Land+Cover

Team is: James, Joe, Brannon

3/17/09 Wednesday: Collect and compile data Thursday: Compile data || Rough draft with comments by Thursday, the 16th ||
 * < Week of: || Plan ||
 * < March 16 || Tuesday: Set goals for project and finish up timeline
 * < March 23 || Compile data ||
 * < March 30 || Start landcover maps and design ||
 * < April 6 || Outline of presentation and report ||
 * < April 13 || Rough draft finished and revised
 * < April 20 || Prepare for presentation and finalize report ||
 * < April 27 || Presentation ||

<>

<<23 Feb - george - Hey, guys - not much activity here - little sign of progress. You should confer based on your mental creations and reach agreement on what you're going to do. Post the results here - more detailed objectives, more detailed information about tables and graphs. Will you compare 1992 / 2002 data (simple table with side-by-side columns would be spectacular; perhaps a graphic as well)? You should be able to start writing down specifics of datasets and where you will get them. As near as I know, there's nothing preventing you from moving forward. In fact, I don't know why you haven't already posted the analysis of the 2002 data for the Triangle (seriously). If there is something preventing forward motion, you have to //tell me// so that I can do something to help.>>

Objectives: - Determine types of land cover and the % of each type in the Triangle. - Identify protected areas within the Triangle and determine what type of cover is in each area. - Conduct stream buffer analysis for the Triangle and look at cover types within a 300ft/100m range. **(secondary objective)**

PROPOSED TABLES:

Learning Needs: - Understand GIS: Learn how to use and manipulate appropriate data layers via ArcMap (learn as we go?) <> - Analyze environmental data/ecosystem. Learn the characteristics of different land covers. <> - Obtain appropriate data layers. We need to know what data layers to obtain. <> - Base land documentation: lands in/around triangle belonging to TLC and other conservation organizations. <>

Specific Actions - Obtain appropriate data layers (Use NHP and Triangle J) - From data layers create map to identify type and percentage of each cover area. Use ArcMap to create the Map. - Keep in contact with GIS department gurus - Create table, a pie chart of the cover types. <>

OLD STUFF - Identify protected areas within the Triangle and determine what type of cover is in each area. <<george 6 Feb - there are some terminology issues here. You can get a GIS layer of protected land, probably from Triangle J Council of Governments, and put it on top of the land cover data used to get the information for your first item. That will tell you how much of each cover is protected, which is good information. But the term "representative" means nothing in this context. That term is associated with "ecosystem types" and would be things that are more detailed than the GIS cover data we're looking at. Now, the proportion of each ecosystem type (eg, oak-hickory forest) is protected is also valuable information, but I'm not sure we have the data to get it. We'd need to figure out which ecosystem types TLC / others want protected, or which ecosystem classification to use for this - there are several (like the NC Vegetation classification system). Then we'd have to look for data or collect data to address the question, which is "Of each of the ecosystem types of interest, what portion is protected?">>

<<george - 27 Jan - your objective is not clear here. I thought the ultimate objective was to determine the % of each "representative ecosystem" that is protected. The things here about management don't seem to fit - why are you worried about how to manage land, or how it affects water quality? What about straight inventory? How much of what types of forest do we have in the Triangle today? What about crop cover? Open fields? Also, we're not just focused on TLC property, so threats from adjacent property is likely not something we should worry about. Agree that need to learn some GIS.>>

<>