Project 4: Forestry - Report Week

Forestry Poster

This week we finished up our forestry project by bringing together our preparation and analysis into one poster. This poster sums up a pro-clearcutting view of forestry management from the economic, ecological and aesthetic viewpoints.

Project 4: Forestry - Analyze Week

Impact Summaries

Ecological Summary:

The greatest ecological impact of clear-cut logging in North America occurred at the turn of the nineteenth century. Since then, foresters have gained a greater understanding of reforestation, best management practices and wildlife habitats. With proper forest management, clear-cutting is now an integral part of a forest’s biodiversity.

Economic Summary:

Clear-cut logging is the most financially efficient method of forest management because the greatest volume of wood is harvested at one time. Clear-cutting also requires fewer logging roads because it relies mainly on a cable logging system for transporting timber from the stump to the loading yard. Cleared sites are also less expensive to prepare for planting seedlings which regenerate faster than natural regeneration.

Aesthetic Summary:

The greatest objective to clear-cutting is the impact it has visually. No one wants to drive through a forest and see bald spots on the side of a mountain. But the visual impact of clear-cut logging can be predicted and reduced with the use of GIS. Knowing the view shed of public roads can help forest managers select future clear-cuts with the least visual impact. 

Project 4: Forestry - Prepare Week

Recent Clearcuts

This week we determined the aesthetic impact of clearcuts along major roadways in a 1,400-hectare woodlot in the Acadian-New England forest.

This was accomplished by identifying clearcuts no older than 5 years that shared a boundary with a major road.

Frequency Distribution

A frequency distribution of shared lengths between major roads and the clearcuts was created to show the distribution of clearcut distances (in kilometers) along the major roads. 

Aesthetic Impact

A view shed was created and reclassified according to the areas of the woodlot that are visible from a major road. The viewshed was combined with the previously identified clearcuts and used to calculate the total area of visible clearcuts.

Lab 10: Supervised Classification

Supervised Classification

This week we performed a supervised classification using tools in ERDAS Imagine. The final layout was created in ArcMap with the resulting Land Cover and Distance Images. The Distance Image is used to identify the brighter pixels that are more likely to have the wrong classification in the output image. Samples of spectral signatures were collected of known features and then used to create the Eight classes shown in the map. When applied properly, the supervised classification method produces a more accurate land cover map than the unsupervised method.

Lab 9: Unsupervised Classification

Unsupervised Classification

This week we performed an unsupervised classification using tools in both ArcMap and ERDAS Imagine. The image in this map is the result of an unsupervised classification in ERDAS Imagine. The final layout was created in ArcMap. Classifying this image provides a relatively accurate means of calculating surface areas. Classified images can also be used to extract vector data and create layers for features such as, buildings, roads and even telephone poles. 

Project 3: Web Applications - Report Week

A Visitor's Walking Tour of Downtown

This week we continued with web applications and finished up the final touches to our story maps. I made a few configuration changes to the template to "own my map" and dress it up some. My story map is a walking tour for visitors to the downtown area of Hinesville, Georgia. My goal with this assignment was to bring to life the history that is still evident downtown. In my humble opinion, I've succeeded in barely scratching the surface. As brief as it may seem, it is my pleasure to share my journey with you. I hope to use this map to demonstrate one of the benefits of GIS among the local governing authorities.
My Story Map