Chapter I
Introduction
Within the past three decades there has been an
increased awareness of the need for preservation and protection of
the environment. Of particular interest are areas such as wildlife and
nature reserves or local, state and national parks. Population pressures
bring increased development and the result is a decrease in natural habitats
of wildlife and vegetation species. With the destruction of
habitats, species extinction and loss of biodiversity is occurring
at an alarming rate (Shafer 1990; Noss and Cooperrider 1994).
While there has been a marked increase in efforts
to increase species habitat through land preservation by government
and private sources there is still evidence of continued decline.
Natural wetlands in particular, have declined in favor of land development
and agricultural use. It is estimated that in the state of Ohio
90% of wetlands in the state were lost from the 1780's to the 1980's (Dahl
1990), and in addition a 57% loss of forested wetlands has occurred in
Ohio since 1940 (Birch and Wharton 1982). Small parks and
nature reserves are especially susceptible to pressure from outside
development and urban encroachment.
Park managers and planners need quality research
and information to make informed decisions concerning the complex interactions
of the environment. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) coupled
with remote sensing technology have proven to be an effective, useful
and efficient tool for ecosystem management and environmental modeling
(Green 1992; Hall et al. 1988). A geographic information system is a spatially
referenced database that allows storage, manipulation, query and display
of large volumes of geographic data (Lee 1993). GIS has been
implemented in many National Parks and U.S. Forest reserves as well as
in many large private ownership holdings of natural resources, such as
forestry and mining lands. A GIS can accommodate large
attribute databases containing information on past trends as well as current
use of areas within a given boundary. Data collected from different sources
and in different formats can be effectively integrated into a comprehensive
GIS database to support decision-making by park management. The analytical
capabilities of a GIS can improve analysis of ecological data and can provide
solutions for problem-solving (Aangeenbrug 1991). Transitional
areas or areas under increased development can be identified using analytical
tools of a GIS, such as overlays and queries within a GIS database of land
use and land cover.
For instance a GIS database can
be used to show land use of spatially congruous properties in proximity
to park boundaries and their potential for use as buffers through land
acquisition. Consideration of these types of applications can identify
the potential use of GIS as an environmental planning and management
tool. A GIS offers planners and managers a spatially linked database
that can be utilized as a tool within a decision-support system to satisfy
environmental regulations. In a GIS a user can visualize spatial
relationships to identify conflicts in resource management such as timber
harvest activities that may impact environmentally sensitive riparian areas
or animal and plant habitats. Figure 1
shows streams that are buffered to reduce impacts from timber harvests.
In the management of natural resources
GIS has become an integral part of the planning process. The
manipulation or analysis of GIS data may contribute to different
levels of decision-making. Users within a management structure
may have varied access to spatial or non-spatial data.
The advantages to a GIS are the manipulation and query capabilities available
to various levels of users. However, GIS is not a cure-all for managers.
It functions
as a useful tool that contributes to the hierarchical planning mechanism.
Figure 2 shows the different levels of
GIS users in a management organizational structure.
Within the past decade GIS has been implemented
by a number of county and city governments in Ohio, but the advanced capabilities
of GIS as a decision-support tool have been hampered by misunderstanding
of the technology and lack of trained personnel. In addition, there
is difficulty in obtaining and converting spatially referenced data into
a compatible format for use in a GIS.
Data conversion and integration are the critical
problem in the creation of a GIS. Data and records may
exist in a variety of formats such as paper maps and/or tabular databases.
Digital data may be in formats created by software such as Computer Aided
Design (CAD) or converted from satellite imagery. In many cases
digital data must be converted from vector (lines) to raster (pixels) or
vice versa before they can be incorporated into a GIS. For GIS data
to become useful in a project the following questions need to be addressed:
1. What are the data requirements of the GIS in the project?
2. What data sources are available for the project?
3. What techniques can be used to get the data into the GIS database?
4. How will the data be integrated spatially to answer problems
in the project?
The Ohio Department of Natural Resources
(ODNR) maintains the largest spatial database within the state (ODNR 1995b).
Divisions within the department of the ODNR including Wildlife and the
Ohio Capabilities Analysis Project (OCAP) use GIS as a planning and decision
-making tool. However, within the Division of State Parks
there are no current uses or applications of GIS technology.
This thesis applies GIS technology to
Quail Hollow State Park (QHSP), a 700 acre nature reserve in northeast
Ohio. The goals of the research are as follows:
1. The integration of various data sources and formats
to create a comprehensive GIS database for Quail Hollow State Park. This
database consists of aerial photography, thematic layers of roads, trails,
and points of interest for QHSP. In addition, thematic layers of
wetland habitats, agricultural land use, and endangered birds and plants
will be created for a study area including the park and the surrounding
landscape.
2. The presentation of the thematic layers in two-dimensional
cartographic format for analysis and visualization.
3. The development of a habitat acquisition
model to identify suitable wetland habitat in the study area that
may be acquired or preserved to enhance the biodiversity of bird
and plant habitats within QHSP.
The results of this thesis will demonstrate
the value of GIS as a planning and decision-
support tool for QHSP management. The GIS database
registered to real-world coordinates gives park management a valuable tool
for visualization of animal habitats and vegetation communities within
park boundaries and adjacent land use. Although this thesis focuses
on Quail Hollow State Park, the results may be applied to other parks
of similar size and features. The contributions of this work include the
theoretical and practical experience in integrating various data sources
and formats for a decision support system and the fine tuning of GIS functions
for solving real world problems.
Maintaining the viable biodiversity within
Quail Hollow State Park is of prime concern in order that this "ecological
greenway" will survive for future generations. The value of
this thesis lies in technology applications but it also contributes to
the aesthetic ideals of park biodiversity and visitor/user vitality.
The thesis is divided into the following chapters:
Chapter I: Introduction
Chapter II: Problems in Creating a GIS
This chapter focuses on the problems of creating a GIS for park
management. Data conversion problems, accuracy and precision of the
database, and using GIS for habitat acquisition planning are discussed.
Chapter III: Review of Relevant Literature
This chapter reviews the background of literature related to
the study with respect to the components of GIS, data sources, GPS (global
positioning systems), remote sensing, landscape ecology, and land acquisition.
Chapter IV: Study Site Description
The study site is Quail Hollow State Park near Hartville, Ohio.
It is one of 72 primary reserves in the state. There are
descriptions of park habitats and communities in this chapter.
Chapter V: Methodology
This chapter describes detailed methods of data acquisition
and conversion techniques used in this thesis. Aerial photography
as a data source is discussed and the techniques of scanning and
integration into the ARC/INFO GIS database are explained.
Chapter VI. Representation of Data Layers Using
Maps
Maps of data layers created for the Quail Hollow GIS project
are created from data layers using ARCVIEW GIS software.
There are individual and multiple thematic maps of data layers.
Chapter VII. The Habitat Acquisition Model
(HAM)
The Sharp-shinned hawk is used as an example to identify types
of habitats the bird uses and areas of similar habitat in the study area.
Areas are identified using GIS spatial functions and queries.
Chapter VIII. Concluding Remarks
A summary of the research and recommendations for further study
are covered in this final chapter.