Landscape Ecology and GIS

The two questions that colleagues in my department ask me the most often are probably "Where can I find data for x?" and "What application should I use or how do I use it to conduct my analysis?". A regular recurrence of the same question is usually a good indication that some of the information isn't readily available. In an effort to help correct this information deficiency, I have begun compiling a list of resources that I frequently consult personally or recommend to others about GIS and remote sensing. Here is my current collection of links to information about techniques and tools used in the implementation of landscape ecology.

Tutorials, News and Discussion

• Aerial Photography and Remote Sensing -- brief module on some remote sensing technologies by Shannon Crum at U-T Austin
• Dr. Short's Remote Sensing Tutorial -- possibly one of the most frequently consulted remote sensing resources for beginners
• Fundamentals of Remote Sensing -- a similar tutorial by Natural Resources Canada
• NASA Earth Observation System
• Online Remote Sensing Guide -- offers a detailed description of the GOES and POES satellites
• Slashgeo -- Slashdot for spatial people

Back to top

• Wikipedia: Remote sensing -- provides some detailed information and lists several of the sensor platforms

GIS Software

• Clark Labs (IDRISI)
• ESRI (ArcGIS)
• FreeGIS
• GDAL -- Geospatial Data Abstraction Library
• GeoTools
• GIS Lounge
• Geographic Resources Analysis Support System (GRASS)
• OGR Simple Feature Library
• Open Source GIS: A GRASS Approach (Book Supplement)
• OSGeo
• ERDAS (IMAGINE)
• MultiSpec
• Quantum GIS

Data Sources

Global Data

• The Global Land Cover Facility is probably one of the best places to find satellite imagery.
• The GeoCommunity offers GIS data downloads from their GIS Data Depot.
• The PRISM Group has a large collection of climate data available.
• Terraserver provides orthophotos and topo maps.
• The USDA maintains a fairly extensive Spatial Data Library.
• Several topographic data sets are available at the USGS Geographic Data Download site.
• The USGS also has extensive global coverage on its Seamless Data Distribution server.
• ESRI offers Census Data Layers on their web site.

National (United States) Data

• The United States National Atlas has several data layers for the U.S.

Indiana Data

• The Indiana Spatial Data Service, hosted through Indiana University, has quite a bit of data available for Indiana.
• Hydrology and biology layers for Indiana are available at the Indiana GIS Atlas.
• Detailed climatological data are available from the Indiana State Climate Office, which is hosted right here at Purdue.

Michigan Data

• The Michigan Geographic Data Library hosts a large collection of data layers for the state of Michigan.

Professional Societies and Organizations

• American Geophysical Union
• IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Society
• International Association of Landscape Ecology
• Open Geospatial Consortium
• United States Regional Association of the International Association of Landscape Ecology

Recommended Textbooks

• Principles and Methods in Landscape Ecology. Almo Farina -- An excellent and exhaustive introduction into what landscape ecology is and how it's done. While more popular in Europe and India than in the United States, this text is globally relevant and I strongly recommend it to anyone interested in landscape ecology or biogeography.
• Landscape Ecology in Theory and Practice. Monica Turner, R.H. Gardner and R.V. O'Neill -- Another thorough introduction to landscape ecology, this time from a more American perspective. Turner, Gardner and O'Neill are three prominent scientists in landscape ecology, and the the high quality of their work is reflected in the excellent treatment of many dimensions of landscape ecology in this text.
• Spatial Analysis: A Guide for Ecologists. Marie-Josée Fortin and Mark Dale -- Spatial analysis is a key component of any GIS project, and therefore a fundamental part of landscape ecology. A thorough understanding of the statistical tools involved in such an analysis is therefore critical, and this book presents many of these tools in a manner that is accessible to ecologists.
• Temporal Dimensions of Landscape Ecology. John A. Bissonette and Ilse Storch (eds.) -- I am still reading this text, but thus far it has provided excellent insight into the analysis of a rather complex and difficult to study dimension of landscape ecology.
• Scaling Biodiversity. David Storch, Pablo Marquet and James Brown (eds.) -- Spatial scale is a integral variable in any spatial analysis. This excellent text discusses many of the issues involved in moving between scales when looking at the processes that drive biodiversity.
• Open Source GIS: A GRASS GIS Approach. Markus Netler and Helena Mitasova -- If you're going to work with GRASS, then you're going to need help. While many people more intelligent than myself are able to learn to use open-source tools such as GRASS using only the online help, I find this concise and well-organised textbook to be an invaluable part of my library.