A Local Example of Land-Use Change: Southern Illinois—1807, 1938, and 1993*

Abstract

This article provides an analysis of a wetland site in southern Illinois from presettlement to the present. The study area is part of the Cache River-Cypress Creek Wetland, which has international importance, as recognized by the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands. Land-cover data for 1807, 1938, and 1993 were created and analyzed with a geographic information system (GIS). Land-use change by topographic setting (uplands, transitional, and bottomlands) and soil productivity was quantified and studied. Interviews with local experts informed this analysis. Results illustrate the complexity of environmental change and its driving forces. First, notable forest and swamp acreage was converted to cropland between 1807 and 1938 and, to a lesser degree, from 1938 to 1993. Second, there were land-use variations by topographic region. Between 1807 and 1938, the largest transformation occurred in the uplands, with substantial acreage converted from forest to cropland. Between 1938 and 1993, however, agriculture decreased in the upland areas as hilly areas reverted to forest cover. At the same time, agriculture expanded in the bottomlands as this land was drained for farming. Third, there are interesting patterns within these categories of land-use change, as soil productivity is an indicator of what lands were taken out of cropland and converted back to grassland and forest.     

Utilizing discriminant function analysis with a geographical information system to model ecological succession spatially

Abstract

A raster/quadtree geographical information system (GIS) was established For a 932 ha natural area in central Missouri. The GIS contained map layers depicting vegetative cover from 1939 to 1982, soils, topographic aspect and distance from a forest seed source. Discriminant function analysis was used to quantify and describe ecological succession on the area during this period. The calibration of discriminant functions is discussed, as are the statistical and spatial validations of the model. It was concluded that this approach provides a useful technique to examine long-term temporal phenomena in a spatial context.     

A Local Example of Land‐Use Change: Southern Illinois—1807, 1938, and 1993*

This article provides an analysis of a wetland site in southern Illinois from presettlement to the present. The study area is part of the Cache River‐Cypress Creek Wetland, which has international importance, as recognized by the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands. Land‐cover data for 1807, 1938, and 1993 were created and analyzed with a geographic information system (GIS). Land‐use change by topographic setting (uplands, transitional, and bottomlands) and soil productivity was quantified and studied. Interviews with local experts informed this analysis. Results illustrate the complexity of environmental change and its driving forces. First, notable forest and swamp acreage was converted to cropland between 1807 and 1938 and, to a lesser degree, from 1938 to 1993. Second, there were land‐use variations by topographic region. Between 1807 and 1938, the largest transformation occurred in the uplands, with substantial acreage converted from forest to cropland. Between 1938 and 1993, however, agriculture decreased in the upland areas as hilly areas reverted to forest cover. At the same time, agriculture expanded in the bottomlands as this land was drained for farming. Third, there are interesting patterns within these categories of land‐use change, as soil productivity is an indicator of what lands were taken out of cropland and converted back to grassland and forest.     

Building Environmental Literacy through Participation in GIS and Multimedia Assisted Field Research

Abstract

A Learning Support System (LSS) that emphasizes experiential research in natural environments using the cutting-edge technologies of GIS and multimedia has been developed for teaching environmental literacy to undergraduate students at the University of Georgia. Computers are used as cognitive tools to create a context in which students become interns in an ecological research center. Students are instructed to conduct research in the form of two field laboratories (the stream and forest laboratories). They accomplish their tasks by collecting data in the field (the State Botanical Garden of Georgia near the campus). They enter the data in the Learning Support System (LSS), and are guided to formulate hypotheses relating to stream water quality and human impact on forest succession for testing. Students also interact with the Environmental Research Support Site (ERSS) within the LSS for explanations to their findings. A specially customized Arc View GIS program within the LSS provides a tool to students for spatial analysis in the case of the forest laboratory. Students and faculty evaluations as well as final examination results confirmed the receptiveness of students to the LSS approach and its effectiveness in the learning of environmental literacy.     

Real-time genetic spatial optimization to improve forest fire spread forecasting in high-performance computing environments

Abstract

Forest fires are a kind of natural hazard with a high number of occurrences in southern European countries. To avoid major damages and to improve forest fire management, one can use forest fire spread simulators to predict fire behavior. When providing forest fire predictions, there are two main considerations: accuracy and computation time. In the context of natural hazards simulation, it is well known that part of the final forecast error comes from uncertainty in the input data. These data typically consist of a set of GIS files, which should be appropriately conflated. For this reason, several input data calibration methods have been developed by the scientific community. In this work, the Two-Stage calibration methodology, which has been shown to provide good results, is used. This calibration strategy is computationally intensive and time-consuming because it uses a Genetic Algorithm as a solution. Taking into account the aspect of urgency in forest fire spread prediction, it is necessary to maintain a balance between accuracy and the time needed to calibrate the input parameters. In order to take advantage of this technique, one must deal with the problem that some of the obtained solutions are impractical, since they involve simulation times that are too long, preventing the prediction system from being deployed at an operational level. A new method which finds the minimum resolution reduction for such long simulations, keeping accuracy loss to a known interval, is proposed. The proposed improvement is based on a time-aware core allocation policy that enables real-time forest fire spread forecasting. The final prediction system is a cyberinfrastructure, which enables forest fire spread prediction at real time.     

遥感、地图、地理信息系统—体化应用

遥感、地图和地理信息系统（ＯＩＳ）三者呈“你中有我，我中有你”的相辅相成关系．三者一体化应用使地球科学得以进展，又能在资源开发、环境保护、自然灾害监测评价等方面发挥重要作用．一体化应用的基础是掌握三者的学科一技术特性与相通关系．     

Fire In The Management Of Vegetation

Abstract

Fire, either natural or man-caused, has influenced the pattern of vegetation in numerous areas over the earth. Factors that contribute to potential damage to either the vegetation and/or environment are examined. Since the extent of damage varies, a fire can be destructive or useful. The use of “prescribed” fire in land management accomplishes several desired objectives, one of which is the perpetuation of certain fire-climax vegetation types, such as pines and some grasses. In those pine-forested areas where fire is regularly used in management, a related benefit is the reduction of hazardous natural fuels, which results in fewer catastrophic wildfires. Air pollution due to forest burning is also considered.     

A geo-information system approach for forest fire likelihood based on causative and anti-causative factors

Innumerable forest fire spread models exist for taking a decision, but far less focus is on the real causative factors which initiate/ignite fire in an area. It has been observed that the majority of the forest fires in India are initiated due to anthropogenic factors. In this study, we develop a geo-information system approach for management of forest fire in Mudumalai Wildlife Sanctuary, Tamil Nadu, India, with the objective to develop a forest fire likelihood model, integrating GIS and knowledge-based approach for predicting fire-sensitive initiation areas considering major causative and anti-causative factors. Amongst the various causative factors investigated, it was found that wildlife-dependent factor (antler collection and poaching) contributed significantly to fire occurrence followed by management-dependent factors (uncontrolled tourism and grazing), with much less influence of demographic factors. Similarly, anti-causative factor (stationing of anti-poaching/ fire camps) was considered as quite significant.

The likelihood model so developed, envisaging various factors and flammability, accounted for different scenarios as a result of pair-wise comparison on an ordinal scale in a knowledge matrix. The inferential statistics computed indicated the robustness of the model and its insensitivity to moderate changes. It makes it possible for this forest fire likelihood model to predict and prevent a forest fire in an effective and scientific manner because it can assume forest fire likelihood in real time and present in proper time.     

A GIS evaluation of land use dynamics and forest soil fertility in a watershed in Nepal

Abstract

A geographical information system (GIS) based study was carried out in a densely-populated watershed in Nepal. An evaluation of land use change between 1972 and 1990 indicated that there has been an increase in forest and agricultural land area and a decrease in shrubland and grassland area. GIS techniques were used to produce single and composite fertility index maps, which can be used for problem identification and planning. These maps indicate that forest soil fertility is generally poor in the watershed. GIS was found to be very beneficial in addressing critical resource issues in small watersheds in developing countries.     

Early applications of geographical information systems at the Institute of Terrestrial Ecology

Abstract

The Institute of Terrestrial Ecology (ITE) Digital Cartographic Service provides a range of services to the scientists of ITE (and others) including various techniques within the field of geographical information systems (GIS). This paper discusses work of this type as it is applied to specific ITE projects. The emphasis is very much on GIS applications to ‘real ecological science’ such as the ‘acid water’ problem and the change of forest areas into heathland. Some comments are made on fundamental GIS techniques, their use and limitations. At ITE, GIS applications are growing out of an existing use of digital mapping and remote sensing technologies; they have not purchased a GIS system ‘off the shelf.’     

Use of GIS in Optimizing Timber Thinning Strategies in the Eastern Sierra Nevada*

This paper demonstrates the use of a Geographic Information System (GIS) to develop timber thinning strategies on the Kyburz Planning Area of the Tahoe National Forest in northeastern California. The primary criteria used in an assessment of selective thinning potential were forest health and fire hazard ratings. By eliminating environmentally sensitive, economically unfeasible, or low fire hazard areas from consideration, the use of GIS reduced the area that was considered appropriate for thinning by approximately 58%. GIS offers considerable potential for improving resource management strategies.     

Prediction of Anopheles minimus habitat in India—a tool for malaria management

This paper reports research to predict the distribution of An. minimus, a malaria vector in forest fringe areas using GIS to support precision surveys for malaria control. Because An. minimus is a forest‐associated species, generalized thematic maps (1:6?000?000) of forest cover, soil type, altitude, rainfall and temperature were used. Digitization, overlaying, integration and analysis of thematic maps were done using Arc/Info 8.1 NT and Arc/View 3.2 (GIS, ESRI) software. GIS delineated favourable areas for An. minimus where the species is likely to be found, and precision surveys can be conducted. Precision field surveys in selected locations of favourable/non‐favourable areas were carried out. The species could be found in all locations designated as a favourable area and was absent in non‐favourable areas. In two districts, one where the species is reported to have disappeared in the early 1950s and the other where it was not reported in earlier surveys, GIS helped in precision surveys, and An. minimus was found. The technique can quickly cover vast and inaccessible areas and is easy to duplicate in other parts of the world to assist cost‐effective control of malaria. It can also delineate areas favourable for any species of flora and fauna to help precision surveys.     

Forest fire risk maps: a GIS open source application – a case study in Norwest of Portugal

Forest fires are widely recognized as one of the most critical events in global change. Successful fire management depends on effective fire prevention, detection, and presuppression, having an adequate fire suppression capability, and consideration of fire ecology relationships. Geographical information systems (GIS) provide tools to create, transform, and combine georeferenced variables. In Portugal, as in many other countries, it is mandatory that all the municipalities produce forest fire risk maps on an annual basis, following the rules of the Portuguese Forest Authority, a governmental association. This article presents the results of a research project aimed at producing forest fire risk maps in a GIS open source environment in Portugal. The requirements of an open source application are better quality, higher reliability, more flexibility, lower cost, and an end to predatory vendor lock-in. Three different open source desktop GIS software projects were evaluated: Quantum GIS (QGIS), generalitat valenciana, Sistema d'Informacio Geografica, and Kosmo. Taking into account the skills and experience of the authors, the main advantage of QGIS relies on the easiness and quickness in developing new plug-ins, using Python language. Therefore, this project was developed in QGIS platform and the interface was created in Python. This application incorporates seven procedures under a single toolbar. The production of the forest fire risk map comprises several steps and the production of several maps: probability, susceptibility, hazard, vulnerability, economic value, potential loss, and finally the forest fire risk map. The forest fire risk map comprises five classes: very low risk (dark green), low risk (green), medium risk (yellow), high risk (orange), and very high risk (red). This application was tested in three different municipal governments of the Norwest zone of Portugal. This application has the advantages of grouping in a unique toolbar all the procedures needed to produce forest fire risk maps and is free for the institution/user. Beyond being an open source application, this application may be faster and easier when compared with the GIS proprietary solutions that usually comprise several steps and the use of different software extensions. This work presents several contributions for the area of the GIS open source applications to forest fire risk management.     

GIS based ecotourism potential assessment in Munessa Shashemene Concession Forest and its surrounding area,Ethiopia

This study aims to understand GIS based ecotourism potential of Munessa Shashemene Concession Forest and its surrounding area in Ethiopia. Landsat images from 2009/2010 and 2013 were used to drive baseline data including land cover, land use, stream and road. Elevation based agro-ecology and slope map were derived from SRTM DEM. Rapid wild animals survey, identifying the location of known historical, cultural and unique features were carried out in the filed with the help of key-informants. A suitability model was designed in GIS environment to assess the suitability of an area for tourism considering suitability factors such as land cover types, wild animal zone, unique features, topography and distance to a road. The result showed areas which are highly suitable, moderately suitable, marginally suitable, or unsuitable for tourism. The old giant, Podocarpus (Podocarpus falcatus) trees that serve as habitat of the endangered and endemic mountain nyala (Tragelaphus buxtoni), were identified as very high suitable areas for tourists. The highly suitable areas include forest area along the lake which is seasonally visited by mountain nyala and areas of plantation forest that are found adjacent to natural forest. These areas follow remnants of the natural forest and found along boundary between the mid-highland and the highland agro-ecologies. The agricultural land use types consisting of maize/haricot-bean and wheat/barley were evaluated as marginally suitable, nevertheless these could be considered as potential for agri-tourism. The study revealed that the concession area is found to be a suitable area with its huge potential for ecotourism development.     

四川省林草火险等级评价

把四川建设成为长江上游生态屏障是四川省的一项重大战略决策。森林和草地资源防火是生态屏障和生态安全保障体系建设的重要内容。林草火险等级的评价对森林和草地资源的防火具有重要的意义。本文利用遥感、GIS和层次分析法对四川省林草火险等级进行了评价。研究表明,就全省而言,火险等级为5级的占0.8%,为4级的占20.2%,为3级的占47.2%;极高火险区主要出现在甘孜州、凉山州、阿坝州、攀枝花市和雅安市,其所占面积百分比分别为49.2%、24.7%、15.7%、3.5%和3.4%;高火险区主要出现在甘孜州、凉山州和阿坝州,其所占面积百分比共达到了72.1%。建议将甘孜州、凉山州、阿坝州、攀枝花以及雅安市作为四川省林草防火的重点区域,在防火的人、财、物上给予优先考虑。     

Land Classification Maps of Areas Basic to Agricultural Production

Abstract

Einevoll, O. 1968. Land Classification Maps of Areas Basic to Agricultural Production. Norsk geogr. Tidsskr. 22, 264–270.

In Norway, a detailed land survey, based on photogrammetry, is now proceeding for land classification maps of the scale 1:5,000 (for certain minor areas 1:10,000) covering agricultural areas and including forest land. The areas to be mapped are classified according to land capability and general conditions of management. Containing a great deal of additional information as well, these maps will serve as a valuable aid in land use planning. The survey is designed to be completed in 12–15 year's time.

More roughly designed maps for the entire country on the scale 1:100,000 and 1:250,000, printed in colour, will be produced within two years' time. Intermediate maps of 1:20,000, containing an extended number of land types, will be undertaken gradually, after the appearance of the large scale map series. Property boundaries recorded in connexion with the surveying for the large scale maps will serve as the basis for a complete land register containing exact information about size and land properties of individual holdings.     

Use of an expert system to map forest soils from a geographical information system

Abstract

Mapping forest soils using conventional methods is time consuming and expensive. An expert system is described and applied to the mapping of five forest soil-landscape units formed on a single granitoid parent material. Three thematic maps were considered important in influencing the distribution of soils. The first showed the distribution of nine classes of native eucalypt forests, and the second and third were derived from a digital elevation model and represented slope gradient and a soil wetness index combined with topographical position. These layers were input to a raster based geographical information system (GIS) and then geometrically co-registered to a regular 30 m grid. From a knowledge of soil distributions, the relationships between the soil-landscape units and the three data layers were quantified by an experienced soil scientist and used as rules in a rule based expert system. The thematic layers accessed from the GIS provided data for the expert system to infer the forest soil-landscape unit most likely to occur at any given pixel. The soil-landscape map output by the expert system compared favourably with a conventional soil-landscape map generated using interpretation of aerial photographs.     

Why Geography Still Needs Pen and Ink Cartography

Abstract

Maps are fundamental in geographic explanation and education, but as map-making becomes firmly entrenched in the GIS lab, it becomes harder for students to imagine how they can make maps for their papers. Students need to illustrate papers with maps: among other things, maps provide clarity, links to real places, and insights into patterns and context of phenomena discussed in student papers. A simple, quick, and aesthetically satisfying method for students to make their own maps is presented. This map making method can help students can think more creatively and geographically about their topics.     

Mountain pastures, environmental degradation, and landscape remediation: The example of a Mediterranean policy initiative

Since the 1950s the Spanish Mediterranean mountains have undergone a process of population decline, abandonment of land by farmers, and a reduction in livestock pressure. These changes have involved pasture loss as a result of the spread of scrub and an increase in the incidence of fires. To avoid these negative outcomes the regional administration of La Rioja (Spain) has implemented scrub clearance programs. Between 1986 and 2005 a total of 23,668 ha were cleared, particularly on abandoned fields where the processes of vegetation succession had led to the dominance of Genista scorpius and Cistus laurifolius. Pasture regeneration as a result of scrub clearing of areas dominated by G. scorpius has resulted in a productivity rise from 6666 to 12,983 Mj/ha/year, whereas productivity of areas dominated by C. laurifolius has risen from 2435 to 9741 Mj/ha/year. The clearing of scrub needs to be recognized as a significant factor contributing to the control of fire. Scrub clearing has had positive results in La Rioja, leading to a reduced incidence of fires in recent years. Between 1996 and 2005 only 155 ha/year was burnt, compared with 1541 ha/year over the period from 1976 to 1985. Scrub clearing appears to be an appropriate means of management in marginal mountainous areas without the need for large investments of time and money.