Geographic Information Systems (GIS) are one of the core tools used by
CIPEC researchers. GIS enable spatially referenced data from
disparate sources to be integrated in a modeling environment.
How CIPEC is applying GIS techniques:
What is GIS?
GIS is a loosely used term. In general, it involves the use of
spatially referenced data in a computing environment. This includes:
- data collection
- data storage
- data retrieval
- data transformation
- data display
- data analysis
One of the ways GIS techniques are used at CIPEC is to integrate
data from disparate sources. For example, a GIS can be used to
integrate spatially referenced migration data with landcover change
data to understand the affect of in-migration on deforestation.
CIPEC uses GIS as a means of integrating various social and
biophysical data. These include (but are not limited to) landcover,
transportation networks, social survey data, forest inventory data,
soils, and climate data. GIS allows a common spatial unit to be
defined to link data from these sources.
The integration of GIS and Remote Sensing is a particularly
powerful tool. Remotely sensed imagery can be used in a GIS
environment to link landcover data with social data and various
biophysical datasets, such as soils, topography, or hydrography.
For more information about GIS follow these links:
NCGIA
- National Center for Geographic Information and Analysis
USGS
- United States Geological Survey - Introductory GIS page, links
to data and other information.
Were Can I Find GIS Data?
Database construction is often the most time consuming segment of a GIS
project. Acquiring secondary data can substantially reduce database
construction time. As always, the user is encouraged to take careful
consideration when judging the accuracy and appropriateness of secondary
data.
The following sources provide various GIS related data:
GeoData - United States elevation data (DEM), transportation (DLG), Landcover (DLG)
Data for Water Resources
- USGS site with Hydrologic/Hydrographic data
Earth Explorer - (GLIS) Source for ordering wide variety of GIS and RS data products
Natural Resources Conservation
Service - Soils, Water Quality, Wetlands
Best of the Web - Geographic Information Systems - resource for researching GIS online
