GEOG 487
Environmental Challenges in Spatial Data Science

Lesson Data

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Lesson Data

This section provides links to download the Lesson 6 data along with reference information about each dataset (metadata). Briefly review the information below so you have a general idea of the data we will use in this lesson.

Lesson 6 Data Download:

Note: You should not complete this activity until you have read through all of the pages in Lesson 6. See the Lesson 6 Checklist for further information.

Create a new folder in your GEOG487 folder called "L6." Download a zip file of the Lesson 6 Data and save it in your "L6" folder. Extract the zip file and view the contents. Information about all datasets used in the lesson is provided below:

Metadata

Publicly Available Data:

Base Map:

  • Source: ESRI Resource Center (see Lesson 2 for more details about this site)
  • Service Names: OpenStreetMap
  • Within ArcGIS Pro, go to the Map tab, Layer group > Basemap.

Private Data (Located Inside the Lesson 6 Folder):

The data we will use In Lesson 6 was collected by the International Forestry Resources and Institutions (IFRI) Organization. IFRI is a research network made up of 18 collaborating research centers around the globe. Since 1992, IFRI researchers have collected both ecological and social field data for over 400 sites in 15 countries. For this lesson, we are going to use a subset of their data to calculate the carbon sequestration and carbon credits for a small forest located in southeastern Michigan.

The data was collected by laying out 18 circular plots, every 10 meters in diameter, at random locations throughout the study forest. The coordinates of these locations were determined in advance using GIS. In the field, students used GPS and mobile apps to navigate to the middle of each plot, lay out the circular plot, and collect attribute information about the trees. Any trees that fell inside the plot boundaries were measured to obtain their height and diameter. Measurements were collected for a total of 278 trees.

data collection scheme. Measure Each tree: height & diameter @ breast height (DBH), only trees in plots measured, many plots in a forest
Figure 3: Graphic demonstrating the sampling scheme used to collect the lesson data.
  • Parcel_Boundary: (Polygon shapefile) The boundary of the property where the study forest is located.
  • Forest_Boundary: (Polygon shapefile) The boundary of the study forest.
  • Plots: (CSV file) Table containing the GPS coordinates of plots along with their ID numbers.
  • Tree Measurements: (CSV file) Table containing the field measurements of trees (diameter and height), along with the plot ID number where each tree is located.
  • Vegetation07: (Polygon shapefile) Polygons representing homogeneous units of forest cover/age.
    Screenshot of Lesson 5 in ArcGIS Pro. Shows latitude, longitude, DBH and height
    Figure 4: The GPS and Tree_Measurement tables both contain field measurements. Since they share an ID field (PLOTID), they can be joined together in GIS.