Overview of Geographic Information System Options. for Invasive Species Management

Transcription

1 Overview of Geographic Information System Options for Invasive Species Management Prepared for the Michigan Invasive Species Coalition by the Potawatomi Resource Conservation and Development Council November, 2015

2 Executive Summary The use of geographic information systems to collect and edit data, plan invasive species treatments and tabulate results for reporting can be an expensive, cumbersome and challenging task. Systems to execute these tasks can cost up to thousands of dollars for hardware and software and still require time and training to gain efficiency. Traditional, expensive, single-purpose GPS units are being supplanted by small form factor, wireless GPS units. This new generation of technology is budget friendly starting at $100 and above, depending on your spatial accuracy requirements. This benefits users in two ways: the GPS can talk to any piece of hardware or software which allows you the flexibility to change systems or components as your needs, skills and budgets change, and it allows the use of any mobile device as a data collection platform. Mobile devices (tablets and phones) are rapidly becoming the hardware of choice for data collection activities. Low price points, ubiquity and flexibility are all factors that have led to this phenomenon in what some are calling a bring your own device workforce. Apps and software as a service are offering the same, and in many cases more, functionality as traditional field GIS software with the notable exception that these apps are much simpler to work with and a shallower learning curve. The defining function of these apps and services is that they offer a flexible and robust system of quality assurance in the implementation of data collection forms. Electronic forms can be created such that all the required domains and ranges of data are available to field crews which can speed efficiency and reduce editing times. Additionally, the apps can be configured to automatically download completed data forms to a central location when connected to a cellular or wireless network. GIS software for the desktop environment has traditionally been synonymous with ESRI s ArcGIS suite, which costs up to thousands of dollars unless a partnership with a non-profit or government agency provides access. Free and moderately priced GIS software (<$500) offer the exact same functionality for the vast majority of invasive species-oriented GIS tasks. Additionally, QGIS, a free software, has recently been ported to the Android operating system which makes this the only fully functioning, mobile GIS software. Finally, as we look to the future of the technology, in the short term we can expect mobile-embedded GPS units to return higher accuracy locations for the same price. 2

3 Table of Contents Executive Summary... 2 Table of Contents... 3 List of Figures... 4 List of Tables... 4 Introduction... 5 Minimum System Requirements... 5 Spatial Accuracy... 5 Accuracy constraints and considerations:... 6 Reporting... 7 Quality Assurance... 7 Software as a Service Considerations... 8 Example tools Making a map Summary Collecting Data Traditional system Summary High Accuracy Mobile System Completely Mobile Solution Summary Managing GIS Data Summary: Recommendations Acknowledgments List of Software, Hardware and Data Suppliers with Links List of Acronyms

4 List of Figures Figure 1: Electronic Data Collection Form Figure 2: Trimble Juno and GeoX series handhelds Figure 3: SX Blue and Garmin GLO handheld GPS Units Figure 4: Bad Elf Pro and Bad Elf Plug-In GPS Units List of Tables Table 1: GPS Accuracy and Cost... 6 Table 2: GPS Accuracy Revisit... 6 Table 3: Software Functionality Descriptions... 9 Table 4: GPS Manufacturers Cost and Accuracy Table 5: Software as a Service Cost Matrix Table 6: GIS System Cost and Functionality

5 Introduction This document was prepared to provide background information and to guide choices when implementing, supplementing or upgrading GIS data collection and management systems. It is intended to support invasive species management efforts in the State of Michigan by describing hardware and software components and systems to non-gis professionals. In this document you will be presented with an assessment of some minimum requirements for field data collection and final reporting. We will address a minimum functionality needed in a system and a matrix to better compare systems and their individual components. We provide some example systems, make recommendations and finally provide a look toward the future to better plan your next field campaign. This document was prepared by interviewing three invasive species practitioners and with the experience of the author in GIS technology. Interview questions sought to characterize what systems were in place now, how those systems worked from the planning stages through data collection and on to final reporting. Finally, interviewees were asked what would be their ideal system, i.e. a system that makes their job easier. Technical information was gleaned through product literature, consultations with hardware and software providers and research. Disclaimer: Please remember that this is not an exhaustive report on every component or system available. It is crafted with interviews of people with experience in the invasive species profession and the knowledge and experience of the author. As with every recommendation, please consider your needs, skills, preferences, budget and constraints with any decision. Minimum System Requirements Any system that is developed to operate an invasive species management program will be a function of the time available to set up, learn and operate its various components, the amount of money available to purchase the components and what information is required to plan and capture treatment and reporting data. Spatial Accuracy Currently, there are no spatial data accuracy requirements for the State of Michigan. Other agency funded invasive species programs may have set policies or standards to govern the accuracy of spatial information. For instance, the United States Forest Service recommends sub-meter level accuracy for invasive species data. Assess your own needs for spatial accuracy. Will you need to find the location again using only the GPS? Are you using the GPS to calculate the area of an infestation? Are you using the GPS to track your movements throughout the treatment area? Is the use of a GPS supplemental (i.e. not critical) to your survey and treatment planning? 5

6 Accuracy constraints and considerations: It is important to know the constraints on any global navigation satellite system (GNSS), called GPS in the United States. The GPS receiver that you use to collect data listens to broadcasts from a constellation of satellites. The GPS unit must be listening to a minimum of four satellites at any given time to be able to compute a location. The message broadcast by the satellites is subject to interference, which ultimately leads to a position with lower accuracy. Interference can generally be attributed to poor reception, much like early radios or televisions where the antennas need to be pointed in the right direction to obtain the best signal. The same can be said for GPS units: the antenna must have a clear view of the sky. Overhead vegetation, standing next to a cliff or building, in a hollow, under a log or in a cave will reduce the accuracy of your computed location. Some of these interferences are objective and cannot be corrected, i.e. overhead vegetation. However, best practices can produce better locations, i.e. keeping the unit facing the sky when recording location information. GPS accuracy is also a function of the cost of the unit. Consumer grade units, generally the cheapest, provide the lowest accuracy while survey grade units, costing up to tens of thousands of dollars, provide the highest level of accuracy. The following is a table of the relative accuracies of GPS units available. Grade Accuracy Cost Notes Cellular 8.5m + (28 ft) $ Varies Without cellular connection Consumer 3-5 m (16.4 ft) $100 + Without correction Resource 1-3 m (9.8 ft) $200 + Likely good enough Map < 1 meter (3.2 ft) $ Multiple uses Survey Centimeter (< 1 inch) $ Overkill Table 1: GPS Accuracy and Cost It is worth noting that accuracy standards are always delivered as a linear unit, but in practice this distance can be in any direction from the actual location, so it is more helpful to think of this accuracy as an area, with the distance stated as the radius of a circle. In that case, the accuracy standards could be presented as the table below. 6 Grade Accuracy (Area) Cellular 226m 2 + (2463 ft 2 ) Consumer 78 m 2 (844 ft 2 ) Resource 28 m 2 (301 ft 2 ) Map < 3.1 m 2 (32 ft 2 ) Survey < 1 m 2 (< 1 ft 2 ) Table 2: GPS Accuracy Revisit Now imagine using a consumer-grade GPS unit to find a small isolated patch of Chinese yam in a wide open field. The GPS unit will get you close, but you still have the area the size of a studio apartment to scour in search of your quarry. Of course, this assumes you have no other useful notes to work from, that the site wasn t flagged or photo-documented and that you are unfamiliar to the area. This information is deceptive in that when you look at your consumer-grade data on a map that is zoomed out to 1:24,000 scale, you can convince yourself that you have pin-pointed a location. However, when

7 you zoom in, or better yet, when you go back out to the site in 3 months, you find that in truth the situation is more like good from far, but far from good. In reality, we often use GPS data as a supplement to our experiential knowledge of a place, especially if we are the ones who have done the survey and will return at a later date to treat the location. Higher accuracy becomes important if others are returning to a site or if we are going to return the following season. Reporting At the time of writing, there is a set of proposed data submission parameters for information to be submitted to MISIN, however, the minimum set of data is yet to be determined. A full suite of data attributes includes information on treatment efficacy, land owner, management team and photos. This potential list has up to 65 attributes for any given site. Collecting and keeping track of this data is a job unto itself and requires a system to manage it whether that system is entirely paper-based or digital, so a system that will reliably and efficiently manage the effort is a necessity. Quality Assurance In simple terms, quality assurance, as it relates to invasive species management, is bad data prevention. This means that your team that is out collecting data is: all using the same codes in their data entry forms, that they are transcribing all GPS coordinates correctly from unit to paper or digital, that species names are being spelled correctly, that records are legible that all the required fields in the data collection form are filled out. There are numerous ways in which we can capture bad data, but it is our quality assurance planning that prevents that. The simplest and most robust method for preventing bad data from happening, short of having excellent field staff, is to rigidly enforce the data that can be entered in to the form. This is much easier to do when it is captured digitally. This is done through the use of electronic forms. Electronic forms can be set up in many software programs, MS Excel being the most common. However, having a laptop computer in the field is rife with its own challenges. Any GIS software will have the ability to create forms and to enforce the domain and range of data that can be entered in to any attribute. This is most commonly achieved through the use of drop down menus. Check boxes and buttons are also a common implementation of quality assurance measures. 7

8 Figure 1: Electronic Data Collection Form. The implementation of electronic forms standardizes data collection and makes your field crews more efficient. In light of some of the potential reporting requirements listed above (i.e. 65 attributes) a method for capturing data that reduces and or eliminates field errors is going to save time and money in data management. Software as a Service Considerations Software as a service, SaaS, is a relatively new method for data collection. It delivers access to software on a fee-based subscription service and leverages the ubiquity of GPS-enabled mobile devices. Different SaaS providers are described in detail in the following section, but we offer an overview of some of the required functionality for these services to consider in light of the minimum requirements. For SaaS to be competitive with existing GIS workflows, they must offer at least the same minimum functionality as mobile GIS software currently offers. Further, it must be fairly easy to learn and implement if it is to be adopted by practitioners whose main function is not to be the GIS expert. With that in mind, the following table is a list of functionality that should be considered mandatory for SaaS to be useful in field applications. 8

9 Functionality Form creation and editing GPS track creation by time or distance Description Forms are the heart of quality assurance. Creating forms is usually done through a browser on the desktop and pushed out to all users via the app installed on their mobile device of choice. GPS track points can either be created via a time interval (1 track point every n seconds) or distance (one track point every n meters.) Multiple geometry types Waypoint or polygon creation by drawing or GPS Disconnected editing Multiple multi-media attachments Data can be collected as either points, lines or polygon features. Enhanced functionality will be able to export common geometries as a single shapefile for use in GIS. At times it might be impossible to circumnavigate a population due to impassable terrain (water, poison sumac, dense brush.) Having the option to draw a polygon versus navigate the polygon is a plus. Most apps will automatically download completed data forms in the background when cellular connections are made. Disconnected editing allows data forms to be created in absence of connectivity and uploaded later. Being able to attach multiple photos, videos or voice notes to a record is valuable functionality. Export data in multiple formats Table 3: Software Functionality Descriptions Common GIS data formats for export include shapefiles, KMLs, and CSVs. Site reports can be exported in PDF format are also a bonus. Another inherent bonus for the SaaS is that it also leverages the fact that most personnel will have mobile device with which to install the application on. If this is not the case, then managers are still able to purchase mobile phones or tablets for field crew at a fraction of the cost of stand-alone GPS/GIS units, with the added advantage that the mobile device has other potential functions that a stand-alone unit does not. 9

10 Example tools Tool is used broadly to include any piece of hardware or software that makes up a workflow. Emphasis has been placed on tools that are cheap to free and are relatively simple to learn and use. Making a map This is by far the most common activity for people looking to supply their field crews with decent wayfinding or locational information. Making a map through GIS means that you need data to put in that map. The lowest hanging fruit for obtaining high quality, free GIS data is through the United States Department of Agriculture, Natural Resource Conservation Service Geospatial Data Gateway. At this site, you can receive county-level data to serve (nearly) all your GIS map making needs. Available themes include: Hydrography and watershed boundaries Census Easements Elevation Geology Transportation Topographic maps in map indices Boundaries (administrative, political, etc.) Imagery (current and historic) Soils Climate Land use / land cover The State of Michigan offers Michigan-specific data through the Michigan Open GIS portal. The data are delivered in all common GIS data formats and represent a variety of thematic offerings. The data viewer is a convenient and user-friendly interface that allows you to draw a box around your area of interest which then highlights any available data in the following themes: Boundaries Geology Demographics Environment Transportation Elevation Fish & Wildlife Public Health Hydrography The other option is to download and print USGS topographic quad maps through the The National Map web interface. The standard topo maps that we are all likely familiar with are available for FREE and downloadable as GeoPDFs. These maps function as a mini-gis all contained within the standard PDF format. You are able to turn on and off any layer of GIS information. You are also able to turn on or off recent high resolution imagery. Historic topographic maps are also available for download. Importantly, you are able to print these maps and use them in your field operations. The best way to take advantage of these new GeoPDFs is through FREE tools provided by TerraGo Technologies. This software functions as a toolbar that allows you to: 10

11 measure lengths and areas, annotate your drawn features, locate coordinates, use a GPS unit for live positioning and save your changes as a new PDF, MS Word document or other common file format. Drawing lines and polygons and annotate those features is accomplished through a process similar to a full-function GIS. Importantly, lines and polygons can be both imported and exported. KMLs (Google Earth), shapefiles and GPX (a common GPS file format.) file formats are supported allowing a wider usage and portability for data management in a full-function GIS or final reporting. For a price, additional software can be purchased to allow for greater functionality through the use of user-created data forms. Windows operating systems are only supported with this free software. Summary: Free, high quality data from the USDA-NRCS Data Gateway Free GeoPDFs of USGS topographic series: current and historic, high resolution imagery Free GeoPDF toolbar from TerraGo. Edit, annotate, import, export data. Mini-GIS on Windows Collecting Data Three options for data collection systems are presented here. The first is a traditional, stand-alone GPS with embedded GIS-ready software. The second is a high accuracy mobile system and the third is an economical mobile version. The systems with their components are broken out in a functionality / cost matrix at the end of this section. 1 - Traditional system The traditional data collection system utilizes a single-purpose GPS with an embedded operating system that has a GIS-ready software application. These systems are the de-facto standards for agencies like the National Park Service and Forest Service, where spatial and data accuracy standards are uncompromising. Companies like Trimble and Topcon are leaders in the market and offer a number of solutions that will both fit your spatial accuracy needs and break your budget. They both offer GPS units with a range accuracies, from resource to survey grade with the option to purchase either proprietary or third-party GIS data collection software. A minimal system under this banner would include a resource-grade receiver with GIS software onboard. For example, the Trimble Juno 3 series with the Trimble GIS software, TerraSync, will provide you with 2 5 meter accuracy, provide all your data collection needs, and provide a straight to GIS functionality. This system will cost approximately $1100 for the GPS and $300 for the software. It will be rugged and last for years under high usage. A similar system from Topcon will cost less and provide similar functionality and durability. If your spatial accuracy needs are more demanding, then an upgrade of the GPS receiver is entirely possible. A Trimble Geo 5T has sub-meter accuracy and will set your budget back $

12 If you wish to use ESRI s data collection software, ArcPad, to live the full ArcGIS experience, you will spend $500. Figure 2: Trimble Juno and GeoX series handhelds. Images courtesy of Trimble. Summary: For a minimum of $1,300 you are in the game with industry and agency standards. Higher spatial accuracy will cost you an additional $2, High Accuracy Mobile System This system utilizes higher accuracy, small form factor GPS technology and mobile devices. This system uses a stand-alone GPS unit, and connects wirelessly to mobile devices using apps as the data collection platforms. This system allows a mix-and-match approach to hardware and software, allowing a greater flexibility to suit budgets, skill levels and spatial accuracy requirements. We break some of the hardware and software choices down into the tables below. Stand-alone GPS units in this category differ from consumer-grade GPS units in that all the device does is calculate position and send that information via Bluetooth to a mobile device. These units are small; some lack screens, buttons or user interface whatsoever. These systems generally offer a higher accuracy than consumer grade units, operating in the resource to map grade data range. Software in this instance can be implemented as free, stand-alone apps or in the software-as-a-service category. Brand Cost Accuracy Operating System Notes Garmin GLO $ m ios, Android Bad Elf Plug-in $ m ios Unit plugs in to ios device Bad Elf Pro $ m ios Arrow Lite $2000 < 1 m ios, Android, Windows Geneq SX series $2200 < 1 to 3 m ios, Android, Windows Trimble R1 $2,500 < 1 m ios, Android Overkill Table 4: GPS Manufacturers Cost and Accuracy 12

13 Figure 3: SX Blue and Garmin GLO handheld GPS Units. Images courtesy of the manufacturers. ` Figure 4: Bad Elf Pro and Bad Elf Plug-In GPS Units. Images courtesy of the manufacturers. Software as a service is a relatively new addition to GIS data collection and owes its existence to the proliferation of GPS-enabled mobile devices. For the purposes of this conversation, SaaS is both an app and desktop work environment that is delivered as a download with which access is continued through a monthly service plan. In all of the SaaS providers surveyed for this report, each application provides for the incorporation of digital forms and the other features that make data quality assurance possible. Provider Cost Notes Fulcrum $18-25/month Geospago $15/month or $165/year Introductory pricing Terrago $360/year Excellent form creation interface GeoJot $200/year Emphasis on pictures Avenza Free Limited data collection functions Table 5: Software as a Service Cost Matrix 3 - Completely Mobile Solution This hardware/software system is different from the High Accuracy Mobile system on in that it eliminates the higher accuracy stand-alone GPS unit and relies instead on the embedded GPS unit of the mobile device and any of the SaaS options for data collection. While this eliminates another device in the field and eases some of the budgetary burden, the sacrifice comes in the spatial accuracy of your data. 13

14 Summary: Stand-alone GPS units offer higher accuracy at a smaller price point. Stand-alone GPS units are yet another small, battery operated device to lose or have die in the field. SaaS products are new to the market, but offer huge gains in functionality and price point over traditional data collection platforms. Completely mobile data collection solutions will likely be a common data collection standard if spatial accuracy is less important. Managing GIS Data Once data has been collected, there are often numerous tasks required to make that information usable for treatment planning and reporting. Exporting, or downloading, editing data for clarity or corrections, and tabulating information to use in planning and reports. These tasks are most commonly done in a desktop environment with a full GIS software package. In terms of functionality, GIS software packages occupy widely distributed price gaps yet offer the exact same functionality. Prices range from free to thousands of dollars for software that will all accomplish the same tasks. For invasive species management specific tasks, as outlined many times before in this document, any GIS product will fulfill those requirements. A logical next question then becomes, why the disparity in prices? There are many reasons, but the easy answers are: Making maps, editing, exporting and tabulating data are computationally low-level tasks that every GIS can do. Higher priced systems often have higher-level tools for analysis above the scope of work described in this report. In the case of ESRI, they have worked hard to make higher-level tools across a broad spectrum of disciplines and they have a dedicated marketing campaign that has made them the de facto standard. Free, open source and moderately priced GIS packages (<$500) offer the same functionality as the higher priced ArcGIS suite. These options are briefly described as well as options in the Arc suite. ArcGIS offers their software for free to qualifying non-profit entities, which may be the instance with some invasive species management organizations. Additionally, sites partnered with Michigan Conservation Districts or a local branch of the USDA / NRCS office may be granted access to the software for free or a nominal fee. The free GIS package is called Quantum GIS, (QGIS). It is available for any operating system, Windows, OSx, or Linux, and sees an active update cycle thanks to a dedicated community and small staff. There are online and downloadable tutorials that instruct the user through specific GIS tasks and functions. It has recently been ported to the Android operation system and is the only full-featured GIS available on a mobile device. 14

15 The modestly priced Manifold GIS and Global Mapper are both offerings for under $500. They offer upgrades, advanced tools and technical support. Software Cost Map Making Editing Exporting Tabulating Notes QGIS Free X X X X Best value Manifold $400 X X X X Global Mapper $500 X X X X ArcGIS $5000 X X X X Standard; Overkill Table 6: GIS System Cost and Functionality Summary: ArcGIS can be cheap or free with connected partners. Free or low-cost GIS software will offer the exact same functionality as the software that costs thousands of dollars. QGIS is a desktop and mobile GIS platform and has the potential to reduce the need for any SaaS data collection subscriptions. Data formats are standardized enough (i.e. the shapefile) that data will work across platforms. 15

16 Recommendations Know your requirements from a spatial, data collection and reporting standpoint. Do you need meter-level accuracy? Alternatively, can you accurately estimate the area of an invasive species population without a GPS to base your treatment plans on? GPS technologies are a pay for accuracy industry. Higher end units (>$2000) offer a straightto-gis functionality in terms of data forms and shapefile exports which might increase your productivity. GIS software costs range from free to thousands of dollars. Each software offers the same basic functionality described in this document (map making, editing and management). Each will require some effort to learn to be minimally productive. Non-profits and Conservation Districts should have access to ESRI s ArcGIS, but cheaper alternatives offer the same functionality. Software as a service will likely offer enough functionality to base treatment plans on and meet any of Michigan s invasive species reporting requirements. SaaS augmented with a supplemental GPS unit offers the prospect of increased spatial accuracy, increased quality assurance through electronic form development and lower budgetary start-up costs utilizing mobile devices. Looking to the future, GPS technology will become smaller and cheaper with widespread penetration into consumer-grade electronic and mobile devices. This will negate any need for large, expensive stand-alone GPS units. 16

17 Acknowledgments Katie Grzesiak Invasive Species Coordinator Grand Traverse Conservation District Claire Peterson - Information Technology Professional, ASETS / Department of Entomology, Michigan State University Adam Schubel Stantec Consulting, Inc. Sue Tangora Invasive Species Coordinator, Michigan Department of Natural Resources List of Software, Hardware and Data Suppliers with Links Garmin List of Acronyms BYOD Bring Your Own Device GIS Geographic Information System, duh GNSS Global Navigation Satellite System GPS Global Positioning System MDNR Michigan Department of Natural Resources QGIS Quantum GIS SAAS Software as a Service Bad Elf Trimble Geospago TerraGo The National Map USGS Data Gateway USDA / NRCS Michigan Open GIS Portal GeoJot Geneq QGIS QGIS Mobile Manifold GIS Global Mapper ArcGIS 17