for the development of his or her
fo r [he tifY and loca[e
[ify locate exiseing
existing GIS da tabases [hac
databases that might facilita[e
lacilitate
own management-related
man agement-related maps. Tasks tradicionally
traditionally per- the tasks
[he that [heir
rasks [hac their jobs require.
formed. by specialists
formed specialises in a cemralized
centralized office will be trans- Meradara, or information
Metadata, informadon documenting
documeming [he the specifica-
ferred [0 to field
Reid offices.
offices. This [ransfer
transfer of responsibili ty could
respons ibility [ions
tions and quality oflandscape feacures features in a GIS database.
database,
lead [0to anxiety on [he the parr
part of field managers,
managers. however [he the have become an important aspect of GIS databases in the
main advantage of the program is in reducing {he the amount pase decade (Dobson & Durfee.
past Durfee, 1999). In order co de[er-
to derer-
of time
rime required [0 to produce [he the produces
products (maps and mine the fitness of a GIS database for a particular use, use. the
analyses) needed (Q CO make managemem
management decisions. Once metadata
me[ada[a related co me GIS database should be consid-
to the
field personnel are sufficiently trained and become confi-
sufficiendy rrained particular. when a GIS database is acquired from
ered. In panicular,
dent in their abilities. time savings across {he the organizacion
organization anomer organization,
another organization. me the me[ada[a
metadata should be relied upon
should be realized. co verify [hac
to verifY that [he condition of [he
the condirion the GIS database is what
Perhaps one of [he (he most impona.nr
important conuibutions
contributions was expected when acquired. acqui red. In many instances,instances. however,
young professionals can make is [Q peninem ques-
ro ask pertinent Iirde mecadata
little metadata exises
ex ists to describe the qualities of GIS GIS data-
dons
tions about the organiz.arion
organization within which they [hey work: bases. The twO [wo hypothetical foresrs forests used extensively in
What role do I play in each process [hac thar involves GIS this book are prime examples. examp les. In faCt,lact. more often than
databases?
databases? How are 3.f e [he GIS databases created or acquired?
the GIS not you may find [hac that G GISIS databases developed or main-
Who claims ownership over
ovec the maintenance and disui-
disrri p
tained by non-federal organizations lack.
[ained lack, or have insuffi-
bu[ion of each GIS
bution GIS database? What [echnology
technology (hardware) cient, mecad:Ha.
cient. metadata . Thus, natural resource professionals musr
Thus. nacural must
is available to display [he
avai lable [0 the results
resul" of an analysis? What be careful when basing decisions on GIS databases where
technology (software) is available [0
[echnology to perform an analysis? the level of qualiry is uncertain.
uncenain.
How and when does the rhe organization value GIS
GIS analysis For organ izarions that are involved in producing
organizations produci ng and
in supporcing management decisions? By asking these distributing GIS databases [0 to orner
other namral
natural resource man-
questions, yoyouu indicate your willingness [0 to understand agement organizations, guidelines or protocols should be
implemenred within
how GIS has been implemented with in an organ izarion,
organization. in place that address all aspects aspecrs related to the distribution
disrriburion
that you understand [hac
and imply [hac that GIS is a valuable [001
(001 of the GIS databases. WithoUt guidelines.
Without guidel organizarions
ines. organizations
narural resource
in natural reso urce management. are likely ro to be working with an inefficient inef-hciem distribution
syseem , and may be prone co
system, to liability
liab ility problems.
Technical and Institutional Guidelines should include a pricing Structure struccure for all avail-
Challenges ab le GIS databases;
databasesi (his chis structure will need [0 reAecr [he
to reflect the
oorganization's
rganization's views on cost COSt recovery. In me the case of pub-
One of the most expensive and time-consuming aspects lie
lic o rganizations, {here
organizations. there may be no need or desire to co
to using GIS is the effon
related [0 that is required to creatc
effore (hat create recover more than than me the delivery costscosts.. Some public organ-
a GIS database.
darabase. Dupl
Duplicating
icating previous data co llection
collection izations, however. do utilize contractors
izarions. conuacmrs m to collecr
collect and
efrorts crearion of a GIS database should always be
rhe creation
effores in [he databases. and may need co
develop GIS darabases, to recoup some of
avoided. thus a lack of awareness of existing GIS databases
avoided, the coses
COSts of doing so. For most private natural resource
is a serious challenge
chaJlenge [0 confrom.. To prevem
to confront prevent duplica ting
duplicating managemem orga
management niza tions.
organizat rhe pric
ions, the pricing ing srrucrure
struccure willw ill
GIS datab.se
database development efrons.
efforts, GIS
GIS users within an likely need co reflect [he
to [eflecr the actual COstS of collecting [he
accual coses the dara.
data.
organization should be made aware of [he the types of GIS O rganizations [hat
Organizations that distribUte
distribute GIS databases will also need
databases that (hethe organization can easily
eas il y access. This co
to develop a comp comprehensive
rehensive liability policy [0 to pro[ecr
protect
might include GISGIS database produces
products [hac
that we re developed themselves from li[iga[ion.
t11emselves litigation. A liability policy will likely
imernaJly within an oorganizadon.
internally rganization, GIS databases devel- need co to be [ailored
tailored [0 to each particular GIS database because
oped by GIS contractors or land surveyors,
surveyors. or GIS data- [he conrent,
the content. accuracy. and uses of databases will vary. A
bases that are availab le through agreements or relation-
available method of providing GIS GIS darabases (Q to cuStomers will also
wiTh other nacural
ships with natural resource managemem
management need [0 [Q be identified. As discussed in chap[er chapter 15 IS,, organ
organi-i-
organizarions. Information regarding available
organizations. avai lable GIS data- zacions [hac
zations that provide GIS data [0 to [he
the publ
public ic should make
252
242 Part 3 Contemporary Issues in GIS
GIS databases avai lable in an expedient manner and use exce pt in cases where records are protected from disclo-
cu rrent Internet technologies such as creating new weh- sure. These requestS can also be made for spatial databases
sites chat allow users (0 browse darabase offerings and [hat were produced by federal agencies. In so me cases,
download both data and metadata. In addition. file trans- spatial databases may comain information that the agency
fer protocol (FrP) can be used to make data available. but considers to be sensicive or potenrially damaging (Q the
this data-sharing system is less user-friendly. resources it manages. One example of sensitive informa-
For organizations that are nor involved in producing tion might be spatial records of vandalism that occur in
and developing GIS databases for other namrai resource public recreation areas. Evidence of high vandalism
management organizations. the high COSt assoc iated with occurrence might deter visitors from staying in affected
crearing GIS databases can result in a reluctance [0 share a reas, and potemialiy reduce revenue that is gathered
databases with other organizations. For example. certain from day-use permits. In addition, there may be hesita-
GIS databases may contai n sensitive information. an d tion to draw additional arremion to 'hot-spotS' of crimi-
might reveal the location of landscape features (such as nal activiry in case the arrenrion may encourage others to
endange red species nesting locations or a rcheological visit these locations our of curiosiry or to cause additional
sites) that might be disturbed or destroyed should the vandalism. Other hesitations may involve the presence of
locations become public information. Two examples of unusual features, such as special habitat areas, or archeo-
these GIS databases include the location of endangered logical sites, and the potencial damage that too many vis-
species nest sites, and the locacion of genetically-modified imrs may bring to these areas. For various reasons, federal
[fee field trials. The GIS databases may also comain infor- agenc ies may not openly advertise the types of spatial
mation about the status oflandscape resources that would databases that they have produced. A primary hesitation
be of value to another organization with which it com- to do so is likely because of the uncertainty of what will
petes, providing the other organization an advantage in happe n with the information within the databases should
the market place. This is clearly importam tOday as the rhey become widely circulated.
number of land sales has skyrocketed. and potential (a nd Understanding that there are factors that may hinder
perhaps hostile) investors desire complete information an organization's willingness to share a GIS database is
regarding a land asset. important prior m requesti ng the database. For data of a
A reluctance on the part of federal public organiza- sensitive nature, it may be possible to enter into a confi-
tions in the US to share or publicize data holdings is that dentiality agreement to gain access (Q the GIS database.
all federal agencies are subject to the Freedom of Ultimately, it may be necessa ry (Q pay a large sum of
Information Act (FOIA). FOIA was signed into law in money ($5.000 to 10.000) for a GIS database. and for
1966 and later ame nded in 2002. FOIA makes it possible some organizations, it may be difficult m locate the neces-
for individuals (Q request access to federal agency records, sary budget resources appropriate for this type of purchase.
To facilitate a recem landscape analysis research proj- agreement, access to the GIS database was limited to
ect, a private natural resource managemem organiza- the primary scientists of the research project, the sha r-
tion agreed to provide a highly detailed GIS database ing of the GIS database with others was prohibited.
that desc ribed the management units within their and protocols for distribming information drawn from
ownership boundaries. The GIS database had been the GIS database were outlined. Without the confiden-
assembled at great COSt and effort, and revealed consid- tiality agreement, which facilitated the sharing of the
erable information abom the natural resources that the GIS database, knowledge of [he status of resources
private organization managed. The private organiza- located within the private natural resource manage-
tion required that a confidentiality ag reem ent be ment organization 's ownership would likely have been
signed prior to making the GIS database available (Q less accurate, reduci ng the confidence placed on the
the resea rch project. As noted in the confidemialicy landscape analysis results.
253
Chapter 16 Instrtutional Challenges and Opportunities Related to GIS 243
Benefits of Implementing a fumiliar with GIS technology than the actual GIS users.
For this reason, GIS users should communicate their sup-
GIS Program
porr of GIS in terms that are comp rehensible to the
The decision to implement a GIS program (the entire upper-level managers and help th em understand that
suite of hardware, software, and personnel related CO the when technical difficulties do arise, program implemenra-
use of GIS within an organization) can be intimidating for cion plans must be adjusted. Upper-level managers, in
natural resou rce management organizations. There are turn, should promote the G IS program as a way of mak-
many factors to consider, including investments in soft- ing more efficient the tasks required of natural resource
ware, hardware, personnel, a nd CIS databases. Since nat- management.
ural resource management organizations cypically rely on Organizations must also be realistic about the time,
maps or mapped data to assist in making decisions, GIS effort, and budgetary resources that individual GIS proj-
ca n allow an efficiem storage of maps, and can fac ilitate ects or analyses wi ll require. Proper planning requ ires that
the generation of multiple versions of maps in a timely project objectives be clearly defined. Objectives provide a
manner. In addition, GIS allows landscape features to be project mission a nd ca n help keep personnel focused,
measured, analyzed, and integrated with other GIS data- should setbacks occu r. Project objectives a re also impor-
bases in an expedient manner. New technology has pro- tant for establishing standards that allow you to gauge the
vided [he pQ[entiai to convey information [Q field man- success of a GIS project or analys is. Achievement bench-
agers very quickly. These capabilities, if managed marks are also critical in justifying the continued and
properly, can allow natural resource management organi- expanded use of GIS within an organization. Allowing
zat ions to make bener management decisions, more accu- users of GIS to become involved in the planning and
rately gauge the effore and cost of potencial namral implementation of GIS projects is also importanr, since
resource managemem projec(S, and increase the efficiency they may be among the best qualified to assess whether
of tasks performed by their employees. GIS can accomplish the approp riate project tasks, which
may lead to an improved level of efficiency in the man-
Successful GIS Implementation agemenr of natural resources.
Finally, GIS user training is an importanr co nsidera-
Saving money, reducing the amo unt of time spenr in the tion for the success of a GIS program within a natural
office analyzing options. and thus saving resources for resource managemenr organization. Most recenr college
Q[her [aSks and management activities are common goals graduates from natural resource programs will likely have
of namral resource managers. Distributing GIS capabili- a rudimenrary knowledge of how GIS can ass ist in natural
ties to field offices has been suggested as one way to resou rce management, but will likely lack the level of
address some of these issues. Successfully implememing experience you gain from using GIS periodically for
and managing a GIS program can be difficult, as the costs actual, on-the-ground, management purposes. To acceler-
of implementation and ma nagement vary from one ate the development of personnel, organizations can pro-
organization to the next. Perhaps the strongest ingredient vide GIS training inrernaIly, or can allow personnel to
for success in implementing a GIS program is in esrablish- auend cominuing education courses or pursue other
ing an organizational commitmenr within the upper lev- training opportunities. Geospatiai training courses and
els of managemenr of an organization . This commitmenr opportunities appear to be increasing within natural
needs to view the GIS program as more than JUSt a short- resource disciplines (Wing & Sessions, 2007). This
term experimenr that can be discarded after early, d isap- investment in conti nuing education increases the knowl -
poinring results, since initial GIS products and experi- edge level of personnel an d demonstrates an organiza-
ences are likely to identify implementation problems. tion 's commitment to its personnel, which hopefully
Unfortunately, upper-level managers tend to be less leads to increases in work efficiency and productiviry.
Summary
What would the management of natural resources be new computer-related measurement technology and
like without a few challenges? With the imroduction of accompanying GIS databases, natural resource manage-
254
244 Part 3 Contemporary Issues in GIS
menr o rganizat ions are facing numerous c hallen ges come, eve n as new and va ried issues arise. As we have
related to GIS data manageme nt. Given that GIS-related noted, many of [he challenges facing the use of GIS
technology continues (Q evo lve to meet (he increasing within natural resource manage ment organizations are
needs of society. an optimistic person might expect that related to GIS databases, technology, people, and organi-
the challenges described in this chapter can be over- zational issues .
Applications
16.1 Sharing GIS databases with people outside your resource management organization has developed a GIS
organization. What issues sho uld a natural resou rce database that may conta in in fo rmation that could assist
manage me nt o rga nization address when cons idering you in some part of your job. Under w hat conditi ons
making G IS databases ava ilable to other organizations. should you expect you r co lleague to provide you access to
including perhaps competitors? the GIS database?
16.2 Managing GIS technology. A seaso ned profes- 16.4 Distributed GIS program. You work for a large
sional (Mary Swarthmore) who manages ano ther depart- integrated forest products co mpany th at has a ce ntral
ment (Acco unting) in yo ur natural resource o rga nization office and five district offices. The company has been
is considering a career cha nge. This change will result in attempting to shift GIS capabil ities to the field offices by
Mary managing your organization's GIS department. pu rchas in g the appropriate hardware and software
Mary has never managed a GIS department before, nor reso urces. and insist in g that field perso nnel (foresters.
been involved in the creation. acq uisition. o r use of GIS biologists. managers. and others) use it to make maps
databases. She has approached you fo r some advice associated with their management activities. Afte r twO
regarding the to ugh issues G IS managers face when con- years, only one of the five offices has successfully imple-
cerned abom successful implementadon of a GIS pro- mented the program.
gram. What might yo u advise Mary? a) Why do yo u th ink the o ther four offices have been
less than successfu l?
16.3 Sharing GIS databases within an organization. b) Why might the o ne office have been successfu l?
You've heard that a colleague in anothe r private natural
References
Bettinger, P. (I999). Distributing GIS capabi lities to Puger Sound LiDAR Consortium (PSLC). (2007). Puget
fo restry field offices: Benefits and challenges. journal Sound Lidar Consortium: Public-domain high-resolution
ofFomtry, 97(6), 22-6. topography for Western Washingron. Retrieved April 23,
Dobson, J.E., & Durfee, R.C. (I 998). A quarter century 2007, from http://pugetsoundlidar.ess.washington.
of GIS at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. In T.W. edu/ index.htm.
Foresman (Ed.), The history ofgeographic information Wing, M.G., & Bettinger, P. (2003). GIS: An updated
systems: Perspectives from the pioneers (pp. 231-63). prime r on a powerful management roo l. jou rnal of
Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall. Forestry, 101(4),4-8.
Natoli, J.G ., Pelgrin, W.H., Oswald, B. , & Montie, K. Wing, M.G., & Sessions, J. (2007). Geospatial technol-
(200 1). Geographic Information Systems: The wave ogy education. journal ofForestry 105(4), 173-8.
of the fmure for information analysis. Public Works,
May, 22-9.
255
Chapter 17
Besides the current course that you are taking (that fishe ri es, wildlife, oceanography, forestry , soi ls,
hopefully uses this book), what other GIS courses rangeland resources, and others. More than likely,
does yo ur uni versity, college, or community coll ege GIS courses offered in departments other than geogra-
offer? Although there are many educational instim- phy will provide a different perspective on wha t is
tions that offer coursework or curricu lum related to important (Q smdents pursu in g namral resource
GIS, these programs can look quite different from one degrees. If a university or college does not offer
instimtion to [he next. At most educacional instim- courses related co GIS, students can still learn about
[io ns, for exam ple, GIS courses are located within the the capabilities of GIS through Internet courses, self-
geogra phy department. H owever, special ized GIS study of GIS texts, and volunteer wotk wit h local
cou rses may be found within departments such as agenc ies or gove rnment offices.
lums. The National Center for Geograph ic In formation The fi rst section of the Model Law clarifies the neces-
& Analysis (2000) has produced, and suggested for use, a sity for guidelines by stating that the practices ofland sur-
core curriculum to serve as a foundation fo r studies in veying and engineering are a matter of pubic interest. The
GIS. Typically, GIS users can earn a GIS certificate after decisions made (or recommended) by people employed in
tWO yea rs of part-time study. While this option does these professions can potentially affect the life, health, and
include organized coursework (and perhaps exams to eval- property of the general public. Sectio n 2 defines the tasks
uate competency), programs that offer cert ifi cat ion that are associated with surveying and engineering and no
degrees lack a recognized set of certification gu idel ines longer refers directly to GIS , as it did in an earl ier version
and are ge nerally not accredited by a professional GIS or of the Model Law. Section 2 does state that mapping
remote sensing society. As mentioned in chapter 15, the involves the configuration of the Earth's feamres. the sub-
GIS&T Body of Knowledge (DiBiase et aI., 2006) was division ofland, the location of survey control points, ref-
recently published in o rder to define critical concepts and erence points, or property boundaries, and thus people
skills that relate to geographic information science and performing 'mapping' are performing the 'Practice of
technology (G IST) . This document was created through Surveying'. The Model Law suggests that these people
the joim efforts of many GIScience researchers and educa- should be reg istered as professional surveyors before
tors, and is an initial attempt to define the skills that you engaging in those act ivit ies.
can use to describe geospatial com petency. A second edi- The most d irect pathway co becoming a professional
tion is intended that will provide detail fo r instructional surveyor is to fi rst graduate from an accredited fou r-year
activities that suppOrt important geospatial concepts and college program in engi neering or surveying. Then yo u
skills. must successfully pass an e ight-hour written exam cover-
ing survey in g fundamentals. Once the fundamentals
The NCEES Model Law exam has been successfully passed, four years of surveying
experience under the supervision of a licensed surveyor
The Nationa l Council of Examiners for Engineering and must be accumulated before admittance is allowed to an
Surveying (N e EES) has developed a set of guidelines eight-hour written comprehensive exam covering survey-
described in a Model Law document to help states with in g principles and practice:. Once this comprehensive
licensing issues related co land surveying and engineering exam has been successfully passed, and all other state-level
(National Council of Examiners for Engineering and requirements are satisfied, you are qualified to become a
Surveyi ng, 2006). The Model Law contai ns reference to professiona l land surveyor. Those who grad uate from
GIS activities assoc iated with spacial data collection and four-yea r surveying cu rriculums that are not accredited
use. The Model Law contains 29 sections that are must spend an addirional rwo to four years working in
designed to help state boards and other legislative bodies the land survey profession before they can be admitted
create or amend laws for land surveying and engineering. to the fundamentals exam. T his process of attai ning
258
248 Part 3 Contemporary Issues in GIS
259
Chapter 17 Certification
Certffication and Licensing of GIS Users
Users 249
relationship
client relationsh ip but also offer advice on the professional certification
cert ifi cation and licensing from the natural resource GIS GI
relationships cha thatt should exist berween
becween surveyors. Most community. largely composed of natural
communiry, narural resource man-
states
Sca develo ped a process [0
tes also have developed [0 fac il itate (he
facilitate the sub-
su b- age rs. bio logists. foresters,
agers, others. is to be expected .
foreseers, and others,
mirral of complaincs
minal surveyors. All state
complaints against land surveyors. Defining those areas of spatial data co llection and
collection
licensing boards have the power ro to revoke a surveyi
surveying ng mapping that porentially
potentially afFecr
.ffect public welfare
welfure and safery
safety
license if discipl
disciplinary
inary infractions occur as a resulr
result of com- is easy in some cases,
cases. and challenging in others.
orhers. Clearly,
Clearly.
plaines. Th is power
plainrs. This power encourages most land surveyors [0 to GIS databases used for acdviries
activ ities such as navigatio n, n. locat-
become familiar with board rules for professiona1
professional conduct ing underground facilities whe n excavating.
Facilities when excavating, or ensuring
and [0(Q adhere to the rules as [hey they engage in survey act ivi-
activi- that property boundaries have been accurately located and
ties. Such rules do not general GIS use in natural
nor exist in general namral used in calculating
calcularing land areas, areas. should fall full under [he the
resource management. purview of a professio
professionalnal lan
land d surveyor o r enginee
engineer. r.
Crit icism has also
Criticism aJso been weighed agaiaga inst
nst un licensed
unlicensed Activ ities (hat
Acriviries that involve displaying
display in g data for illustrative pur-
GIS and GPS users due to [he
GIS the lack of an acc redited
redi ted educa- recreatio nal gu ides, or in activit
poses, recreational ies [hat
activities that may only
tional curriculum.
donal curriculum . Most professions, including forestry .ffect perso n{s) or agency responsible for the associ-
affect the person{s)
and wildlife.
wildlife, have educa[ionalI and profes-
h.ve identified an education. ared decision,
ated decision. could perhaps fall ourside outside [he
the purview of a
sional backgro
background und [hat
that is necessary for accred
acc rediitat ion or
ta tion surveyor or engineer.
professional land surveyor engineer. Although these
licensing IlJithin
within their fields. The accred itation process usu-
accreditation examples illustrate
illusrra te distinctions becween acti
di stinct ions between activvici es [hat
it ies chat
suggestS me
ally suggests the coursework, minimum competency sran- stan- clearly affect
afFecr public welfare and safety safery and those
rhose that [har do
dards, professional standards, and imegration with other not,
nor, there are many orher other examples rhat that are less clear and
disciplines [hat
that should be provided to students pursuing will require furthe
lUrrherr discussion before agreements between
degrees in [hose
those fields (Huxhold.
(Huxhold, 2002). An accreditation rhe surveying and GIS commun ities are reached. In cases
the
process for GIS G IS could be developed (and perhaps is cur- where mapping products mighr might affect public welfare and
rently under developmenr).
development). However.
However, methe dilemma is rhat thac severall scenarios fo r making map consumers aware
safety, severa
if you view GIS as a field of study. srudy, [he
the students in [hose those of pocenriallimitations
poremial limitations have been suggested. Suggestions
cu rricula will graduate with a geography degree,
curricula degree. and be include requiring
requ iring that
(hat maps explicicly
explicitly iden ci fy me
identify the source
so urce
considered professional
profess ion al geogra phers. Most "amrai
geographers. natural documents, associated
assoc iared meradara, approp riate use of map
metadata, appropriate
resource organizations hire biologists, foresters.
foresters, soils sci- comenr. positional adj
content, and any positional usrmenrs Goffe.
adjustments Uoffe, 2001).
professionals, as well as geogra-
entists, or other associated professionals. Examples
Examp les of these caveats
caveatS and disclaimers were intro intro--
phers, to assis
assistt in the management of natural
natura l resources. duced in chapter
chapee r 4. Whether these caveats will continue
orga nizations increasingly expect all of thei
These organizations theirr per- ro fall shon
to short of requiring
requirin g a certified or licensed GIS G IS profes-
sonnel
so nnel to util ize GIS,
ucili1.e GlS. not JUSt those who have obtained a
nor just sional to
sional ro develop the mapping products wi ll likely be an
degree from an accredited
accredired geography program. area of discussion.
Finally.
Finally, and inreresringly.
interestingly, some people have argued
GIS Community Response to that the surveying profession has traditionally not
Certification and Licensing required training
tra ining in GIS in order to obtain professional
surveying (American Congress on Survey
surveyi ng cert ification (American Surveying in g
As you might expect,
expect. some members of the GIS commu- and Mapping,
Mapping. 1998). For th [h is reason.
reason, they argue.
argue, it i[ may
nity have voiced opposition co to the sugges tion that
suggestion thar certa
cerrainin not
nor be app ropriate fo
appropriate forr land surveyors
su_rveyors to manage rhe the
GIS activit ies be included in the lis t of funcrions
activi ries functions only co to development.
developmenr. maintenance.
maimenance. and use of GIS databases.
be performed by land surveyors. C riticism has been
Criticism However, the current exam syll syllabi
abi for the national
fOr rhe narional land
directed toward the sometimes-broad definitions of land surveying exams (borh rhe fundamental
(both the fundamemal an andd professional
surveying. and whether GIS databases deve.
surveying, developed
loped and dis- pri nciples and practice) do incl
principles ude GIS and land
include I.nd informa-
info rma-
tributed by public agencies should require management tion systems as potential
poremial exam topics.topics.
surveyorr GofFe.
by a licensed surveyo Uoffe, 200 1). In addition,
addition. some
proposals for ce certificatio
rtifica tionn and lilicens
censin
ingg have also been MAPPS Lawsuit
\'iewed as exclusionary. and coul
viewed co uld
d prevenr natural
~rforming the GIS
resource professionals from performing GIS activities
acr iviries In June 2006, rhe
the Managemenr
Management Associarion for Private
thatt they
tha rhey historically performed.
performed. Thus the opposition
opposirion to Phorogrammerric
Photogrammetric Surveyors (MAPPS) and rhree
three other
260
250 Part 3 Contemporary Issues in GIS
engineering
professional enginee lawsu it
rin g associations filed a lawsuit su rveying and mapping activicies.
form surveying activicies, the lawsuit con-
aga inst the US governmenr.
against government. The lawsuit wasW<1S filed
fi led on tends that the co uncil should di
rhe FAR council direct
rect that licensed
behalf of the Federal Acquisirion
Acquisition Regulation
Regul ation (FAR) professionals be selected for government contracts
cOntracts invo
involv-
lv-
Council and is refe referred
rred to as the MAPPS lawsuit. The ing surveying and mapping. The implicarions
im plications of the
rhe
actuall tide
actua title for the
tbe lawsuit is MAPPS et al.
at. v. United States MArrs
MAPPS lawsuit are [hen potentially significanr
afe then significant given that
thar
America. The lawsuit requests changes in interpreta-
of Am(ricft, many
ma ny states do nO[
nOt draw a clear distinction berween
between sur-
tion of the 1972 Brooks Act (US Public Law 92-582) veying and mapp
mapping
in g in their
th eir laws and rules that govern
which is intended to (0 direct federal government policy in surveymg.
surveYing.
selecting
selecti ng providers to perform architectural.
prov iders [0 archi tectural. engineering, The American Association of Geographers (MG). (AAG).
ices. More specifically.
services.
and related serv laws uitt seeks
specifically, the lawsui Informationn & Technology
Geospatial Informatio
GISCI. Geosparial
co modify how the
[0 rhe selection process for government coo- Association (GITA). VCGIS. and VRISA jointly submitted
Associarion su bmitted
traccors is evaluated as it relates to mapping ac riviries.
tivities. a briefing (0
to the US District Court in Virginia
resulrs of the lawswr
The resultS lawsuit may impact
impacr how some US fed- (Alexandria Division) that
thaL opposed the MAPrs
MAPl'S lawsuit
eral agencies award government contracts. The MAPrs
governmenr contractS. MAPPS (Association of American Geographers. 2007). The brief
lawsuit has been a considerable concern for many GJS- stated that a successful lawsuit could cause serious con-
stared
oriented organizations and has once again fueled rh thee nm only for the
cern nO( rhe GIS community
commu niry but also fo r other
mher
debate over the definition
definicion of acdvactivities
ities that can be con- activ
related act ities and professions. Other related activit
ivities ies
activities
sidered surveying and engineering, which acriviries activides influ-
inRu- included GPS data collection, Interne
lnrernett mapping, geospa-
ence public welfare and safery. safety, and the appropriate analysis , remote sensing, academic
tial analysis, aca demic research that
geospatial certification
cerrificarion and licensing requirements.
requiremems. The involved mapping, and the broad activities encompassed
participation of prominent
prominenr oorganizations
rganizations on both sides withi n cartography. The briefing
wirhi that the law-
briefi ng claimed thar
of rhe
the laws uit is evidence that
lawsuit the MAPPS lawsui
thal rhe lawsu itt is not
nor ssuit's
uit's impact woul
wouldd greatly affect many activities and
trivial legal exercise.
a rriviallegal exerc.ise. industries that involve or rely on mapping activities and
Plaintiffs of the MAl'l'S
MAPPS lawsuit included the rhe American information.
inform acion .
Sociery of Civil Engineers (ASCE). National Sociery of The US Districr
District Court ruled againsr MAPPS in June
against MAPl'S
Professional Engineers (NSPE).(NSrE). and Council on Federal 2007 and issued a summary
su mmary judgment in favo favorr of the US
Procurement of Architectural and Engineering Services Government. The judge in the case stated srated that the MAPPS
MArps
(COFPAES). The Brooks Act established that price alone plaintiffs failed to 'establish
plainrifFs 'establ ish that an injury in fact
faCt was suf-
should nO( be used in [he the awarding of government
governmenr con- fered by the
rhe individual surveyors or their firms'. In order
tracts to individual
rracts ind ividualss oorr firms. In Instead. Qualificarions-
stead, Qualificadons- for a case to be tried. a plaintiff (those hling
filing the lawsuit)
Selection (QBS) is to be used. which involves eval-
Based Selecrion must establish standing. indicated by sufferi
standing. Standing is indicared suffering
ng
uating professional qualjficadons
qualifications and expe experience.
ri ence. in a loss of some sort, be it monetary or otherw ise. The
addition to seeking a 'fair and reasonable' cosr
addirion COSt [0co rhe
the gov- judge found that MAPPS and the other plaintiffS had nor
rhar MAPl'S nOt
ernment,, in awa rding
ernment Negotiations for an
rdin g contracts. Negotiarions established sufficienr standing to suppOrt the lawsuit.
lawsuir.
acce ptable price should begin with the most qualified Alrhough there ate opportunities to appeal the
rhere are rhe judge's
firm. If negodat ions fail,
negotiations fail , then negociations
negoriarions should pro- deci sion, the
decision, rhe judge's ruling appears to be st
strong
rong enough
ceed with the second most qualified firm ., and so on . The that
tllar an appeal was considered unlikely.
unlikely.
COllncil applies the rules and laws rel
FAR Council ated to
related ro the There was great uncenainry
uncertainty in determining how a suc-
Brooks Act, and is supposed co ensu re mar
ro ensure that the intentions cessful MAPl'S lawsuit wou
MAPPS lawsuir would
ld have impacted the GIS com-
of the
rhe act
acr are upheld. Although the rhe Brooks Act Acr includes munity
mun iry and many community members expressed relief
'surveying me
'surveyi ng and mapping' among the list of architectural the lawsuir
that ti,e lawsuit came to end. Doubtlessly. there will be
ro an end.
and engineering services that thar it is intended CO to cover, fed- ssim ilar dispures
imilar disputes and uncertainty in the future regarding
eral agencies have not nor been consistent
cons istent in their interpreta-
inte rpreta- licen sing th
licensing that
at involves (he court
the co un system. Although (his this
rion and adherence to stated protocols. The MAPPS
cion MAl'l'S law- represents a US examp
examplele of the conAict
conRicr that has arisen
ar isen
su it seeks [0
to compel the FAR cou ncil to more rigorously
nci l ro with the widesp read use of GIS. could
GIS, you cou reaso nably
ld reasonably
interpret
inre rpre[ and apply rhe the Brooks Act in the selecrion selection of countries with an es(ab-
envision this happening in other counrries estab-
contractors for surveying and mapping services. In states lished land records system and regulations relared ro engi-
rela(ed to
where licensed surveyors
surveyo rs or engi neers are required ro to per- neering and land surveying practices.
261
Chapter 17 Certification and Licensing of GIS Users 251
Summary
In some circumstances, certification and licensing may be study. Guidelines should be developed for determining
necessary for those involved in (he developmem and man- the experience. educarionaJ background. professional con-
agement of GIS databases. to ensure that minimum stan- duct, and cominuing education that defines (he qual ifica-
dards of competency exist and (hat standards 3re being [ions appropriate for those disciplines. Guidelines sho uld
mer in the development. maintenance. and applicacion of also be developed to define the extent [Q which persons
G IS databases. Although many GIS activities related to who are qualified within disciplines can appropriately
namral resource managemem may have no bearing on develop, manage, and use certain GIS databases. Until a
public welfare and safery, some GIS acriviries result in national certification or lice nsing program for GIS gains
maps or mapped data being sold or made available to the credibility and respect within society, GIS users in namra!
public. and thus may have direct or indirect implicacions resource fields will find themselves struggling with local
on public welfare and safety. GIS has evolved into its own or national regularory groups. the legal system, and other
discipline, and is being integrated with other fields of professions for contro l of GIS activities.
Applications
17.1. Licensing. Assume that the state or province in c) What elements would be necessary in order for a
which YOll work is considering the development of a GIS certification to be more widely recognized and
licensing board to oversee the licensing of GIS users. and respected within society?
to regulate the use and managemenr of GIS databases
related to your field of namral resource management. 17.3. NeEES Mood Law. Does the NeEES Model Law
a) What benefits might a licensing board provide for process seem like a reasonable or rational approach to
professionals engaged in GIS activiti es? clarifYing the issue of G IS licensing? Why or why not?
b) What disadvantages for GIS users might result from
the developmenr of a licensing board? 17.4. The need for licensing or certification. IdentifY
c) Describe three key dimensions of the licensing three GIS or GIS-related activities that could affect public
process that the board should develop. welfare. and that might suggest that those developing.
maintaining. or using the s upportin g data sho uld be
17.2. GIS certification programs. The owners of the licensed or certified.
Brown Tract have recently become aware that GIS is used
extensively in the management of the fo rese. They are 17.5. GIS community response to certification and
concerned abo ut the credibility of their land management licensing issues. Many professional (foresters. wildlife
team, and have suggested that all employees obtain GIS biologists. hydrologists. engineers. etc.) working in nat-
certification . ural resource management currendy use GIS to ass ist in
a) What are the potential benefits of GIS certification making management decisions. Why might they be
for GIS users? concerned about the issue of GIS certification and
b) What are the potential drawbacks of GIS certifica- licensing?
tion for GIS users?
References
Association of American Geographers (MG). (2007) . Information 6- Technology Association, University
Amicus Curiae Brief of the Association of American Consortium for Geographic Information Science, and
Geographus, GIS Cutification InstituU, Geospatial Urban and Regionallnfonnation Systems Association in
262
252 Part 3 Contemporal)'
Contemporary Issues in G
GIS
IS
Doyle. R. (2
Doyle, 007). By [he
(2007). the numbers: license to work. work. the Model Law: The search for a definition of survey-
Scientific American.
American, February
hbruary 9, 9. 28. ing in Surveying and Land Information
in New Mexico. Survtyillg Infonnation
Gibson ., D.W. (1999)
(1999).. Conversion is OUt, out. measurement Systems,
Systems. 61(1),39-43.
61(1).39-43.
is in-are we beginning the surveying and mapping
263
Appendix A
The following represents a brief treatment of [he termi- change. Many eypes of text fi les are commonly referred
nology common to all eyp.. of GIS sofcwa re programs and to as ASCII files; some co main co mma-delimited data
processes. An attem pt has been made to avoid [he varia- (e.g., I , 12, 3.45, 65 .2, 0.45), ochers coneain space-
tio ns of definitions that rend [0 be more descriptive of [he delimi[ed data (e.g., e.g., I 12 3.45 65.2 0.45), and
processes related to one (or more) particular GIS software still others use other delimiters (0 separate individual
programs. It is important that natural resou rce profes- pieces of data. See Comma-dtlimited text filt and
siona ls gain an understanding of a common, generi c lan- Space-dtlimited text file.
guage. The lines of communica[ion becween [hose highly Attribute: A characteristic of a landscape feacure.
versed in GIS and [hose wi[h a cursoey knowledge of GIS A((rihutes can be represented by characters or num -
need to be clear when making natural reso urce manage- bers (o r a combination ofbo[h), and [hey describe var-
ment dec isions. ious characteristics oflandscape feamres. For example,
the attributes of a timber sta nd co uld incl ude the fol-
Accuracy: The ability of a measuremenr to describe a lowing: stand number (o r code). basal area, trees per
landscape feacuce 's [rue locatio n, size, or conditio n. acre, vo lum e per acre, dominam tree species, and so
Adjacency: A spadal relacio nship indicadng which land- on. The amibmes of a research plo[ (a poine) could
scape features share boundari es. or are w ith in cenain include: smdy eype, insta llacio n date, date last remea-
discance of other landscape fearures. For example, sured , dare of nexr remeasure, etc. See Fi~ld.
adjacency relationships for timber stands may indicare Azimuth: A degree of a circle, wi[h North being 0° (or
which stands (Ouch other stands, allowing one to 360°), Easc being 90°, South being 180°, and West
model green -up requiremems. being 270°.
Annotation: Text o r strings of characters and numbers Azjmuthal project jon: A projeccion sys tem where the
used co describe landscape feamres on a map . direct ion s fro m a centra l point of origin are all
Arc: A single s[[ing of X,Y coordinates (vercices), [hac preserved.
when connected, form a line. A singl e lin e may co n- Bear ing: An angle of 90° or less originating from either
rain many arcs, bur a single arc may on ly represem one [he North or Somh (and direc[ed towards [he Easc or
line. or parr of a line. Arcs have staning and ending West). Thus an azimuth of 353 0 represems a bearing
nodes (Q allow analys is of directional travel , such as in ofN7°W.
stream systems, where water emers one end of the arc Boolean expression : A rype of expression used in a query
(the sta rr-node, or 'From-node') an d leaves the other o r co mputer code that requi res a yes o r no respo nse.
end of [he arc (the end node, o r 'To-node). AND, OR, and NOT are the three most common
ASCII: Ame rican Scandard Code for Informacion lneer- Boo lean exp ressions. For example, a query us in g a
264
254 Appendix A GIS Related Terminology
GIS Terminology
Geoid: An irregular shape mar that approximates Earth's Join process: A process designed co to eirher ( I) associare
ei ther (1) associate an
mean sea level perpendicular co to the forces of gravicy.
gravity. exrernal table
external rable (wi
(withth no landscape features)
feamres) to a table rable of
Global Positioning System (GPS): A system allowi allowingng a spatial database using a join ite item,
m, or (2) to associate
one to locate their position on the Earth's surface su rface by fearu res from one spatial
features spatial database to another spatial
another spada)
rece iving signals from satellites.
receiving satell ites. TThehe signals are used (Q to database.
database, usi ng poinr-in-polygon
using point-in-polygon or nearest neighbor
calculate a posicion
position based on triiarcration.
rrjlarerarion. and perhaps rechniques. When joining ,ables,
(echniques. tables, the 'Ype type of join can
differemial correction, processes.
differential be a one-repone join. a one-tQ-many
one-to-one join, one-to-many join, a many-to- manY-(Q-
Graticule: The collecrion
Graticule: collection of meridians and parallels o ne join,
join) or a many-ro-few
many-to-few join join..
superimposed on the rhe Earth's
Ea"h's surface. Join item: A field (column) in a tabular database darabase thatrhar
Grid: A geographic database made up of rasrer raster features, contains similar informatio
in formationn as a field (column) in a
commonly called grid cells. Can also refer to ro a graticule. seco nd tabular
second tabu lar data base. For example)
database. example, a field in o ne
one
Grid cell: The smallest unit in a raster ras ter darabasc.
database. or pixel. database may be called 's 'stand_number'
tand_number' and contain co ntain
represemed by squaresi however.
Usually these are represented however, any timber stand numbers, while a field in a second data-
regular formfo rm that fully covers an area (square. rectan- base may be called 'srand', 'stand', and again contain timber rimber
gle, "iangle,
triangle, hexagon, polygon, erc.) etc.) could be consid- srand
stand numbers. While ,he the field names do not have to
ered a grid cell. be [he jnformation within each field must be
the same, the informacion
Gross error: Sometimes referred [0 to as human error, it is similar, such as in this example. where both contain co ntain
a blunder or mher other mistake made somewhere in {he the rimbe r stand
timber srand numbers.
numbers. The join would then rhen link the rhe
dara
data collcedon.
collection, map creation, or editing processes. two databases using timber stand number
twO number as the rhe com-
Heads-up digitizing: A A merhod
method of developing vector veccor GIS mon element. so data for sta standnd 1234 from one dara- data-
darabases (of poines,
databases points, lines, or polygons) where a user base will be matched
marched wirh with dara stand 1234 in the
data for srand rhe
creates landscape features using the com purer's puter's mouse, second database.
generally with a raster rasre r image as a backdrop so SO as to Labels: Like annotation)
annotation, which is text or strings of char-
draw (or point poim out)our) those
rhose landscape fear featuures rhar are
res that acters and numbers, these are used [Q to describe land-
imporram.
important. For example, displaying a digital orrhopho- orthopho- karu res on a map. They us
scape features ually arise from some
usually
tograph as a backdrop,
backdrop , one might use the computer's com purer's anribme field. or column, in the
anribure field, rhe spatial da tabase's rab-
database's tab-
mouse to draw roads, or timber stands. T his method
This ular database. where for each landscape feature, feature. a
of dar
daraa development is quicker than rradirionaJ uaditional d. igitiz-
digitiz- description of that arrr ibute
attr ibu te (such as srand stand number,
iog, bur usually less accu
ing, rate, and does not
accurate, nor require a volume per acre, ac re, trail rype,
eype, road eype, etc.) exists. exiscs.
digitizing table.
rable. Legend: TIl.r
That parr
part of a physical map that thar contains
con rains therhe
Identity process: The acquisition of information within reference informatio
informationn necessary to inrerprer interpret [he the colors
a GIS database concern ing the area represented represe nted by of polygons, and the rhe sryles
styles aandnd colo
colors rs of lines and
another GIS GIS database. Here, like with an intersect incersecc poims.
pOlms.
process, one GIS database is physically laid onco onto Line: A A String
string ofX,Y coordinares (vertices) that rhat make up
anorher,
another, yer yet rhe
the resulting thirdulird (new) GIS database is a cominuous
cont in uous linear feature.
feawre. A single si ngle line feature (a
defined by the rhe area of coverage of one of (he the inpm
input GIS road) can contain
comain many small arcs that thar are to ropologi-
pologi-
darabases.
databases. cally linked at ar their
rheir nodes (end-points),
(end-pointS), since each arc
Intersect process:
process: The acquisition of information con- co n- stans
starts and ends with a node.
cerning the rhe overlapping areas of two rwo GIS darabases.
databases. In Linlc A line thar
Link that connects
co nnects poims, as defined by nodes
uti lizing
mil iz ing an intersect process,
p rocess, a thithird, GIS database
rd. new GIS and vertices (some(somerimes
rimes called
caIled an arc).arc) .
wi
willll be created chat that consists
co nsists of only those areas wbere where Link process:
process: A process designed [0 eimer
to ei ther assoc iateiare land-
the twO two o riginal GI
original GIS databases overlap, no more, no scape features from one database to another database.
less. This process allows the selection and view of landscape
Intervisibility: A descriprion
description (from(fro m each unir unit of land's feawres from database.
features database, and the inspection of associ-
perspective) of the number of viewpoints viewpo ints that can be ared
ated {linked} dara in the
(linked) data rhe other database. Sometimes Somerimes
seen from a land unit. relare.
called a relate.
Intranet: A network of compucers
Intranet: similar ro
computers similar to the Internet,
[nterner, Logical consistency: A desc descrip
rip tio
rio n of how well the rela-
except access is limited to a set of authorized 3urhoriz.ed people trionships
ionships of different
difFerenr 'Ypes
types of daradata fit cogerher wir;,in
together with in
(usually internal
inrernal ro organ ization).
to an organi zation). aa system.
267
Appendix A GIS Related
Appendix Related Terminology 257
Logical operators:
operators: The operarors 'and', 'or', and 'not' Point:
Po int: A single X,Y
X,V coordinate that represenrs
represents a feature
feamre
that
rhar allowing one to
ro develop a complex query wirhour
without on the landscape (such as a research plot, culvert, owl
having ro
to perform several single ccriterion
riterion queries in neSt, or
nest, or spring). These features
feamres are usually deemed tOO
roo
sequence. small (by an organization) co £0 represent as a line or
Map
M ap scale:
scale: T he ratio of map distance £0
[0 ground distance
disrance polygon.
represented
rep resemed on the map. For example, I :250,000 map Polygon:
Polygon: A multi-sided, closed spatial object thar
that has an
scale indicates that I un
unit
it (inch, perhaps) on a map area. Polygons are formed by connecting lines (arcs)
represents 250,000 units (inches) on the ground repre- uuntil
mil a closed area is formed. They may define the
sented
semed by the
rhe map. boundaries of timber stands, so il s types, riparian
prOeeM: A process that
Merge process: rhat creates a single G IS data- buffers, wildlife habitat,
habitar, and so on, using a set of logic
base from a set (or subset) of one or
or more
morc previously- consistent across the landscape. Squares. triangles,
triangles. rec-
developed GIS
G IS databases. Poinr,
Point, liline,
ne, and polygon polygons, yet
tangles, and hexagons can be considered polygons. ye r
together,
databases can be merged rogerhe however, database
r. however. the term
rerm usually applies to irregularly shaped objects.
types
rypes are generally mixed. The resulting merged GIS Precision: The degree of specificiry
specificity £0
to which a measure-
dacabase may co
database comain feacures (hat
ntain landscape features that overlap. ment is described. Can also refer to consistency.
consis rency.
M etadata: Data that summarize the characteristics of
Metadata: Public Land Survey System (PLSS): Established in 1785
databases (or 'data about data).
dara). by the US Congress as a na<ional
national system for the
rhe meas-
Network: A co collection
ll ection oflines
of lines con
connected
necred via their nodes, urement and subdividing of public lands. At 24-mile
representing possible paths from one location
and represeming loca tion to intervals north and south of each baseline,
basel ine, standard
another. For example, a stream ne[Work
anomer. network would include parallels
pa rallels are established that extended east and west of
all of the streams, where
where: the smaller headwater Streams
streams the principal meridian. Guide meridians were also
connect co to wider streams
screams with more water
water flow.
Row, and so established at
ar 24-mile imervals
intervals east and west of the
on to rivers, and perhaps rhe the oceans. A road system is principle meridian. The grid of meridians and parallels
anothe r network char
3.nQ[her that is more complex in nacu re. re, creates blocks, each nominally 24 miles square.
rhere may not be a logical flow
because there Row of traffic from Townships are creared
created wirhin
within each block by forming
one road £0 (Q me
the next. Yet to de termine
£0 determ ine optimum paths range lines (running
(run ning north and sour h) and township
south) townsh ip
or alternative roUtes,
routes, you would need to £0 know which lines (ru nning easr
(running east and west) both at sLx-mi inrer~
six-mi le inter-
roads connect (Q ro which other roads, what types
orner roads. rypes of roads vals. Each township
£Ownship is six miles square.
square. Each township
they are, and what
whar restrictions may be placed on them . is divided into sections, with each section measuring
Node: One (of two) end-points
end-pointS of a line. one square mile; there are 36 secdons
sections within a town-
£Own-
Northing:
Northing: A measure of distance
diStance nonh
norrh of a coordinate ship. Sections
ship. Secrions are numbered 1-36 sraning
starting at the
system's origin. upper right hand corner of a township.
tOwnship.
Overlay analysis: The process of analyzing or combining Query: To selecr
select a subset of landscape features from a
multiple layers of inform
information
ad on at one time. la rger set using some selection criteria.
c ri teria. These state-
Pan: To slide the
rhe viewable image to
to one side (left, right, ments can include a single piece of logic (stand_age
mentS
up. down,
up, down. or some combination of these).
these), allowing a S 40), or multiple pieces of
$ of/ogic
logic connected by Boolean
view of some portion of the landscape not
nOt viewable wirh
with operators. For examp
example,
le. suppose you have 10,000
10.000 tim-
the previous arrangement. Actively called
caHed 'panning,' or
or ber stands,
ber stands. and you are interested in those chat
that could
'grabb ing' when users are performing (his
this action.
acrion. be commercially thinned.
rhinned. You could query the rhe GIS
Photogrammetry: T The mC'.suremenrs of
he act of collecting measuremems database for those stands of a cenain
certa in age,
age. with a query
landscape fearures
features from a image or photograph. such as (stand_age ~ 30 AND stand_age S
$ 40).
40) .
Pixel: The smallest unit in a raSter
raster database, or
o r a grid cell. Queries can be rather quite complex.
ramer simple, or quite.
Formed
Fo rmed by combining the twO fWO terms 'picture' and Random error: A narural by-product of how one meas-
'element'. ures and describes landscape featu res.. No matter
fearures marter how
Planar coordinates: X,V coordinates that relate co, £0. or are well maps are developed oorr data are collected, error wiU will
positioned on
on,, a planar or
or horizomal
ho rizonral surface. usual ly exist in the representation
usually rep resentation oflandscape features.
Plane coordinate system:
sys tem: Recta ngular coordinates
Rectangular coo rd inates that Raste r: A data structure based on cells organized
Raster: o rganized in rows
reference landscape features displayed
fearures as disp layed on a flat map and columns. T This
his is a grid-based structure where an
of rhe
the Earth's surface.
surfilce. rep resented by aa cell, an
entire area is represented and d a single land-
268
258 Appendix A GIS R
Appendix Related
elated Terminology
Terminology
seape fearure
scape feature (rimber stand. road,
(timber stand, plor) can be
road. research plOl) (poin<ing
(pointing and clicking wirh
with a com purer
compu ter mouse). The
represcmed by one or more cell.
represented landscape features selected are usually
us ually done so for
Rasterization:
Rasterization.: The process of coconve rti ng veccor
nverting veccoc data to
(Q some reason, perhaps (0 spacial opera-
to perform some spatia]
data, usually by scann ing.
raster daca. tion
ti o n on
o n them (such as buffer some selected srreams).
screams), or
Record
Record:: Each fearure
feature (poin<.
(point, line. polygon)
line, or polygo GIS
n) in a GIS to sim
simpplyly visually inspect those landscape features with
fea tu res w ith
represenred by a record in a tabular
database is represented tahu lar data- a characteristic of interest (such as being curious about
ofimerest
base. A record is a row in the ta bular
tabu database, thus
lar darabase, where the culverts
cul vens over 20 yeayears
rs old are located in a
each row represents
represems a feamce
feacure.. Associated with each forest).
fores t).
record are more fields (columns), which con-
arc one or morc Shaded relief map: A map intended to simulare
Sbaded rhe sun-
sim ulate the slln-
tain (he
rain the character istics of each feature.
characrc riscics lir and shaded areas of a landscape when assuming thaT
li t aod rhar
Region da(3 structure mat
Region:: A data that consis ts of vector features
consists the sun
su n is pos idoned
itioned at some location in the sky.
(lines or polygons),
polygons). yet allowing
al lowi ng overlapping areas. Slivers:
Slivers: Very small polygons thar res ul r during
that result du ring overlay
Remotely sensed data: Raster dara data acqui red by a sensor
acquired se nsor operations (union, identity,
(u nion , ide intersectio n) or during
nti ty. incersecdon)
(camera, satellite) that is some d distance
istance from the land- processes. Sometimes these occur
clipping or erasing processes.
scape fearures
features being sensed. when common borders are represented differendy, differently,
Root mean square error (RMSE): A measure of the error from sepa
separate dig itizing
rate digitiz ing processes, and sometimes
berwee n a mapped point and its associated nue
between true simply
these occur sim ply as a result ooff the spatial process that
grou nd position. Common
ground Com mo nly ly used when assess in ingg spa- was anempred.
attem pted.
cial
tial accuracy o r digitizing
digitizi ng a map.
map , RMSE measu res d1C the Slope class
class:: The gradien< porrion of a landscape.
gradienr of a portion landsca pe, as
posicional error inherent in the registrati
registration
on po ints
ims on ddescr ibed by a distinct
esc ribed disriner class (e.g
(e.g..•, 0-10 per een<.
ce n t,
the hardcopy map. perr een<.
11 - 20 pe ere.).
cent, etc.).
Satellite
SateUite imagery: Dara Da ta eaprured remote sensing
capru red by a remote- Space-delimited text file: A
Spaee-delimited rexr file created
A text creared in a word
device housed in a satellsatellite
ite that is positioned above me system,
processing sys tem , a text ediror, spreadsheet,, or data-
edirar, spreadsheet dara-
Earth's surfuce.
surface. Generally, the data consists of values base, and saved in a format where items are separated
sepa rated
representing
represeming the relative degree of reAecrance reflectance of elec- by blank spaces. The following.
fo llowing, for example.
exampl e, could
co uld
tromagnetic energy in cenain cereain wavelength categories indicate hab
habitat suitability
irat su i(abili ry index values
in dex vaJ forr speci
ues fo specific
fic
(bands). T he imagery is srored sto red as rasrer dara with a
raster data timbe r stand polygons, with the first hem
timber item of each
eac h line
spaciall resolution
spatia resoludon that can range from 1I meter to 1I identifYing the
identifying rhe polygon,
polygon. and the
rhe second irem
item listing
lisring
kilometer. rhe habitat
the habitar suitability index:
Scale: The relarionship
relatio nsh ip between a map displayed on a
10.657
computer screen or primed
computer printed on a typerype of media (paper,
20.433
mylar. ere.). and the
mylar, etc.), rhe actual physical dimensions of tbe rhe
30.298
area . For example, a townsh
same area. tow nsh ip (36 sq square
uare miles,
m iles ,
or 23.040
23,040 acres) drawn on a map where I inch on the data):: A
Spatial database (or data) A database containing
co ntaining some
represems 1I mile on the ground,
paper represents grou nd, is displayed at information about an area or landscape, the relation-
relacion-
a scale where I inch represems
represenrs 63.360
63,360 inches.
inches. This ships among
amo ng the features in the landscape,
landscape. and per-
scale can thenrhen be expressed as a fraction (I :63360) or haps some tabular or attribute (non-spatial)
(non-spacial) data about
abom
a equ ivalence (i"
equivalence (l" = I mile). each feature
fea mre.. These
T hese databases are usually stored in
excraccing features from a map
Scanning: The process of extracting some known coo rdi nate system, thus each la ndscape
or phorograph
photograph and an d sroring
storing reAeered
reA ccted values generally as feature has one or more
mo re spat ial coo rdin ates [hat
rdinates define
that defi ne
a raster database. Line fo llowing
follo wing and text recognitio
recognition n where it exists.
exists.
processes are promising methodsmelhods for converting analog
fo r convening process: A process of erearing
Splitting process: creating mulriple
multiple land-
maps to vec(Qr
vector GIS databases. scape features from a single landscape
landsca pe feature.
Secant projection: A projection system where whe re the Earth's Spurious polygons: Small fractions of polygons ereared
created
intersects
surface intersec ts a map surface in mo marc than one
re (han GIS process.
as a result of a GIS
locat ion. system : A coordinate
State plane coordinate system: system
coo rdina te sys tem
Selection:: A set of one oorr more landscape features
Selection fearures developed in the
rhe 1930s by rhe
the US Coast and Geoderie
Geodetic
(poinrs.
(poims, lines.
lines, or polygo
polygons)ns) from
fro m a single GIS
GIS darabase.
database, Survey to create a unique set
creare planar coo rdi
sel of planar rdinates
nates for
cchosen
hosen based on a Query or by manual methods rhe 50 United States.
each of the Sures.
269
Appendix A GIS Related Terminology 259
Systematic error: Sometimes referred [0 as instcumencal Variable-widtb buffers: Bu ffe rs that vary in size based
error, it is propagated by problems in the processes on some anribu te of the landscape features being
and [Ools used (0 measure spatial locations or other buffered.
attribute data. Vector: A data structure common ly used to represent
Tabular data: The data in a GIS database that describe the points, lin es, or polygons. This is a coordinate-based
attributes of each landscape feature. Usually displayed stru cture (nor a regular grid), which may not enrirely
as rows (records) and colu mns (fields), where each row fill an area, and each landscape featu re is represented
represents a landscape fearure, and each column repre- by X,Y coord inate pairs. Attributes can be assoc iated
sents an attribute of that feature. When displayed, a with each feature (point, line, or polygon).
tabula r database often looks as if it is in a spreadsheet. Vectorization: The process of converting rasrer data to
Tangent projection: A projection system where the vectO r data.
Earth's surface (O uches a map surface at one location Verification process: The processes that one wo uld use
(a tangent). to find landscape features or attri butes requi ring ed it-
To-node: One of the [wo end nodes of a line o r are, the ing. With a verificat ion process, the goal is to ensure
last one of the twO that was digiti zed. The other is the that a particular set of data is ap propriate (o r reaso n-
from-node. able, or within some standard)
Topology: An exp ression of the spatial relationshi ps Vertex (Vertices pl.): One of a set ofX,Y coordinates that
among landscape features in a GIS database. delineate an arc o r line.
Triangular irregular network (TIN) : A vecto r data Viewshed analysis: The process of understanding the
model that descri bes the landscape using triangles. pan ions of a landscape visible from specific landscape
Each corner of each triangle is described by a set of features of interest.
values, such as elevation, aspect, and coordinates. X, Y coordinates: A set of values [hat represent a pain[ in
Unj on process: The acquisition of information within space, relative to the coord in ate system be ing
twO GIS databases concerni ng the area represenced by employed. A single X,Y coordinate could represent a
both GIS databases. H ere, like with an incersect point featu re. Lines (arcs) are characterized by a series
process, one GIS database is physically laid onto of X,Y coordinates. Polygo ns are formed by a collec-
another, yet the resulting th ird (new) GIS database is ti on ofl ines (a rcs), thus have many X,Y coordinates to
defined by the area represented by both of the input define their shape and posi tion on a landscape.
GIS databases. Z coordinate: A th ird value associated with an X,Y coor-
Universal Transverse Mercator (lJfM) : The most com- dinate usually indicating the elevat ion of the paine in
mon coordinate system used in the US, which divides space above some reference (such as mean sea level) .
the Eanh into 60 venical zones, each w ne covering 6° X,Y coordinates do not necessarily need to have a Z
oflongitude. The zones are numbered 1- 60 stanin g at coo rdinate to be usefu l, whereas Z coordinates need
180· longitude (the international date line) and pro- their X,Y associates to be of use.
ceeding eastward. Zoom: To focus more closely on a smaHer or larger area
Update interval: The period of time betwee n the per- of a spatial database, or to enlarge o r make smaller an
formance of subsequenc update processes on a GIS area of a spatial database, showing more or less detail.
database. Zoom-in refers to focus ing mo re closely on a portion
Update process: T he methods used to maintain the cur- of a spatial database. Zoom-out refers to focusing less
rent Sta tus and descrip tion of landscape features con- closely on a portion of a spatial database.
tained in GIS databases.
References
270
,
Appendix B
The following is a list of GIS-related professional organi- American Sociery for Phomgrammercy & Remote
zation and peer-reviewed journals. We apologize in Sensing. 5410 Grosvenor Lane. Suite 210. Bethesda.
advance for any om issions. and will gladly add any other MD 20814-2160 USA. (http://www.asprs.orgl)
o rganizations or journals to the list as they are brought (0 Association of American Geographers. 17 10 16th Street.
our attention. NW. Washington. DC 20009-3198 USA (http://
www.aag.org/)
Organizations British Cartographic Society. BCS Administration. 12
Elworthy Drive. Wellington. Somerset. T A21 9AT.
American Association for Geodecic Surveying. 6 Mont- England. UK. (http://www.cartography.org.ukl)
gomery Village Avenue . Suire #403 Gaithersburg. Canadian Association of Geographers. McGill University.
MD 20879 USA. (h ttp://www.aags mo.org/) Burnside Hall 805 Sherbrooke Sr. West. Room 425.
American Association of Geographers. 1710 Sixteenth Montreal. Quebec. Canada H3A 2K6 (http://www.
Street NW. Washington. DC 20009-3 198 USA. cag-acg.ca/en/)
(http: //www.aag.org) Cartography and Geographic Information Society. 6
American Congress on Surveying and Mapping. 6 Montgomery Village Avenue. Suite #403 Gaithers-
Montgomery Village Aven ue. Suite #403 Gaithers- burg. MD 20879 USA. (http://www.carrogis.orgl)
burg. MD 20879 USA. (http://www.acs m.net/) Geog raphic and Land Information Society. 6 Mont-
American Geophysical Union. 2000 Florida Avenue gomery Village Avenue. Suite #403 Gaithersburg.
NW. Washington. DC 20009- 1277 USA. (http:// MD 20879 USA. (http://www.glismo.orgl)
www.agu.orgl) Geographical Society of New South Wales. PO Box 162
American Plan ning Association. 122 S. Michigan Ave., Ryde NSW 1680. Australia. (http://www.gsnsw.org.aul)
Suite 1600 Chicago. IL 60603 I 1776 Massachuserrs Geosparial Information and Technology Association.
Ave .• NW. Washington. DC 20036-1904 USA. 14456 East Evans Avenue. Au rora. CO 80014 USA.
(http://www.planning.orgl) (http://www.gita.orgl)
American Society of Landscape Architects. 636 Eye Management Association for Private Photogrammetric
Sueet. NW. Washington. DC 20001-3736 USA . Surveyors. 1760 Reston Parkway. Suite 515. Reston.
(http: //www.asla.orgl) VA 20190 USA. (http://www. mapps.orgl)
271
Appendix B GIS Related Professional Organizations and Journals 261
Narional Council of Examiners for Enginee ring and Cybergeo. European Journal of Ceography (http: //www.
Surveying. 280 Seneca Road. Clemson. SC 29633- cybergeo.presse.fr/)
1686 USA. (Imp://www.ncees.org) Environmental Modeling and Softwar< (http ://www.
National Society of Professional Surveyors . 6 Mont- e1sevier.com/loC3(e/envsoft)
gomery Village Avenue. Suite #403 Gaithersburg. Geocarto Interna tional (hnp:llwww .geocarro.com/
MD 20879 USA. (http://www.nspsmo.orgi) geocarto.html)
National States Geographic Information Council. 2105 Ceographical Analysis (Imp://www.blackwellpublishing.
Laurel Bush Road . Suite 200 Bel Air. MD 21015 com/journaLasp?ref=OO 16-7363)
USA. (http: //www. nsgic.orgl) Ceographical and Environmental Modelling (http://www.
New Zealand Geographical Sociery. Department of tandf.co.uk/jo urn als/carfax/13615939.html)
Geography. The Universiry of Waikaro. Private Bag Ceographical Research (Imp://www.blackwellpublishing.
3105. Hamilton. New Zealand. (http ://www.nzgs. com/journaJ.asp?ref= 1745-5863&Site= 1)
co.nzl) Ceographical Systems (http://link.springer-ny.comllink/
Remore Sensing and Phocogrammerry Sociery. c/o service/journals/l 0 109Irocs.htm)
Department of Geography. The Universiry of Not- Ceography Compass (http://www.blackwellpublishing.
tingham . University Park. Nottingham NG7 2RD. com/journaLasp?ref= 1749-8198&site= I)
United Ki ngdom. (http://static.rspsoc.orgi) Ceol nformatica (http ://www.springer.com/west/home?
Society of Cartographers. Mr Brian Rogers. Membership SGWID=4-40 109-70-35704166-0)
Secretary. Canographic Resources Unit, Depr of CIScimce 6- Remote Sensing (http://www.bellpub.com/mses)
Geographical Sciences. University of Plymouth. Drake IEEE Transactions on Ceoscience and Remote Sensing (http://
Circus. Plymouth PL4 8AA. Uni ted Kingdom (http: ieeexplo re. ieee.org/xpIiRecenrlssue.jsp?punumber=36)
//www.soc.org.uki) International Journal of GeographicaL Information Science
University Consonium for Geographic Informacion (http: //www.tandf.co.ukljournalsIrf/13658816.html)
Science. PO Box 15079. Alexandria. VA 22309 USA International Journal of R.mot( Sensing (http: //www.
(http://www.ucgis.org) tandf.co.ukljournalslrf/O 1431 161.html)
Urban and Regional Information Systems Associacion ISPRS Journal of Photogrammetry 6- Remote Sensing (http:
(URlSA) . 1460 Renaissance Dr .• Suite 305 Park Ridge. Ilwww.itc.nl/isprsjournall)
IL 60068 USA. (http://www.urisa.orgi) Journal of C.ographic Information and Decision Sci",ce
(http://www .geodec.org/)
Journal of Ceographical Systems (http://link.sprin ger.de/
Journals
linklservice/journals/l 0 109/index.htm)
Annals of th. Association ofAm"ican Ceographers (http:// New Zealand C.ographer (http://www.nzgs.co.nzlJournals
www.blackwellpublishing.com/journaLasp?ref=0004- Online.aspx)
5608) Norwegian Journal of CfOgraphy (htt p: //www.tandf.
Asian Ceograph" (http: //geog.hku.hklag/default.htm) no/ngeog)
Asian Journal of Ceoinformatics (http ://www.a-a-r-s. Photogrammetric Engineering 6- Remote Sensing (http://
org/ajglindex.htm) www.asprs.org/publications/pers/index.html)
Australian C.ographer (http://www.tandf.co.ukljournals/ Remote Slnsing ofEnvironment (hnp://Wr.vw.clsevier.com/
carfax/00049182.html) locate/rse)
Cartographica (http://www.utpjournals.com/carto/carto. Spatial Cognition and Computation (http://www.wkap.nl/
htm1) journalhome.htm/1387-5868)
Cartography and C.ography Information Science (http:// Surveying and Land Information Systems (http://www.
www.cartogis.org/publications) acsm.net/salisjr.html)
Computational Ceosciences (http://www.springerlink.com/ The Bulktin of the Soci.ty of Cartographm (http: //www.
content/ 1573- 1499) soc.org.uklbulletin /bulletin.html)
Computm and Electronics in Agricultur< (http ://www. Th. Canadian Ceographer (http://www.blackwellpublishing.
e1sevier.comlloC3te/compag) com/CG)
Computers 6- GloscilllUS (h [{p: //www.e1sevier.com/loca(e/ The Cartographic Journal (http: //www.maney.co .uk/
cageo) journals/carm)
272
262 Appendix B GIS Related Professional Organizations and Journals
Appendix
273
Appendix C
The following is a list of organizacions-governmemal. ERDAS Imagine (Leica Geosystems Geosparial Imaging,
university, and private-that develop and distribute GIS- 5051 Peachtree Corners Circle Norcross, GA 30092-
related software programs. Included are many of the com- 2500 USA) http://gi.leica-geosystems.com/LGISubl
mon GIS software programs as well as contact informa- x33xO.aspx
rion (e.g .• website addresses) for each, however. the list is Geomatica (PC! Geomatics, 50 West Wi lmot Street,
not exhaustive. In most cases, GIS software programs Richmond Hill, Omario, Canada, L4B IM5) http: //
must be purchased either from the developers, or from
. .
www.pclgeomancs.com
software diStributOrs, who are nor listed below. Sales rep- GeoMedia (lntergraph Corporation, Huntsville, AL
resentatives associated with (he developers may be able to 35894 USA) http://www.intergraph.com
direct you to a loeru software distributor. We apologize in GRASS (Geographic Resources Analysis Supporr System)
advanee for any omissions, and wiil gladly add any other http://grass.itc.i t
products to [he list as (hey are brought to our atremian. IORISI (Clark Labs, Clark University, 950 Main Street,
Worcester, MA 0 I GI 0-1477 USA) hrrp:/Iwww.
GIS Software Program, c1arklabs.org
Distributor, and Website ILWIS (lmernarional Institute for Geo-Information
Science and Earrh Observation, [lTC], 7500 AA
ArcGIS(Environmenta l Systems Research Institute, Inc. Enschede, The Netherlands) http://www.itc.nllilwis/
[ESRI], 380 New York Street, Redlands, CA 92373- Manifold System GIS (Manifold Net Ltd., 1945 North
8100 USA) http: //www.esri.eom Carson Street, Suite 700, Carson City, NY 89701
Arclnfo (Environmental Systems Research Institute, Inc. USA) http://www.manifold.net
[ESRI1 , 380 New York Street, Redlands, CA 92373- Map Info (MapInfo Corporation, One Global View,
8 100 USA) http://www.esri .com T roy, NY 12 180-8399 USA) http: //www.map info.
ArcYiew (Environmental Systems Research insricuce, Inc. com
[ESRI], 380 New York Street, Redlands, CA 92373- MGE Products (lmergraph Corporation, 170 Graphics
8100 USA) http://www.esri.com Drive, Madison , AL 35758 USA) hrrp:/Iwww .
ATLAS (Environmental Systems Research Insricute, Inc. inrergraph.com
[ESRI], 380 New York Sueet, Redlands, CA 92373- SuperMap GIS (SuperMap GIS Technologies, Inc., 7th
8100 USA) http://www.esri.com Floor, Tower B, Technology Fonune Center, Xueqing
Auro CAD (Aurodesk Media & Emertainmem, Mumbai, Road, Haidian District, Beijing, China, 100085 )
400052, India) http://www.aurodesk.com h[tp: llwww.supermap.com
274
Index
accred itation, 234, 249 concinguous, 121-2; variable contrasr: maps and, 77-8
accuracy. 9-10; relative, 9 width, 121, 123-4, 125 control: datum and, 29-30
adjacency, 45 buffer zone, 119 coo rdinate pair. 45
Albers' equal area projection, 34 coordinate systems: geographical,
allocation distance function, 214 cameras, 11 , 13-14 30-2; negative values in, 34-5;
American Society for Canada Geographic Information planar, 34-7; rectangular,
Phomgrammerry and Remote Sysrem (CGIS), 6 34-7; vector data and, 45
Sensing (ASPRS), 245--{j Canada Land Inventory, 186--7 coSt weighted distance function,
analysis mask, 214 Cartesian coordinate system, 30-1 214-15
annotat ion , map. 76 canograms, 84 Cressie, N ., 63
arc: overlay process and, 171; vecroc cartography, 3-4, 5, 72; com purer, cylindrical map projection, 32-4
data and, 46 3-4, 5; see also maps
ArcGIS, 6--7, 8, 213, 219-20 Cary, T., 234 Dangermond, J., 6
Arisrode, 28 catchmems,208-10 data: auxiliary, 227-8; collection of,
assoc iation: databases and. 144-56 caveats: maps and, 79-80 8-20, 228-9, 231; elevation,
attribure, 38, 49; definition of, 93; cells; see grid cells 30, 38-9; field collection of,
editing, 60-1; errors in, 65--{j; Census Bureau (US), 5--{j 16--1 9; in co nsistent, 62-3;
selecti ng, 90-9; updating, 167 Cemral Imelligence Agency (CIA), 5 manipulation and display of,
AVIRlS,229 centroid, 222 19-20; missing, 62; output
axis, 30-1 certification, 245-52 devices and, 20-2; sensitive,
azimuth, 200-1 Clarke Ellipsoid, 30 242; data, soils, 186; spatial,
azimuchal map projection. 32-4 classification, land, 185-8 3, 9-10; storage technology
clipping process, 106--14 and, 19
baseline, 37 color: DEMs and, 197-8; maps and databases: acquiring, 54-7, 241-2;
bearing, 20 I 77-8,81-2,83 associating, 144-56; auxiliary
Bernard, A.M., and Prisley, S.P., 23 combine process, 132-8, 144 data and, 227-8; clipping,
Berthier, Louis-Alexandre, 5 compact discs (CD), 19 106--14; combining, 144;
Bettinger, P., 237, 240 completeness, 64 conversion of, 218-29;
Boisrad, P., et al., 19 computer aided drafting (CAD) creating, 10-20,57-9; editing,
bounds, 36--7 sohware, 3-4 59--{j3; erasing and, I 14-16;
Brooks Act, 250 compurers, personal, 7, 19-20,22-3 format of, 55; high resolution,
buffering, 92, 106, 119-31; conformal map projection, 33-4 228-9; joining, 144-53, 154;
concentric rings and, 125-6; conic map projection, 32-4 linking, 144, 153-4; merging,
constam/fixed width, 121, connectivity,45 132,137-8,140-2; official,
123, 125; individual , 121-2; containment, 45 134; overlay with point and
out pur of, 127; overlapping, COntou r intervals, 4 1, 298-9 line, 178-80; ownership of,
121-2,124,126,137; COntou r lines, 198-200; watershed 239; permanent, 153;
uncontinguous/ non- delineation and, 208-9 proprietary, 109, 238; raster,
275
Index 265
89. 197-224; relating. 144. Earth: shape and size of. 27-8 Galileo satellite sYStem. 18
153-4; resolution of. 51. eastings. 34--5 geodesy. 28
228-9; scale of. 51; sharing. education. GIS. 234. 246-7, 249 Geodetic Reference System of 1980
237-40; soils. 110-11; sparial. Edwards. D .• 80-1 (GRS80). 29. 30
27-53; temporary. 144; electronic distance measuring geographic information science and
terminology for. 3; updating. dev ices (EOMs). 16 technology (G IST). 247
59-63.157-69.229-31. elevation, viewing. 206 geographic informacion systems
239-40; vector. 89. 202-5; see elevation camours, 198-200 (GIS) : applicarions of. 2. 7-8 ;
also database struc[Ure ell ipsoid. 29-30 definition of. 3-4; hiStory
database managemem, 3-4 engineer ing: v. GIS users, 246. of, 4-7; natural resource
database struc[Ures, 38-50; 247-50 management and, 2, 7-8;
alternate. 48-50; conversions ENVI.227 technology of. 8-23. 226-36
and . 218-19; raster. 38-44. Environmental Systems Research geographic information systems
47-8.49; vector. 38. 44--8. 49 Institute (ESRI). 6-7. 8 specialiSt (G ISP). 246
datum. 29-30. 42; vertical. 30 equal area map projection, 33--4 geographical coordinate system,
degrees. 31-2 'erasing outside', 108 30-2
density functions. 216-17. 221 - 2 erasi ng process. 107. 114--16; Geography Network Canada. 55
density surface. 221-2 merging and. 140 geoid. 29. 30
Oem. B.D .• 82 Eratosthenes, 28 global posirion ing sYStem (G PS) ,
Descartes. Rene. 30-1 Erdas Imagine. 227 11-13. 16-19; errors in.
de Steiguer. J.E.• and Giles. R.H .• 2 errors: a[(cibure, 65-6; 17-18; receivers fo r. 18- 19
desrination rable. 145 co mpensating. 64; cumulative, GLONASS (Global Navigation
differential correction, 17 63; database. 59-60. 62-7; Satellite SYStem). 18
digital elevation model (OEM). 13. definition of. 64; gross. 63; Google Earth. 7. 227
16. 38-9. 197-211 human, 63; instrumental, graticule. 3 1. 32
digital line graph (OLG). 6 63; multipath. 17-18; gray tone: OEMs and. 197-8
digital orthophotographs. 15-16. positional. 64--5; random. grid cells. 38. 48. 217-18; OEMs
39-40; updating and. 166-7 63-4; roer mean square, and. 197-8; null. 198; size
digital orthophoto quadrangle 65. 66; syntax. 102; of. 58. 66; slope class and.
(OOQ). 39. 231 sysrema ric, 63 201.205
d igiral raster graphics (ORGs). ERSI grid. 220 grid cell resolution. 214. 219
40-3.231 event themes, 49 grid cell search functions. 215-16
digital versatile discs (OVO). 19
digitizing. 57-8. 163; 'heads-up'. Federal Acquisit ion Regulation habitat: definition of. 191 ; wildlife.
40.57.58.163; manual. 10. (FAR). 250 185, 19 1-2
57- 8 fiducial marks. 14 habitat suitability index (HSI). 185.
OIME (Dual Independent Map field offices: GIS capabilities and. 191-2
Encoding). 6 229-30.239-40 high resolution databases. 228-9
direction, 201; map. 73; flow, File Transfer Protocol (FTP). 56 'hot spots'. 216-1 7
209-10 flattening ratio, 29 hyperlinks. 227-8
disclaimers. 233; maps and. flight line, 14--15
79-80 float ing point raster databases, identity process. 170. 174-5.
dissolve process. 133; see also 2 19 178-8 1
combine process Aow direction. 209-10 images. graphic. 22
distance functions. 214--15, 220-1 focal searches. 2 15 input devices. 10- 20
dimibutions. 82-3 font: maps and. 77 insets. map. 75-6
Dominion Land Survey. 37 Freedom of Information Act Internet: databases and, 55-7; GIS
Doyle. R.• 248 (FOIA). 233. 242 and. 7. 230-1; open. 234
dynamic segmentation. 49-50 fu nctions. 214-17. 220-2 interoperab ility. 234
276
266 Index
278
268 Index
279