Remote Sensing & Photo Interpretation Final

For my final project for this class, I decided to do a Land Use Land Cover analysis of the Lake Tahoe Basin region.  As you can see, it remains mostly mixed forest, however urbanization is the on rise. 

Lake Tahoe region Land Use Land Cover analysis.

Internship Final Project

Link to Model Builder Power Point presentation.

Special Topics, Forestry, Project 5

Lynne Johnson

December 8, 2013

Special Topics – GIS 4930

Maple Sap Production in the Acadian National Forest Abstract

Clear-cutting is a traditional practice in the timber industry that generally has negative connotations.  This study focuses on an area in the Acadian National Forest and attempts to evaluate the clear-cut areas for maple sap production.  A variety of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) techniques and analyses were performed.  If enough trees prove to be sufficient in sap production, currently and in the future, then this will provide a productive alternative to clear cut areas.  A cross tabulation was created of the distances it would take to haul the sap to the nearby roads.  Results were then created and presented.

Power Point Presentation Link.

Special Topics, Week 13: Forestry - Report Week

This week finalized our analysis of clear cutting.  This topic was interesting and definitely had me divided about whether it's a good thing or a bad thing.  My final opinion and side was that I feel that it's not great but it's necessary.  If it's done correctly and follows the regulations that are set in place, then it can be a sustainable and profitable practice.  We had to create a poster, claiming our position and backing it up with analysis and additional scholarly articles.  

This poster was created to share my opinion of clear cutting practices via 

GIS analysis and research from scholarly articles.  I think it's an 

unfortunate necessity.  Regulations are in place for a reason

and as long as they're followed to point then it'll

be a profitable and sustainable practice.

Special Topics, Week 12: Forestry - Analyze Week

Clear-Cutting: A Necessary Scar

Ecological Summary:

Clear-cutting is and has been a very controversial topic.  The ecological effects it has on the forests vary greatly on the individual site.  Studies have shown that most of the detrimental damage that is done is not due to the actual cutting of the trees, but more of the processes that coincide with the practice.  The quality and quantity of the roads that are used to get the trucks and equipment in and out of the area will have a tremendous impact on the area ecology.  The area preparation techniques and amount of damage control that is done to prevent injury to non-targeted plants and trees will also limit the ecological determent.  If clear cutting is approached in an area specific manner with ecological conservation in mind, it can be done right. 

Sources:

Ecological

Rodney J. Keenan, J. P. (Hamish) Kimmins. 1993. The Ecological Effects of Clearcutting. Environmental Reviews, 1(2): 121-144, 10.1139/a93-010. [November]:http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/abs/10.1139/a93-010#.UoJP4pR4Yk8

Economic

Andreassen, K., Oyen, B.H., 2002. Economic consequences of three silvicultural methods in uneven-aged mature coastal spruce forests of central Norway. Forestry, 75 (4): 483-488.doi: 10.1093/forestry/75.4.483. [November]: http://forestry.oxfordjournals.org/content/75/4/483.full.pdf+html

Aesthetic

Brent C. Chamberlain, Michael J. Meitner. 2012. Quantifying the Effects of Harvest Block Design on Aesthetic Preferences. Canadian Journal of Forest Research, 42(12): 2106-2117, 10.1139/cjfr-2012-0210.  [November]:http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/abs/10.1139/cjfr-2012-0210

Special Topics, Week 11: Forestry - Prepare Week

Clear cutting is a very controversial topic yet a necessity in order to produce many of the every day products we use.  There are, however, different ways to approach this practice. This week we used our analyzing techniques to establish the amount of clear cuts that are visible to the main roads in an area in New Brunswick, Canada.  We determined which areas were clear cut, determined the age of the clear cuts and also took into consideration, the elevation and terrain.  This will factor into the ability to see from the roads.  We used a variety of search queries and the viewshed tool for this.

Basemap of Fredricton, New Brunswick and study area

Map of clearcut which are visible and non-visible from the main roads

Remote Sensing & Photo Interpretation, Mod10: Supervised Classification

We had to create a map of Germantown, MD using supervised classification.  We established the land use type by creating specific signatures for each classification and AOI features using ERDAS.  By utilizing a satellite image, I was able to determine and differentiate between different types of land use.  The hardest part I found was making the roads and the agricultural lands separate.  There was some spectral confusion between the two because the bands were very similar.  Below is my resulting map.

Supervised Classifications of Germantown, MD land use.