USE OF GIS AND REMOTE SENSING IN WILDLIFE AND

FORESTRY

PRESENTED BYWAITON SHEREKETE

USE OF GIS IN WILDLIFE

• GIS TECHNOLOGY IS AN EFFECTIVE TOOL FOR MANAGING, ANALYZING, AND MAPPING WILDLIFE DATA SUCH AS POPULATION SIZE AND DISTRIBUTION, HABITAT USE AND PREFERENCE, CHANGES IN HABITATS, AND REGIONAL BIODIVERSITY.

SPATIAL ECOLOGY & RS/GIS

• SE IS THE STUDY OF PATTERNS AND PROCESSES OCCURRING IN A GEOGRAPHIC SPACE OR LANDSCAPE THAT INFLUENCE CHARACTERISTICS OF PLANT AND ANIMAL POPULATIONS SUCH AS DENSITIES, DISTRIBUTIONS AND MOVEMENTS.

• GIS CAN BE USED FOR COLLATING, ANALYSING, UPDATING AND MANAGING DATA IN WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT OR RESEARCH PROJECTS.

• GIS ACTS AS A COMPUTERISED DATABASE MANAGEMENT TOOL THAT OFFERS SOLUTIONS FOR PLANNING, PROBLEM ANALYSIS AND MONITORING WILDLIFE

HO W DO WE USE SPATIAL DATA?

• HOME RANGES

• HABITAT SELECTION

• BIOGEOGRAPHY QUESTIONS

HABITAT SELECTIO N METHO DS

• POINTS ON A MAP• POINTS ARE THEN ASSOCIATED WITH LOCATION-SPECIFIC DATA

• E.G. VEGETATION TYPE, DISTANCE FROM WATER, SLOPE, ELEVATION, ASPECT, SOIL TYPE ETC.

• MANY DIFFERENT STATISTICAL ANALYSES OF RESULTS• DEMO OF SIMPLE PROPORTIONAL OCCURRENCE

• BUFFALO AND VEGETATION TYPE, DISTANCE TO WATER

HABITAT RESTORATION

• CONSERVING WILDLIFE POPULATIONS OFTEN CONSISTS OF RESTORING OR PROTECTING THREATENED HABITATS.

• THE VISUALIZATION ABILITY OF BOTH THEMATIC AND STATISTICAL DATA MAKES GIS TECHNOLOGY WELL SUITED TO MONITORING HABITATS.

• AREA FOUND TO BE SUFFERING FROM HUMAN DISRUPTION, WEATHER, FOREST FIRES, OR OTHER INTERFERENCES ARE TARGET AREAS FOR CONSERVATION PRACTICES TO BE IMPLEMENTED.

BIODIVERSITY PROTECTION

• GIS TECHNOLOGY ENABLES MONITORING OF WILDLIFE AND THEIR HABITATS SO THAT THREATS TO BIODIVERSITY CAN BE TRACKED AND POLICIES CAN BE IMPLEMENTED TO PROTECT THREATENED AREAS.

• THE EARTH’S BIODIVERSITY IS ITS GUARANTEE OF SURVIVAL. WHEN DEFORESTATION, EXTINCTION, AND FRAGMENTATION HARM THIS BIODIVERSITY, THE STRENGTH OF THE ENVIRONMENT DIMINISHES.

SPATIAL ECOLOGY & RS/GIS

• THE ABILITY TO OVERLAY SUCH DATA MAKES GIS INSTRUMENTAL IN DELINEATING RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN WILDLIFE AND OUTSIDE FORCES

• THIS ENABLES THE VISUALIZATION OF BOTH WHERE CONSERVATION PRACTICES NEED TO BE IMPLEMENTED AND WHAT CURRENT PROTECTION PLANS ARE EFFECTIVE.

HO W DO WE USE SPATIAL DATA?

• HOME RANGES

• HABITAT SELECTION

• BIOGEOGRAPHY QUESTIONS

TYPES OF DATA COLLECTED

• CENSUS OF WILDLIFE POPULATIONS AND SPATIAL DISTRIBUTIONS IN THE RANGELANDS;

• SPECIES COMPOSITION ASSESSMENTS (RARE, THREATENED (VUL 2 ENDANG EREMENT), ENDANGERED SPECIES (FACING RISK O F EXTINCTIO N); AND

• HABITAT/ENVIRONMENTAL ATTRIBUTES (HUMAN SETTLEMENT, VEGETATION STRUCTURE, SURFACE WATER, AGRICULTURAL ACTIVITIES, ETC) IN WILDLIFE AREAS.

DISEASE MONITORING• GIS AND REMOTELY SENSED DATA CAN BE UTILIZED TO IMPROVE

THE COST-EFFECTIVENESS OF ANIMAL DISEASE CONTROL.

• THE RESEARCH OBJECTIVES FOR SUCH MEASURES COULD BE:

(1) DEVELOP A DIGITAL DATABASE OF VEGETATION COVERAGE USING SATELLITE IMAGERY; IN ORDER TO

(2) DEVELOP A MODEL TO CLASSIFY HABITAT

(3) TO IDENTIFY GEOGRAPHIC AND HABITAT FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH THE REPORTED ANIMAL DISEASE AND FINALLY

(4) TO DEVELOP A DECISION SUPPORT SYSTEM THAT INCORPORATED

THE RESULTS OF THIS RESEARCH INTO A TOOL FOR GAME MANAGERS.

SUMMARY

GIS TECHNOLOGY IS AN EFFECTIVE TOOL FOR MANAGING, ANALYZING, AND VISUALIZING WILDLIFE DATA TO TARGET AREAS WHERE INTERVENTIONAL , MANAGEMENT PRACTICES ARE NEEDED AND TO MONITOR THEIR EFFECTIVENESS. GIS HELPS WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT PROFESSIONALS EXAMINE AND ENVISION THE FOLLOWING

• HABITAT REQUIREMENTS AND RANGES

• POPULATION PATCHES AND LINKAGES

• DISEASE LEVELS WITHIN POPULATIONS

• PROGRESS OF MANAGEMENT ACTIVITIES

• HISTORICAL AND PRESENT WILDLIFE DENSITIES

USE OF GIS IN FORESTRY MANAGEMENT.

GIS USAGE

GIS CAN BE USED:

• TO CREATE FORESTRY RESOURCES INVENTO RY AND GENERATE DATABASE AT DIFFERENT SCALES.

• GIS CAN BE USED FOR SIMULATIO N OF VARIOUS SCENARIOS, WHICH WOULD BE HELPFUL IN UNDERSTANDING INTERACTIONS BETWEEN LANDUSE/COVER, AND FOR GENERATING ACTION ORIENTED PRODUCTS OF USE TO RESOURCE MANAGERS AND DEVELOPING A RELEVANT DECISION SUPPORT SYSTEM (DSS).

GIS IN NATURAL RESOURCES

GIS SUPPORTS THE STORAGE AND RETRIEVAL OF DATA, INTERPRETATION AND ANALYSIS OF THE RESOURCE DATA, AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE RESOURCE MANAGEMENT PLANS (RMP'S).

RESOURCE USE ALTERNATIVES ARE FORMULATED, AND THE GIS IS USED TO EVALUATE EACH IN TERMS OF ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT, ECONOMIC IMPLICATIONS, ACREAGE, AND POTENTIAL USE CONFLICT.

ONE IMPORTANT FUNCTION OF GIS IS TO ASSIST IN RECOGNISING UNDERLYING PATTERNS IN DATA.

THESE PATTERNS MAY BE AREAS OF FORESTLAND SUITABLE FOR TIMBER HARVEST OR POTENTIAL SHIFTS IN POPULATION DISTRIBUTION.

GIS SIMULATIONS CAN BE USED TO UNDERSTAND THE DIRECT AND INDIRECT EFFECTS OF HUMAN ACTIVITIES OVER LONG PERIODS OF TIME AND OVER LARGE AREAS.

RS & GIS IN FORESTRY

• DETAILED MAPPING OF FOREST MORPHOLOGY AND RELATED HABITATS

• DEVELOPMENT OF SPATIAL AND NON-SPATIAL DATABASE RELATED TO FORESTS AND FORESTRY ECOSYSTEMS

• DOCUMENTATION OF THE HEALTH OF FOREST ECOSYSTEMS WITH REMOTE SENSING BASED APPROACHES

FOREST RESOURCES AND ECOLOGICAL MANAGEMENT

FORMULATION OF EFFECTIVE FOREST RESOURCES MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES REQUIRES DETAILED INFORMATION SUCH AS:• GIS DATABASE OF THE FOREST• TAXONOMIC DATABASE OF THE FLORA

(HERBS, SHRUBS, TREES, SEEDLINGS, SAPLINGS, CLIMBERS)• FOREST SOIL DATABASE (INCLUDING SOIL

CARBON)• FOREST LITTER DATABASE

RS & GIS IN FORESTRY

• MONITORING HISTORICAL AND RECENT CHANGES IN FOREST ECOSYSTEMS TO DETERMINE EFFECTS OF ANTHROPOGENIC ACTIVITIES AND GLOBAL CHANGE, AND TO PROVIDE EARLY WARNING OF SUCH STRESSFUL EVENTS (FIRES, DEFORESTATION, LAND REFORM)

• GENERATING MAPS AND OTHER PRODUCTS OF IMMEDIATE USE TO FORESTRY PLANNERS, MANAGERS, AND TO DIFFERENT RESOURCE USER COMMUNITIES ON REGULAR BASIS (I. E. TIMBER INDUSTRY, TOURISM, ETC.)

CONTIN….

• FRAGMENTATION AND BIODIVERSITY CHARACTERISATION CAN BE CARRIED OUT BASED ON THE PRINCIPLES OF LANDSCAPE ECOLOGY USING GIS.

• FOREST CARBON SEQUESTRATION PATTERNS CAN BE STUDIED BASED ON THE BIOMASS, ESTIMATED THROUGH AREA AND

REGION SPECIFIC BIOMASS EQUATIONS.

LANDUSE CHANGE AND ITS GRADIENT CAN BE ESTIMATED USING SATELLITE REMOTE SENSING TECHNIQUES AND GIS UTILISING MULTI-TIME DATASETS.