GIS 335 Lab Project

GIS 1 Lab 3: Vector Analysis with ArcGIS

Goal: The primary goal of the lab was to determine suitable habitat for bears in Marquette County, Michigan, using various geoprocessing tools.

Methods: Detailed methods are provided under each heading.

Objective One: Map a GPS MS Excel file of Black Bear Locations in Central Marquette County, Michigan.

The lab3.zip file was downloaded and placed in my lab3 folder and this information was added to the map. The bear locations were located in a non-spatial database and needed to be added as an event theme. Once this was completed I exported them to place them in my geodatabase and saved the event theme as bear_locations.

Objective Two: Determine Bear Habitat.

All feature classes in the bear_management_area feature class were added to a data frame. Bear habitat was determined by performing a spatial join operation by using the bear_locations and land_cover feature classes; this new feature class was named bear_cover. I then found the number of bears in each habitat by selecting attributes using the Minor_Type field. The results were used to create a layer called top_bear_habitat_type; the three types of cover were evergreen forest land, forested wetlands, and mixed forest land types.

Objective Three: Determine Bear Locations Within 500 meters of a Stream.

Bear_locations was intersected with the results of a 500 meter stream buffer which was dissolved (named dissolved_500m_stream_buffer), which resulted in 49 out of 68 (72%) of the bears were located within 500 meters of streams in area of interest. Biologists consider any number above 30% to be significant.

Objective Four: Determine Suitable Bear Habitat.

For this objective, I performed an intersection of top_bear_habitat_type and dissolved_500m_stream_buffer and then ran dissolve, which resulted in suitable_bear_habitat.

Objective Five: Suitable Bear Habitat in DNR Managed Land.

I determined the DNR managed land area by performing a clip using the dnr_mgmt and study_area feature classes to eliminate areas that the DNR does not control. An intersection was then performed to determine the suitable bear habitat under DNR control. A dissolve was then performed on the resultant suitable_bear_habitat_dnr_management_area, which I named dissolved_suitable_bear_habitat_dnr_management_area.

Objective Six: Final Determination of Ideal Bear Management Areas.

The land_cover feature class was used and a select by attributes query (by Major_Type field) was performed to determine urban or built-up areas. The result was used to create a layer called urban_or_built_up_areas. A buffer was performed on this layer which resulted in urban_or_built_up_areas_5k_buffer, which was then dissolved. The resultant dissolved layer (dissolved_urban_or_built_up_areas_5k_buffer) was then intersected with the dissolved_suitable_bear_habitat_dnr_management_area. An erase was then performed on this result which enabled me to find the final_ideal_bear_habitat_area.

Objective Seven: Generate a Map and Data Flow Model.

The final map was created in ArcGIS with a legend, north arrow, study area insert, source and author information and scale added to conform with cartographic methodologies. A data flow chart was created using MS Visio.

Objective Eight: Introductory Python Scripting.

The purpose of this objective was exposure to Python scripting using simple commands in preparation for more advanced GIS courses. A buffer analysis was performed with the arcpy.Buffer_analysis command. An additional buffer was then run on the streams feature class with a distance of one kilometer. The results of this buffer were then intersected with suitable land use with the command arcpy.Intersect_analysis ([“streams_buf”, suitable_bear_habitat”}, “land_stream”). An erase of the buffer of urban areas was then performed with the command arcpy.Erase_analysis(suitable_bear_habitat”, Urban_area_buff”, suitable_hab_URBAN”). The results can be seen in the last diagram in the results section.

Results:

The resultant map depicts the areas that the DNR considers ideal bear habitat; it is habitat that contains streams and the proper landcover and is located within DNR management boundaries. The area that fits the ideal bear habitat is quite small; most bears are found on land not controlled by the DNR which could potentially limit the effectiveness of governmental management of bear management.The data flow model outlines the steps that I took in determining ideal bear habitat per DNR guidelines set for the simulated project. The Python script lists the steps and commands used in the simple introductory Python objective.