This is a book about how ecologists can integrate remote sensing and GIS in their daily work. It will allow ecologists to get started with the application of remote sensing and to understand its potential and limitations. Using practical examples, the book covers all necessary steps from planning field campaigns to deriving ecologically relevant information through remote sensing and modelling of species distributions. All practical examples in this book rely on OpenSource software and freely available data sets. Quantum GIS (QGIS) is introduced for basic GIS data handling, and in-depth spatial analytics and statistics are conducted with the software packages R and GRASS. Readers will learn how to apply remote sensing within ecological research projects, how to approach spatial data sampling and how to interpret remote sensing derived products. The authors discuss a wide range of statistical analyses with regard to satellite data as well as specialised topics such as time-series analysis. Extended scripts on how to create professional looking maps and graphics are also provided. This book is a valuable resource for students and scientists in the fields of conservation and ecology interested in learning how to get started in applying remote sensing in ecological research and conservation planning.

Particularly about forests in the USA.

This book is the seventh companion volume to 'An Introduction To Using GIS In Marine Biology'. It is designed to augment the information on using GIS in marine biology provided in that book, and, indeed, to be used alongside it rather than to be used independently as a stand-alone volume. Therefore, this book will be of most interest to those who have already read 'An Introduction To Using GIS In Marine Biology'. This supplementary workbook contains five exercises covering the practical use of GIS in marine biology. These exercises aim to introduce marine biologists to using QGIS (or Quantum GIS), a freely-available, open-source GIS software package, and range from making a simple map of the locations where a species was recorded for inclusion in a publication, or presentation to creating grids of species presence-absence, richness and abundance, and grids of environmental variables. The exercises are designed to be followed in the order they are presented, and work with a specific data set which can be downloaded separately for free. Working through these five exercises will help the novice GIS user obtain experience in working with GIS and so develop their GIS skills. Unlike most other GIS tutorials, this information is specifically presented in a marine biological context and all the exercises use real data from a marine biological study. Therefore, these exercises are more likely to provide the kind of experience in using GIS that marine biologists will find useful and applicable to their own research. These exercises are presented in the same easy-to-follow flow diagram-based format first introduced in the 'How To...' section of 'An Introduction To Using GIS In Marine Biology'. They are accompanied by images which show the user how their GIS project should look as they progress through the exercises, allowing them to compare their own work to the expected results. This is part of the PSLS series of books which use Task-Oriented Learning (TOL) to teach the practical application of research skills to the life sciences. This involves demonstrating how these skills can be used in the specific circumstances in which they are likely to be required rather than concentrating on teaching theoretical frameworks or on teaching skills in a generic or abstract manner. By seeing how the similar processes are used to achieve a variety of different goals within a specific field, it becomes easier for the reader to identify the general rules behind the practical application of these processes and, therefore, to transfer them to novel situations they may encounter in the future.

This textbook is a step-by-step tutorial on the applications of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) in environmental and water resource issues. It provides information about GIS and its applications, specifically using the most advanced ESRI GIS technology and its extensions. Eighteen chapters cover GIS applications in the field of earth sciences and water resources in detail from the ground up. Author William Bajjali explains what a GIS is and what it is used for, the basics of map classification, data acquisition, coordinate systems and projections, vectorization, geodatabase and relational database, data editing, geoprocessing, suitability modeling, working with raster, watershed delineation, mathematical and statistical interpolation, and more advanced techniques, tools and extensions such as ArcScan, Topology, Geocoding, Hydrology, Geostatistical Analyst, Spatial Analyst, Network Analyst, 3-D Analyst. ArcPad, ESRI’s cutting-edge mobile GIS software, is covered in detail as well. Each chapter contains concrete case studies and exercises – many from the author’s own work in the United States and Middle East. This volume is targeted toward advanced undergraduates, but could also be useful for professionals and for anyone who utilizes GIS or practices spatial analysis in relation to geology, hydrology, ecology, and environmental sciences. Exercises and supplementary material can be downloaded by chapter here: https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007%2F978-3-319-61158-7

GIS for Environmental Applications provides a practical introduction to the principles, methods, techniques and tools in GIS for spatial data management, analysis, modelling and visualisation, and their applications in environmental problem solving and decision making. It covers the fundamental concepts, principles and techniques in spatial data, spatial data management, spatial analysis and modelling, spatial visualisation, spatial interpolation, spatial statistics, and remote sensing data analysis, as well as demonstrates the typical environmental applications of GIS, including terrain analysis, hydrological modelling, land use analysis and modelling, ecological modelling, and ecosystem service valuation. Case studies are used in the text to contextualise these subjects in the real world, examples and detailed tutorials are provided in each chapter to show how the GIS techniques and tools introduced in the chapter can be implemented using ESRI ArcGIS (a popular GIS software system for environmental applications) and other third party extensions to ArcGIS to address. The emphasis is placed on how to apply or implement the concepts and techniques of GIS through illustrative examples with step-by-step instructions and numerous annotated screen shots. The features include: Over 350 figures and tables illustrating how to apply or implement the concepts and techniques of GIS Learning objectives along with the end-of-chapter review questions Authoritative references at the end of each chapter GIS data files for all examples as well as PowerPoint presentations for each chapter downloadable from the companion website. GIS for Environmental Applications weaves theory and practice together, assimilates the most current GIS knowledge and tools relevant to environmental research, management and planning, and provides step-by-step tutorials with practical applications. This volume will be an indispensable resource for any students taking a module on GIS for the environment.

Geographical information systems are one of the most revolutionary and important tools that have become available to ecological researchers in recent years. Many ecologists are unaware, however, of the full power of GIS techniques and are not using them to their full advantage. By providing examples of ecological applications at scales ranging from organisms to landscapes, this new book offers basic information on the variety of analyses available using GIS. Also discussed is the full scope for linkage to related technologies like remote sensing and methods like spatially explicit modelling. Researchers will find this an invaluable guide to applying and getting the most out of GIS techniques. Presumes no previous GIS experience. A practical guide to using GIS in ecological research. Uses numerous and varied experimental examples and data.

A straight-forward introduction to the fundamental principles of GIS, this text focuses on data acquisition, handling and analysis. It contains checklists and bullet points, and draws on the experiences of ecologists who have learned how to use GIS.

Spatial Modeling in GIS and R for Earth and Environmental Sciences offers an integrated approach to spatial modelling using both GIS and R. Given the importance of Geographical Information Systems and geostatistics across a variety of applications in Earth and Environmental Science, a clear link between GIS and open source software is essential for the study of spatial objects or phenomena that occur in the real world and facilitate problem-solving. Organized into clear sections on applications and using case studies, the book helps researchers to more quickly understand GIS data and formulate more complex conclusions. The book is the first reference to provide methods and applications for combining the use of R and GIS in modeling spatial processes. It is an essential tool for students and researchers in earth and environmental science, especially those looking to better utilize GIS and spatial modeling. - Offers a clear, interdisciplinary guide to serve researchers in a variety of fields, including hazards, land surveying, remote sensing, cartography, geophysics, geology, natural resources, environment and geography - Provides an overview, methods and case studies for each application - Expresses concepts and methods at an appropriate level for both students and new users to learn by example

Geographic Information Systems (GIS) provide a powerful tool for the investigation of species-habitat relationships and the development of wildlife management and conservation programs. However, the relative ease of data manipulation and analysis using GIS, associated landscape metrics packages, and sophisticated statistical tests may sometimes cause investigators to overlook important species-habitat functional relationships. Additionally, underlying assumptions of the study design or technology may have unrecognized consequences. This volume examines how initial researcher choices of image resolution, scale(s) of analysis, response and explanatory variables, and location and area of samples can influence analysis results, interpretation, predictive capability, and study-derived management prescriptions. Overall, most studies in this realm employ relatively low resolution imagery that allows neither identification nor accurate classification of habitat components. Additionally, the landscape metrics typically employed do not adequately quantify component spatial arrangement associated with species occupation. To address this latter issue, the authors introduce two novel landscape metrics that measure the functional size and location in the landscape of taxon-specific ‘solid’ and ‘edge’ habitat types. Keller and Smith conclude that investigators conducting GIS-based analyses of species-habitat relationships should more carefully 1) match the resolution of remotely sensed imagery to the scale of habitat functional relationships of the focal taxon, 2) identify attributes (explanatory variables) of habitat architecture, size, configuration, quality, and context that reflect the way the focal taxon uses the subset of the landscape it occupies, and 3) match the location and scale of habitat samples, whether GIS- or ground-based, to corresponding species’ detection locations and scales of habitat use.