Forestry. GIS Solutions for the Natural Resource Manager ESRI

Transcription

1 Forestry GIS Solutions for the Natural Resource Manager ESRI

2 ESRI GIS Software Helping the Natural Resource Manager Managing natural resources in today s ever-changing world has become a complex and demanding challenge to resource managers. Planning, production, business challenges, and environmental regulations often present themselves as conflicting issues facing the natural resource decision maker. natural resource management Geographic information system (GIS) software solutions have helped foresters, wildlife managers, and natural resource professionals meet or exceed the demands placed on them. GIS gives you a unique look at the resources under your care and provides ways to analyze and visualize those resources in ways not possible before. ESRI software provides the tools to help develop long-term available supply strategies, forecasts of silvicultural stock, harvesting system options, and many more. Only ESRI offers an integrated, complete line of software solutions ranging from desktop solutions to high-end data management tools capable of managing very large databases of geographic information and descriptive attributes in a continuous, seamless way. This range of solutions is well suited for contemporary natural resource managers faced with the myriad of today s complex issues. ESRI software is the number one choice of natural resource professionals who have already recognized the value of using GIS as a decision support tool. Using GIS software from ESRI, foresters and natural resource managers have discovered how traditional tasks can be performed more efficiently and how many tasks previously impractical or impossible can now be easily accomplished. Here are a few areas that can benefit from using GIS in natural resource management: Ecosystem Management Environmental Compliance Strategic Planning Fire Management and Control Silvicultural Activities Forest Access and Road Planning Pest Management Urban Forestry

3 Ecosystem Management Conservation is a state of harmony between men and land. By land is meant all of the things on, over, or in the earth. Harmony with land is like harmony with a friend; you cannot cherish his right hand and chop off his left. That is to say, you cannot love game and hate predators; you cannot conserve the waters and waste the ranges; you cannot build the forest and mine the farm. The land is one organism. Its parts, like our own parts, compete with each other and cooperate with each other. The competitions are as much a part of the inner workings as the cooperations. You can regulate them cautiously but not abolish them. The outstanding scientific discovery of the twentieth century is not television or radio, but rather the complexity of the land organism. Only those who know the most about it can appreciate how little we know about it. The last word in ignorance is the man who says of an animal or plant: What good is it? If the land mechanism as a whole is good, then every part is good, whether we understand it or not. If the biota, in the course of aeons, has built something we like but do not understand, then who but a fool would discard seemingly useless parts? To keep every cog and wheel is the first precaution of intelligent tinkering. Aldo Leopold, Round River Many people and organizations have tried to fully describe or clarify ecosystem management. In simplistic terms, it is a process of managing natural resources based on decision making that incorporates an understanding of local and regional information about ecological and human socioeconomic interactions and the connection between them. ESRI software makes it possible to evaluate the individual factors and to apply analytical models that combine those factors based on the resource manager s concept of their interrelationships. GIS can be used to assist the resource manager s development of short- and long-term management strategies from the information derived by a better understanding of all the related factors. ESRI GIS technology provides all the tools necessary to efficiently describe, analyze, and model ecosystem processes and functions. Interactions and complex relationships among diverse ecosystem components can be explored and visualized using the most powerful analytical and visualization tools available. The GIS overlay and analysis of demographic data and ecological data can be used to derive valuable information that is not possible to know through other methods. This information can then be used to maintain and restore ecological systems and at the same time foster human development patterns that are compatible ecologically, economically, and politically.

4 Strategic Planning Forest management planning requires forecasting the condition of a forest relative to planned management activities. This ability is crucial to nearly all aspects of forest management forecasting, particularly long-term sustained yield of wood products and wildlife populations. GIS can play a key role in forecasting. GIS stores both the geographic location and descriptive attributes (e.g., size, species composition, vertical structure, volume, site index) of the forests being managed. Planning models are developed or incorporated into the GIS. Within the limits of the model and the spatial data, the forest manager can then incorporate temporal and spatial dimensions into the planning process. The results of the model can be mapped to show what the forest will look like in five, 10, 20, or 100 years in the future. GIS models can also be used to support forest planning practices that emulate, within the bounds of silvicultural requirements, natural disturbances and landscape patterns. It is possible, using ESRI software, to determine existing fragmentation, patch size and distribution, and corridors of undisturbed forest cover, and to model and visualize future conditions.

5 Fire Management and Control Every year, wildfires destroy valuable natural resources, injure or kill firefighters and innocent bystanders, threaten endangered species, and cause a tremendous amount of property damage and economic loss. Controlling wildfires utilizes money that might otherwise be used for other natural resource management activities. The ability to understand the direction, speed, intensity, fuel loads, and burn areas of wildfires is critical to long-term wildfire management planning and effective suppression strategies. Monitoring the direction of smoke plumes caused by wildfires is also important. Smoke can spread into environmentally sensitive areas or into developed areas, causing loss of life, property damage, and reduced visibility that can affect travel, tourism, and the visual quality of scenic areas. identify patterns target high-risk areas ESRI GIS technology can help forest managers and response teams plan resources effectively. It can be used to model and map the spread of a fire and determine its intensity. It can be used to tactically plan and manage fire suppression ground crews. GIS can also be used to model the dispersion of a smoke plume. More importantly, GIS can be used before a fire occurs to help plan prevention and response strategies. ESRI software can be used to analyze resource data, population and housing patterns, weather patterns, and a variety of other data to identify potential risk areas and to target potentially high-risk areas for prevention activities that will have the highest overall impact for each dollar spent. In recent years, a growing number of people have sought the peace and beauty associated with living in or near areas of abundant natural resources. These wildland urban interface areas are increasingly becoming a challenge to resource managers when faced with the risks and associated losses from wildfire. Many local and county governments are now using ESRI software to identify and develop mitigation strategies for wildfire hazards in wildland urban interface areas. Resource managers are combining expertise in hazard assessment, forest management, wildfire behavior, and fire suppression with GIS technology to target areas of high risk for mitigation strategies. ESRI GIS software also helps educate and motivate the public in high-risk areas through the use of maps and graphics that highlight potential high-risk neighborhoods. focus response activities

6 Environmental Compliance Many natural resource organizations are faced with a variety of laws and regulations that control land-disturbing activities. Government and private organizations must often analyze their activities before resource management takes place on the ground. GIS technology can significantly improve the efficiency of compliance with regulations like the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, whose purpose is To declare a national policy which will encourage productive and enjoyable harmony between man and his environment; to promote efforts which will prevent or eliminate damage to the environment and biosphere and stimulate the health and welfare of man; to enrich the understanding of the ecological systems and natural resources important to the Nation; and to establish a Council on Environmental Quality. Other regulations, either state or federally imposed or through the self-regulation of private interests, can also be supported through the use of ESRI software. GIS software enables the user to perform complex comparisons of multiple layers of data, locate and describe unique phenomena, and estimate and display future conditions through the use of predictive models. Alternatives can be analyzed and visualized using GIS technology. The presentation of a series of map graphics can visually illustrate alternatives in a way no written document can. ESRI GIS technology helps heighten public involvement by disseminating valuable information through hard-copy maps, digital data, and GIS-enabled Internet browsers. Planning ahead for supply and demand of our natural resources. Urban Forestry Trees are a major part of our community environment. Urban trees provide many environmental, aesthetic, and economic benefits. Heating and cooling costs are reduced by locating trees around homes and businesses. Trees provide needed windbreaks in open areas, reduce soil erosion and mass movement, and reduce storm runoff. Property values are dramatically increased by well-placed, mature trees. ESRI software solutions are helping local communities around the world inventory and manage their urban forests. An urban tree inventory includes the gathering of accurate information on the health and diversity of a community s forest. How many trees are there? What kind? What is their condition? You cannot manage a community forest effectively unless you know its condition. Utilizing GIS to manage and analyze a community s urban forest resources provides the urban forester with the ability to easily input, update, and maintain all of the information contained in an urban tree inventory; analyze trends in insect and disease outbreaks; and locate and identify potential hazard areas. An urban tree inventory combined with other readily available GIS data layers such as street centerlines, municipal boundaries, and hydrologic features can be used to target future planting, manage existing resources, and support public involvement and participation in an urban tree program.

7 Silvicultural Activities GIS technology provides the tools necessary to prepare silvicultural work plans, manage silvicultural activities, and monitor their success. Whether you re trying to develop prescriptions to mimic natural patterns or manage large treatment contracts, ESRI has software tools that will help you do it better and more efficiently. Robust data management tools will help you track detailed information over time and space, and sophisticated analytical tools will help you better analyze environmental consequences and monitor the efficacy of prescribed treatments. Forest Access and Road Planning ESRI application tools allow harvest planners to dynamically assign timing of access and haul cost attributes to the existing inventory database for road access alternatives. When combined with other forest stand features such as species composition and merchantable volume, it is possible to analyze the effect road network design has on delivered wood costs. Other applications of road and forest access planning performed by ESRI users include Terrain and slope stability analysis Cut and fill estimates Visibility and view shed analysis Alignment and grade calculations Right-of-way corridor studies Environmental impact assessment Integration of survey data Cost and flow analysis Pest Management GIS technology plays a crucial role in managing forest pests. From tracking outbreaks from year to year to developing treatment strategies, ESRI software can help you get a handle on forest pests such as gypsy moths, mountain pine beetles, and dwarf mistletoe. Tracking pest infestations year to year is easy with GIS, and the analytical tools make short work of trend analysis, modeling outbreak projections, and treatment strategies. infestation analysis and treatment strategies

8 ESRI For over 30 years ESRI has been helping people manage and analyze geographic information. ESRI offers a framework for implementing GIS in any organization with a seamless link from personal GIS on the desktop to enterprisewide GIS client/server and data management systems. ESRI GIS solutions are flexible and can be customized to meet the needs of our users. ESRI is a full-service GIS company, ready to help you begin, grow, and build success with GIS. Corporate ESRI 380 New York Street Redlands, California , USA Telephone: Fax: ESRI Olympia ESRI St. Louis Regional ESRI Minneapolis ESRI Boston For more information call your local reseller or ESRI at (1-800-GIS-XPRT) Send inquiries to info@esri.com ESRI Alaska ESRI California ext ESRI Washington, D.C ESRI Charlotte Visit ESRI s Web page at ESRI Denver ESRI San Antonio International Australia Hong Kong Poland United Kingdom Belgium/Luxembourg India Singapore/Malaysia/Indonesia Venezuela Canada France Germany and Switzerland Italy Korea Netherlands Spain Sweden Thailand Outside the United States, contact your local ESRI distributor. For the number of your distributor, call ESRI at , ext , or visit our Web site at Copyright 1999 Environmental Systems Research Institute, Inc. All rights reserved. ESRI, ARC/INFO, and ArcView are trademarks of Environmental Systems Research Institute, Inc., registered in the United States and certain other countries; registration is pending in the European Community. The ArcView GIS logo and the ESRI globe logo are trademarks and are service marks of Environmental Systems Research Institute, Inc. Other companies and products mentioned herein are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective trademark owners. Place ESRI business partner or distributor address here CPG10M4/99pt No. GS-35F-5086H Printed in USA