…from the ESRI Map Book, Volume 24…

“This map shows the risk for mass removal and the susceptibility level for trees. It contains city blocks and shadow relief created on the Bogotá digital elevation model (DEM). Mass removal occurs when large quantities of ground slide and shift after earthquakes, tremors, or heavy rains. Mass removal seriously damages urban infrastructures and, in many cases, threatens human life.

“The map indicates trees located in zones of risk for mass removal as well as the relief of the zone. The map is a valuable tool for the entities responsible for preventing and responding to mass removal. It shows the places where they have to intervene.

“Courtesy of Jardín Botánico José Celestino Mutis.”

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…from the ESRI Map Book, Volume 24…

“This map is part of a series of community maps of the town of Georgina produced by residents. Its purpose is to showcase what residents think is important about their neighborhoods and to help protect and enhance what is special. The map points out a nature reserve and a local stream, both important habitats for conservation.

“The Deer Park Road area is an important mature mixed forest providing habitat for a wide range of animals, birds, and amphibians. Private landowners in the area worked together with the Lake Simcoe Region Conservation Authority to create the Arnold C. Matthews Nature Reserve in order to preserve and steward the land in perpetuity.

“Boyer’s Stream connects protected core lands and Lake Simcoe, providing habitat for waterfowl, amphibians, and marsh birds and a potential upstream fish spawning route.

“Courtesy of the Alliance for a Better Georgina.”

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…from the ESRI Map Book, Volume 24…

“This map analyzes biological corridors (linear strips of vegetation that provide a continuous or near-continuous pathway between habitats) and tree crowns (the area above the trunk) in the locality of Chapinero, Bogotá. It shows the trees modeled with an equatorial diameter buffer and integrated with a dissolve for biological research. The trees with their crowns close together serve as a biological corridor for local birds and insects. They also provide shade for people living in the city.

“Courtesy of Jardín Botánico José Celestino Mutis.”

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…from the ESRI Map Book, Volume 24…

“The State of Oregon and Oregon’s Ocean Policy Advisory Council (OPAC) need geospatial information for the coastal and offshore areas of Oregon for planning. This map is one in a reference chart series showing human use and management. Generated initially to support the Oregon marine reserve proposal process, these maps were part of a larger effort that also mapped biological resources and seafloor and shoreline.

“The sea has traditionally been familiar territory to the fishing community. Other interests such as potential wave energy projects and marine conservation have emerged. The maps help OPAC members and others understand current and potential use of specific areas. The maps are used to facilitate planning, state and local discussions, and education efforts.

“Courtesy of Andy Lanier and Barbara Seekins.”

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…from the ESRI Map Book, Volume 24…

“Tropical cyclone Nargis struck the heart of Burma’s rice growing region in the low-lying Ayeyarwady Delta on May 2, 2008, causing extensive damage to agricultural lands, infrastructure, livestock, and stored food grains. A nearly 2,000-square-mile area of prime farmland was inundated with salt water and/or heavy rainfall. The affected region normally accounts for roughly 60 percent of the nation’s rice production.

“The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) had conducted a post-flood assessment that indicated that as of May 30, 2008, flood waters receded over a sizable area (300,000 hectares total recovery; 490,000 hectares improved since May 5, 2008). However, a month after the cyclone, approximately 1.40 million hectares, or 80 percent of the original inundated area, were still affected by some degree of flooding. Approximately 870,000 hectares had shown no improvement. The areas that showed the greatest change in the severity of flooding were the coastal areas of southern Ayeyarwady division. Natural drainage in these coastal rice farming areas must have aided the recovery, as further inland crop areas did not show the same degree of improvement. In contrast, much of the southern regions of Yangon division, which were heavily inundated, did not show much improvement a month after the cyclone’s passing.

“The Foreign Agricultural Service of the USDA works to improve foreign market access for U.S. products, build new markets, improve the competitive position of U.S. agriculture in the global marketplace, and provide food aid and technical assistance to foreign countries.

“Courtesy of U.S. Department of Agriculture, Foreign Agricultural Service.”

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…from the ESRI Map Book, Volume 24…

“The drift-thickness map of Ohio depicts the thickness and distribution of glacially derived sediments (called drift) and post-glacial stream sediments overlying the buried bedrock surface. This map was produced by subtracting bedrock-surface elevations from land-surface elevations to produce a residual map of drift thickness. Colors portray thickness intervals of glacial and modern sediments, which can range up to several hundred feet.

“The bedrock-surface component is one of the products resulting from a multiyear effort by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Division of Geological Survey, to map the bedrock geology of Ohio. Bedrock-topography maps are required to determine the relief on the bedrock surface beneath thick layers of glacial drift. These maps were created for all 788 7½-minute topographic quadrangles in the state as part of a process to produce accurate bedrock-geology maps for glaciated portions of Ohio and for those areas beyond the glacial boundary where valleys are infilled with sediment. Data concentration and contour intervals on the original, hand-drawn bedrock-topography maps vary widely across the state in response to changing geologic and topographic conditions. During the course of mapping, over 162,000 data points were interpreted for bedrock-surface elevation and in some cases drift thickness. These points were plotted on maps and used as control for the bedrock-topography lines.

“Courtesy of Donovan Powers, Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Division of Geological Survey.”

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…from the ESRI Map Book, Volume 24…

“These vegetation maps are shown at three scales in the vicinity of the Toolik Field Station, Alaska, which is an Arctic research facility run by the Institute of Arctic Biology at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks. The maps are intended to support research at the field station.

“The front side of the map sheet contains a vegetation map and ancillary maps of a 751-square-kilometer (290-square-mile) region surrounding the upper Kuparuk River watershed, including the Toolik Lake and the Imnavait Creek research areas, as well as portions of the Dalton Highway and Trans-Alaska Pipeline from the northern end of Galbraith Lake to Slope Mountain. The reverse side shows detailed vegetation maps of the 20-square-kilometer (7.7-square-mile) research area centered on Toolik Lake and a 1.2-square-kilometer (1/2-square-mile) intensive research grid on the south side of Toolik Lake. All the maps are part of a hierarchical geographic information system and the Web-based Arctic Geobotanical Atlas.

“Courtesy of Alaska Geobotany Center, Institute of Arctic Biology, University of Alaska, Fairbanks.”

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…from the ESRI Map Book, Volume 24…

“The City of Houston needed to locate all contaminated sites within its municipal boundary. Several agencies at the federal, state, and municipal levels tracked these locations, but there was no single source to show the entire universe of contaminated sites in the Houston area across all the programs. A comprehensive geodatabase would enable the city to analyze concentrations of these sites and prioritize locations to remediate.

“Aggregating and analyzing these contaminated sites based on ZIP Codes, neighborhoods, council districts, and other boundaries gave policy makers vital data to better serve citizens. Houston’s office of the mayor compiled the information from various environmental agencies and turned it over to the Planning Department’s GIS mapping team. The mapping team took the data, which was broken down by participating program, and geocoded the addresses. Afterward, the feature classes were organized into a geodatabase by program affiliation and the concentrations of these sites were analyzed based on various regional boundaries. The final presentation map set summarizes the findings of the study, highlighting the concentrations of these contamination program sites based on known Houston geographical areas.

“Courtesy of City of Houston Department of Planning and Development.”

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…from the ESRI Map Book, Volume 24…

“In Algeria, water is a key component of economic development, and its scarcity necessitates dams for storage and distribution for irrigation and human consumption. The Agence Nationale des Barrages et Transferts (ANBT) plans to build new dams to bring the total to 70 by 2010. However, soil erosion has contributed to a 20 percent reduction in reservoir capacities since their construction.

“In 2003, the ANBT invited Tecsult Inc., a major Canadian engineering firm, to conduct a comprehensive study that would locate the degraded areas of watersheds of twenty-one dams (five existing and sixteen in the detailed planned stage) and to develop watershed management plans to reduce hillside erosion and decrease reservoir siltation (accumulation of silt). The total study area covered more than 23,800 square kilometers (9,190 square miles), and the allowed study time was eighteen months.

“Each watershed was characterized for three types of erosion (sheet erosion, gully erosion, and landslides), and the resulting maps were combined in order to create a consolidated erosion risk map. Using this map and twelve land management measures, a watershed management plan was developed for each dam. Each watershed has also a map locating four kinds of special erosion control actions that aimed to reduce the stream sediment loads before they reach the reservoir. Finally, the budget required for implementing the watershed management plan with the special erosion control actions was estimated for each watershed. It was estimated that the twenty-one management schemes elaborated during this study will yield a total estimated gain of water in their reservoir equivalent to the consumption of water for more than 9 million people in one year.

“Courtesy of Agence Nationale des Barrages et Transferts (ANBT).”

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…from the ESRI Map Book, Volume 24…

“This map represents the bathymetry of the Cabonga reservoir, located in the réserve faunique La Vérendrye at the border of Abitibi-Témiscamingue and Outaouais. It was designed to help fishermen and other boating enthusiasts to navigate the waters safely.

“The TRAK survey team collected the data over several weeks. Then data was sorted, processed, and checked by the geomatics department with the help of local partners. In order to make the map more versatile, several service providers around the reservoir are also listed.

“Courtesy of TRAK and Base de données topographiques du Québec.”

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…from the ESRI Map Book, Volume 24…

“Global Positioning System tracks on Lake Davis represent how the California Department of Fish and Game applied the chemical rotenone to rid the reservoir of the predatory and invasive northern pike (Esox lucius). Pike have adversely affected the Lake Davis trout fishery and the associated local economy. If pike escape or are moved from the reservoir, they could endanger fish populations in other waters where they become established. For example, pike have the potential to cause irreversible damage in portions of California’s Feather, Sacramento, and San Joaquin river systems; the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta; as well as many other waters of the state and region.

“Courtesy of California Department of Fish and Game.”

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…from the ESRI Map Book, Volume 24…

“Seagrass beds are an important nursery habitat for many fish and shrimp species in Texas’ coastal waters. Boaters often cause damage in these shallow areas by scarring seagrass beds with their propellers, leaving long “scars” or bare areas.

“Due to the sensitive nature of this precious resource, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) monitors seagrass health carefully. In 2005, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission passed a law prohibiting the uprooting of seagrass in Redfish Bay, and TPWD Coastal Fisheries staff began an intensive study of seagrass scarring trends. To observe scarring behavior, TPWD acquired high-resolution imagery (0.1m) in 2007 intending to make comparisons with imagery in 2008 and 2009.

“This map represents phase 1 of the assessment in which automated feature detection software was employed to quickly identify scarred areas. A data mining tool was then used to remove commission errors from the Feature Analyst output. (This methodology was developed by Kass Green, Mark Tukman, and Mark Finkbeiner in the 2008 Redfish Bay Texas Airborne Sensor Comparison and Propeller Scar Mapping Final Report.) Parameters were changed to suit the needs of this project.

“Using the ArcGIS Spatial Analyst extension, kernal densities were created from the centroids of the scar polygons. The resulting map identifies areas of high-, moderate-, and low-scarring intensities.

“Courtesy of Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.”

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…from the ESRI Map Book, Volume 24…

“This map of neotropical protected areas, including indigenous areas, was prepared for the Latin American Congress of National Parks and Other Protected Areas, held in Bariloche, Argentina, September 30 to October 6, 2007.

“Data for the protected and indigenous areas came largely from the United Nations Environment Programme—World Conservation Monitoring Centre’s World Database of Protected Areas, with significant additions from sources in Conservation International. Elevation data is from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s Shuttle Radar Topography Mission. Drainage and political boundaries are from ESRI.

“Information on the map is presented in Spanish, Portuguese, and English, as was appropriate for this important international conference. The large-format (36 × 34-inch) map shows the neotropical protected areas of the western hemisphere at a scale of 1:9,700,000, and uses an equal area azimuthal projection centered on 77°W longitude and 5°S latitude. The key map, at a scale of 1:100,000,000, is in the same azimuthal projection.

“Courtesy of Conservation International.”

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…from the ESRI Map Book, Volume 24…

“With nearly 10,000 kilometers (6,214 miles) of motorway, 25,500 kilometers (15,845 miles) of trunk roads, and 1,600 kilometers (994 miles) of high-speed train lines in Basse-Normandie, transport networks dividing up natural habitats can have two main effects on animal and plant species. One, they reduce the size of the habitat such that populations of species with large home ranges can no longer survive in them. The other effect is the isolation of the remaining habitat patches, such that species have little chance of moving from one to the other.

“In this situation, the species concerned are threatened with local or regional extinction. It is through these processes that habitat fragmentation by transport networks and the resulting secondary phenomena have become the most serious threats to biological diversity on the planetary scale.

“As part of the French national strategy for biodiversity, and in response to the alarming report on the assessment of the A84 motorway concerning collisions with wildlife, the Environment and Geomatics department of the CETE Normandie Centre set up this study of ecological networks in order to propose development plans in favor of the species concerned and to improve the safety of road users.

“Courtesy of CETE Normandie Centre.”

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…from the ESRI Map Book, Volume 24…

“Natural ecosystems provide many services ranging from necessities, such as food and water, to services, such as erosion control, flood regulation and storm protection, to cultural values of open space for recreation and spiritual renewal. The Natural Capital Project, a partnership between Stanford University, The Nature Conservancy, and the World Wildlife Fund, is developing, testing, and applying innovative methods for mapping ecosystem services, including water, agricultural production, carbon sequestration, and pollination.

“The northern Sierra Nevada, which extends from south of Lake Tahoe to Lassen Volcanic National Park, is home to exceptional natural, cultural, and recreational resources of statewide and global significance. The region also faces immediate threats from development and catastrophic wildfire as well as the likelihood that global climate change will significantly affect the region’s natural resources.

“Shown here are four ecosystem services in the Northern Sierra Nevada: water yield, water retention, carbon sequestration, and biodiversity. These maps represent the first step in mapping the delivery, distribution, and economic value of ecosystem services in the Sierra Nevada of California.

“Courtesy of The Nature Conservancy.”

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…from the ESRI Map Book, Volume 24…

“Using ArcGIS 3D Analyst in conjunction with Google Earth, Federal Aviation Administration regulations regarding allowable building heights can be better displayed for modeling purposes. In addition, with the assistance of ATAC Corporation’s tools, aircraft noise can be modeled to show the extent of areas most prone to aircraft over flight for both existing and proposed development.

“Courtesy of City of Mesa, Arizona.”

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…from the ESRI Map Book, Volume 24…

“This map shows the effects of various activities on biodiversity. The United Nations Environment Programme—World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC) partnered with in-country experts from Guinea-Bissau to develop a synthesis map highlighting the potential pressures from oil and gas industry activities on the biodiversity of Guinea-Bissau. Such partnerships are leading to more accurate assessment of environmental pressures. A five-day workshop in Cambridge, United Kingdom, funded by World Wide Fund For Nature (WWF), resulted in combining UNEP-WCMC data with oil and gas exploration data from IHS Energy and data contributed by the visiting in-country experts. The combination of these data sources plus local knowledge and cartographic expertise at UNEP-WCMC has produced a powerful poster map that enables decision makers to incorporate key biodiversity information into their planning and development processes.

“Copyright United Nations Environment Programme—World Conservation Monitoring Centre; Institute of Biodiversity and Protected Areas; International Union for Conservation of Nature; IHS Energy; and the Office of Coastal Planning, Guinea-Bissau.

“Data sources for this poster map included BISSA-SIG Database (GPC/INEP/UICN/IBAP/Geomer Laboratory CNRS-Brest); IBAP: Managing Biodiversity for Secure Development, 2006; protected areas (WDPA): UNEP-WCMC, January 2007; J. Caldecott and L. Miles, 2005 (gorilla and chimpanzee data); GEBCO Digital Atlas bathymetry data, published by the British Oceanographic Data Centre on behalf of the International Oceanographic Commission (of UNESCO) and the International Hydrographic Organisation, 2003; and Petroleum Exploration & Production data: IHS, copyright 2007.

“Disclaimer: The contents of this map do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of UNEP-WCMC or contributory organizations. The designations employed and the presentations do not imply the expressions of any opinion whatsoever on the part of UNEP-WCMC or contributory organizations concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city, or area or its authority, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.”

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…from the ESRI Map Book, Volume 24…

“Some of the feature characteristics of potential aquifer recharge zones are soil permeability values and steepness of slope. In other words, water will tend to sink into the ground more readily in areas where the soil is more permeable and the slope is level or nearly level.

“Soil permeability values and slope steepness values can be represented as layers in a GIS for further analysis. A new layer (Potential Aquifer Recharge Zones) can be created by combining the soil permeability values with the slope steepness values.

“Courtesy of the California Department of Water Resources.”

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…from the ESRI Map Book, Volume 24…

“This is a forest stand-type map produced for one of the 1,308 subdistricts of Turkey’s forest management plan. These plans are renewed every ten years. Aerial photos are combined with the field work to create final forest maps. The database structure, standards, and symbols are developed for Turkey.

“Courtesy of Umut Adigüzel, General Directorate of Forestry.”

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