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1 BLMLIBRARY 88070586 Integrated Landscape Analysis By AlanAmen JacekBlaszczynski SoilScientist,retired TerrainModelingSpecialist BureauofLandManagement BureauofLandManagement EditedBv o' JulieMarsh GISSpecialist TRW UnitedStatesDepartmentoftheInterior BureauofLandManagement NationalScienceandTechnologyCenter P.O.Box25047 Denver,Colorado August6,200 GF 91 U6 • A44 2001 o ExecutiveSummary' TheBureauofLandManagementmanages264millionacresofpubliclands. Thispresents uniquechallengesandopportunitiesformanagementoftheselands,especiallyontightbudgets. TheIntegratedLandscapeAnalysis(ILA)processcanprovideBLMadministratorswithatool forhelpingtomanagetheselands. TheILAmethodologyusesGeographicInformationSystems technologytoassembleandintegratedigitaldata. Thenexperiencedspecialistsputallthisdata andknowledgetogethertoprovideacompleteanalysisoflandscapes.Thisreportdiscussessome ofthemanywaysthatILAcanbeusedtosupportlandmanagementactivities. Methodolog)' ILAusesmanydifferentlayersofgeographicinformation,compiledandanalyzedwithinthe frameworkofaGIS. Someofthemethodsusedincludeterrainanalysis,whichshowsterrain patternsacrossalandscape. Clusteranalysisisalsousedtodisplaygroupingsofselected attributesformodelingpotentiallysimilarareas,suchasecologicalsites. Applications TheILAmethodologyhasmanydifferentapplicationsforBLMlandmanagers. Theseinclude: • SoilSurvey • EcologicalSiteInventories • WatershedAnalysis • PredictiveErosionModelingwithRUSLE • ThreatenedandEndangeredSpeciesHabitatModeling • MonitoringSiteSelection • RiparianAreaIdentificationandManagement • ArchaeologicalandCulturalSitePredictionandInventory • OffHighwayVeliicleSurv'eys ExperiencesandLessonsLearned TheILAappproachhasbeensuccessfullydemonstratedinthefollowingareas: • SagersWash,UT • HenryMountains,UT • EmpireRanch,AZ • WamsutterandLaBarge,WY • Alamogordo,NM • EmeryCounty,UT • ColoradoNRIRangelandHealth TheIL.Aprocesshasevolvedfrominitiallyassistingmanualsoilsurv'eyapproachestousing automationwithnewtechnologythatallowsformoreandfasterdataanalysis. Thisapproach bringsresourcespecialistsandlandmanagerstogethertoshareknowledge,experiences,skills andsettingandresourcedata.ExperienceandknowledgecombinedcanmakeILAasuccessful solutionforavarietyofproblemsfacinglandmanagerstoday. 0!^ )'{^-gg6=fO <^t ,U^ ^0D[ I. Introduction A. Background Asthenation’spopulationhasgrown,sohavethedemandsonitspubliclandstoprovide multipleresourcesforadiverseclientele. Managementofpubliclandshasbecomeincreasingly complex,requiringsophisticatedtechnologiesandaccurateinformationtoserveawiderangeof environmental,economic,andrecreationneeds(seeFigure1).TheBureauofLandManagement (BLM)needsanefficientandeconomicprocesstocompileandanalyzeavarietyofmulti- disciplinary'resourcesoverlandspapestodeterminethehealthandscientificallysounduseof publiclandresources. The LandsWeManage (TheResources&TheirUse) Figure1.TheLandsWeManage(reproducedfromILAhandoutmaterials). Digitalinfomiationisbeingcollectedtosupportandguidelandmanagementdecisions.This data,whichincludestopography,geology,soils,vegetation,andclimatedata,aswellasimagery, isbeingcollected,organized,andanalyzedusingGeographicInformationSystems(GIS) technology. TheIntegratedLandscapeAnalysis(ILA)methodologyusesthisGIStechnologytoassemble andintegrateDigitalElevationModel(DEM)data,LandsatThematicMapper(TM)imagery, orthophotos,digitalcoveragedata,andtabularresourceconditioninformation. TheILA methodology,coupledwithexperiencedspecialists,putsailthisdataandknowledgetogetherto provideacompleteanalysisoflandscapes. Landscapesettinginformationisthesameforalldisciplinesandisthekeycoredatainmany differentfieldsofanalysis.Unfortunately,fewdisciplinescombinetheirdatacollectionand 08/06/01 2 analysisefforts,resultinginredundantdatasetsandinefficientanalyses.ILAcombinesthe knowledgeandspecializeddatacollectedbymultipledisciplinestocreatealandscapeanalysis thatisgreaterthanthesumofitsparts. Seekingthisinformationconjointlyinmanyfieldsfor inventoryandassessmentcanhelpavoidcostlyduplicationoffieldefforts. Besidesconvenience andcost,theintegratedapproachprovidesagreaterunderstandingofanareaasawholefor planningandlandmanagementactivities(seeFigure2). Whenanumberofspecialistsare workingtogetherinthesameareawdthacommonobjective,therearebothopportunitiesand stimulusfortheexchangeofideasandon-the-spotinformationw'hichhavescientificaswellas practicalvalue. Managing Lands (AnIntegratedLandscapeResourceAnalysisApproach} Figure2.ManagingLands(reproducedfromILAhandoutmaterials). TheILAmethodologyprovidestheopportunitytosharetoolsanddataandcreatesan environmentforpeople(scientists,researchers,public,anddecisionmakers)tonetworkand shareresearchinformation,knowledge,experiences,andcreativity. Informationandtechnology, usingtheILAmethodology,arealsoeffectivelyusedtodisplayandcommunicateresource information,planningactivities,landhealth,anditsaccompanyingprescriptionstothepublic, bridgingresearchwithreality. B. PastandPresentofILA BeforethecurrentconceptionofILA,theSoilLandscapeAnalysisProject(SLAP)begantouse someofthesametypesofdatausedinILA,butwithmanualoverlays(black&white)produced fromdigitaldata. TheSLAPmethodologywasdevelopedbythreefederalagenciestoenhance soilsurveymappingprocedures,improvetheaccuracyofsoilsurvey,makesoilscientists’field timemoreefficient,andassistincreatingadigitalsoildatabase. TheBLMandNatural ResourceConservationService(NRCS)incooperationwiththeU.S.GeologicalSurvey(USGS) EarthResourcesObservationSystems(EROS)DataCenterjointlytestedandevaluatedthe 08/06/01 3 applicationofSLAPmethodologyinmakingsoilsurveysandcreatinganaccompanyingdigital soildatabase.(Amen,Foster,1987*) TheSLAPmethodologyincorporatedcomputer-generatedslope,aspect,andspectralmapsto assistsoilscientiststhroughoutthemanualsoilmappingprocess,resultinginaneditedand verifieddigitaldatalayerthatisusableinaGISdatabase. Thesoilmapsproducedwiththeaid ofthesemethodsconformedtothestandardsandcriteriaoftheNationalCooperativeSoilSurvey (NCSS). TheILAmethodologyhasevolvedfrominitiallyassistingthesemanualapproaches,tousing moreautomationwithnewtechnologythatallowsformoreandfasterdataanalysis.Itcurrently providesimprovedquality,moreeconomicalsurveys,andmoreeffectivedisplayand enhancementopportunitiesforsoilsurveyandlandscapemodeling. Theinterpretationandanalysisofmultiplelandscapeattributessuchastopography,vegetation, geology,andlanduseisanintegralpartofsoilmapping. Traditionalapproachesthathavebeen usedtointerpretlandscapeattributeswhenmappingsoilsinvolveairphotoandtopographicmap interpretationcoupledwithfieldobservations. RecentadvancesinGISandalliedtechnologies havecreatednewopportunitiesforlandscapeinterpretationusingdigitalterrainanalysesand multiplemapoverlaytechniques. Whilethesetechniqueswillnotnecessarilyprovidenew information,theydoenableustoorganizeourexistinginformationintoaformthatcanexpedite andimprovesoilmappingactivities. TheILAapproachincludestechniquestocombine statistically-basedsoil/landscapemodelswithGISdatatocreatemapsandinformationfor resourcemodeling. II.Methodology^ A. GISData ThegoalofGIStechnologyistomodelreal-worldfeaturesasgeographicfeatures,i.e.withina measurableframework. Thisincludesallthingslocatedonornearthesurfaceoftheearth, includingnaturalfeaturessuchasrivers,soils,andvegetation,man-madeconstructionssuchas roads,pipelinesordams,andman-madesubdivisionsoflandsuchascounties,states,andother politicaldivisions. Justaspapermapsandreliefrepresentationsportrayfeaturesontheground, digitalmapsmodeltherealworldutilizingrepresentativepoints,lines,areas,andsurfaces(e.g. terrainsurfaces),thatdescribethoseobjects. TheILAmethodologyusesa‘toolbox’ofthese differentGISlayersthatareavailabletoperformavarietyoftasks(seeFigure3). 08/06/01 4 The ILA Toolbox AerialPhotography-B&W,Naturalcolor,ColorIRandOrthophotographs •PhotographicInterpretationandStereo •OrthophotoBaseMap-backdropforrecording soilpolygons DigitalElevationModels(OEMs) Elevation LandformAnalysis Slope WatershedDelineation Aspect GeomorphicProcesses •Curvature SatelliteImagery-LandsatThematicMapper(TM) •SoilSurface-Texture,OM,Color •GeologicSubstrate •SoilParentMaterials •Vegetation-Type,Biomass •RockFragmentSurfaces Databases-Ancillarydata •Precipitation PublicLandSurvey System(PLSS) •Temperature Roads/Culturalfeatures •Geology LandUse •Vegetation •ExistingSoilsData GeographicInformationSystems(GIS)Technology •ComputerizedIntegratedSystem-create,compile,store,modelanddisplay •Arcinfo,ERDASImagine Figure3.TheILAToolbox 08/06/01 5 TheGIStoolboxusedinILAincludesthefollowingcorelandscapedataandancillarydatasets: • Orthophotography-aerialphotointerpretations. • DEM-elevation,slopeclass,aspect,curvaturedata,andclimatelandformdata. Elevation-delineatesareaswhereelevationchangesaffectsoiltemperature,soil moisture,vegetation,andlanduse. Slope-identifiesdegreeofslopeshowingareasoferosionandlandslidepotential,and helpingidentifypotentialsoiltypesalongslopeprofiles. Aspect-formappingsoilsandvegetationinareaswhereaspectinfluencessoil formation,soiltemperature,andsoilmoisture,aswellasvegetationtype. Curv'ature-displayshillslopecurvatureoverthelandscape,showingareasoferosionand depositionusefulindeterminingsoiltypes. Climatelandform-delineatesbroadsoilgroupingsinlandscapeanalyses. • LandsatTM-forlocationofsurfacesoil,geology,andvegetation. • Precipitation-helpsdefinesoilpolygonsandecologicalsites. • Temperature-helpsdefinesoilpolygons,ecologicalsites,andvegetationlocations. • Geology-helpsdefineparentmaterialwhencreatingsoilpolygons. • Soils-forcreatingnewsoilsurveysinadjacentareasandrefiningexistinglarge-scalesoil surveys(e.g.STATSGOandSSURGO). • Vegetation-forsoils,wildlife,andrangelandmanagementapplications(e.g.GAP). • Ancillaryvectors-suchasstreamnetworks.PublicLandSurv'eySystem(PLSS),roads,and landusedatatohelpinmanagementdecisionmaking. AnotherimportantlayerintheILAtoolboxisthebandratiocomposite. Thisimageryuses combinationsofbandsfromastandardLandsatTMscenetodisplaysoilsurfacecolorand chemicalcompositioninformation. Manysoilcharacteristicshavebeenshowntobe significantlycorrelatedtoLandsatdigitalvalues,whichhaveastrongcovariancerelationship wdthsoilcolor.Experiencehasshownthatthebandratiocombination3/2(R),3/7(G),5/7(B)is thebestcombinationtouseforrelatingsurfacefeaturesofaridlandscapestoTMsatellitedata. Researchershavepointedoutthatthecoloroftheearth’ssurfacefeaturesonnon-vegetatedor sparsely-vegetatedlandscapesisverystronglycorrelatedtoenergyreflectedfromtheseland surfaces,whichistypicalofourPublicLands. Inthepastthesetoolshavebeenusedseparatelywithmylaroverlays,whichisnotaseffectiveas usingthemincombinationwithautomatedanalysistoolsintheappropriatesequence. Traditionally,soilpolygonshavebeeninterpretedforpolygonplacementanddocumentedon aerialphotographyororthophotos.Amorein-depthanalysiscanbeperfonnedbysupplementing theorthophotobackdropw'ithslopeclass,curvature,andTMreflectancedata. AlthoughcurrentpoliciesfacilitatesharingdatathroughouttheBLM,thereisnostandardfor postingthedatainanaccessiblelocation. Thus,dataisnotshared,butispurchasedand analyzedrepeatedly.Ifthiscoredataweremademoreavailabletoresourcespecialists,analyses donewouldbemoreconsistent,andcouldbeusedtogetherforagreaterunderstandingof managementissues. OtherdatathattheBLMalreadyhasaccesstoincludesLandsatTMscenes, GAPvegetation,STATSGOsoilsdata,andothervectordataatscalesof1:250,000andgreater. Moredetaileddata,suchasSSURGOsoilsdata,mayormaynotbeavailableinallareas. 08/06/01 6 EstimatedcostsofproducingcoredatafortheILA‘toolbox’(includingorthophotography,DEM data,andsatelliteLandsatTMdata)andtheaccompanyingkeyproductsderivedfromthecore dataaveragesfrom1to2centsperacre,includingGIStechnicalassistance. B. Methods&Models Anessentialaspectofecosystemmanagementistheanalysisofspatialandtemporal relationshipswithinalandscapebetweenitsvariouselementssuchashydrologicresponseunits, soiltypes,ecosites,landforms,watersheds,ecosystems,ecoregions,etc. Computerspatialdata processingtechnologypermitsanalysisoftheselandscapeelementsandtheirrelationships,and assistsinthedevelopmentofsoundmanagementalternatives. ILAprovidesthemeansto integratedataandspecialistsfromvariousdisciplinesandsources,tohelpmanagementactivities atvariousscalesandresolutions. Explicitmodelsforspatialpredictionprovideascientificapproachtosoilsurvey,buttheydonot utilizeallofthepredictivecapacityofintuitivementalmodelsusedinconventionalsurvey. For example,anexperiencedsoilscientistusuallydrawsonrelationshipsbetweensoiland environ1m.entvariablesgainedinotherlandscapesw^henmappinganewarea.TheILAapproach integratesdigitaldata(terrainandremotesensing),providingforacompletecorrelation landscapeanalysisrepresentingeachelementoftheecosystemusingeachdigitaldatasetmost effectively. Anotherfacetofconventionalpracticedifficulttoincorporateintoamorequantitativesystemis thelargeamoimtofcontinuousobservationthatgoesintointuitivementalmodels. Quantitative modelsusedatafromobservationsatselectedsites;however,manyimpressionsofrelationships betweensoilandotherenvironmentalvariablesareobtainedasthesurveyareaistraversed(e.g. opportunisticobservationsofroadcuts,soilpits,samplesites,andotherexposures). TerrainAnalysis WhatGIScanoffercanbeexemplifiedbyautomatedspatialterrainanalysistoolsthatare availableforevaluationandlandmodelingactivitiessuchashillslopeanalysis,watershed analysis,anddrainagepatternanalysis. Theadventofdigitalterrainanalysisandalliedtechnologieshascreatedanopportunity’to developamorescientifically-basedmethodofsoilsurv'eythatovercomesseveralofthe limitationsofconventionalsurvey.Terrainanalysisisofvaluetosoilsurveyandlandevaluation, eveninlandscapeswheresoil/landformrelationshipsareW’eakorcomplex,becauseitcanbe usedtogenerateusefulenvironmentalinformationandprovideabasisforvisualization. Terrain analysiscanbeutilizedinILAinthreemainareas: 1. Togeneratehigh-resolutioninformationforuseinlandevaluation(slope,surface curv'ature.watersheddelineation,aspect,elevationlines,waterflowpatterns,and topographicdata). 2. Tocreateexplicitenvironmentalstratificationsforsoilsurv^eydesign. 3. Toprovidequantitativespatialpredictionsofindividualsoilproperties. 08/06/01 7 AslopemapgeneratedfromDEMdataisoneofthemosteffectiveproductsinmappingsoils andecologicalsites. Sincetopographyisoneofthemostimportantfactorsinsoilformation,use andmanagement,slope-classmapsgeneratedfromDEMdataprovideagoodphysiographicbase foridentifyingsoildelineations. Slope-classmapscanalsobeusedeffectivelyinconjunction withaerialphotographicinterpretation(stereoscopy)toidentifyslopegradients. Thefullpotentialofterrainanalysisinsoilsurv'eywillberealizedonlywhenitisintegratedwith fieldprogramswithastrongemphasisongeomorphicandpedologicprocesses. Theuseof quantitativeterrainvariablesaspredictorsofsoildistributionisinitsinfancyandevidenceofits worthalongwithmethodologicalrefinementswillhavetobeaccumulatedinabroadrangeof landscapes. Subjectiveterrainanalysishasbeencentraltosoilsurveysinceitsinception. 2. ClusterAnalysis Clusteranalysisisageneraltermforafamilyofstatisticalclassificationmethodsthatgroup objects. Theideaistominimizevariabilitywithinagroupwhilema.ximizingvariabilityamong multiplegroupsinordertoproducerelativelyhomogeneousgroupsthataredistinctfromone another. Themorefamiliarhierarchicalcollectiveclusteringmethodsdevelopasimilaritymatrix(e.g.a correlationmatrix)forallcases,whichallowsasoilscientisttocreateadendrogramthatshows therelationshipsamongallcases(i.e.pedons). Theresultingdendrogramcanbeviewedasan indicatorofdistancemeasuresfromthecentralconceptinmultivariatespace. Thesoilgroupsdefinedbyclusteranalysisarepedologicallysimilarandgenerallycomprise mappablesoilbodies. Theeffectsofstratigraphyandlandformonsoilformationareevidentin clusteringresults. Thepredictivevalueoflandformswillvarybetweenareas,butisvery indicativeofsoillocationsinwildlandsareas. ClusteranalysisbyselectedTMbandratiomaps,slopeclass,andsurfacecurvaturemapscan revealimportantpedologicalrelationshipsthatarenotapparentwhenpedonsareclassifiedby landformaerialphotographicinterpretationalone. III. Applications TheILAmethodologyprovidestoolsforsoilinventorypre-mappingandenhancement, ecologicalsitecorrelation,monitoringsiteselection,landcapabilitydeterminations,risk assessment,andwatershedmodeling. The“QualitativeAssessmentProcedure”(Pellant,Shaver, Pyke,andHerrick,2000^)forrangelandhealthislinkedtothelandscapebytheILAprocess. Indicatorsusedintheassessmentprocedure(physical,chemical,andbioticenvironments)are givenspatialdefinition,allowingkeylandhealthindicatorsandstressorsuniquetospecific landscapesettingstobemoreeasilyidentified. A. Soilsurvey TheILAapproachtomakingandenhancingsoilsurveysusesGIStechnologytointegrateDEM data,orthophotos,LandsatTMimagery,andothersupportingdata(climate,geology,vegetation cover,andadjoiningsoildata)forimproveddefinitionoftaxonomicsoilcomponentsw'ithinsoil 08/06/01 8 mappingunits. Thismethodologyemphasizesalandscapeandgeologicanalysisapproachusing acomputerizedoverlayprocessinERDASIMAGINE,Arcinfo,ArcView,andothersoftware analysisanddisplaysystems. TheuseofGISlandform/hydrologiccharacterizationmethodsand additionalgeologicinterpretationsprovidedetailedinformationonthespatialvariabilityofsoil propertieswithinsoilmapunits. TheILAprocessprovidesfarmoreeffectiveuseofdigitaldataforsoilandecological inventoriesandlandhealthevaluationsthanhavebeenusedinsoilsurveysinthepast. Through aGISintegration(datafusion)process,digitaltoolsareusedincombinationstomosteffectively depictspatialcharacteristicsandlandscapeprocesses,bridgingtechnologywithrealityina sequentialprocess. TheILAmethodologyisespeciallyeffectivewhenformulatingpre-mapsinareaswhereaccess isdifficultorlimited. ILAmakesiteasytoidentifymorerepresentativeareastosample,thus reducingthetimespentinthefield.Directsamplingordiggingofsoilpitsisanexpensiveand time-consumingprocess.Pre-mappingcanhelpcutthecostofsoilsurv'eysbyselectingmore representativesamplesitesusingexistingenvironmentaldata. ILAcanalsobeusedtosupplementandupdateexistingsoilsurveys.Supplementalmapping mayinvolvesubdivisionsoflargermapimitsusingslope,curvnture,bandratiocomposites,and otherdatasets. TheILAmethodologyemphasizessoilformationprocessesandprovidesasoil mappingmodelthatrelatessoilsandecologicalsitestothelandscape. Thedegreeofcorrelation betweensoilsandvegetationtypetolandscapeandgeomorphicprocessesallowsinferencesand predictionofsoilsandecologicalsites. Thisassistsindesigningsoilmapunitsandecological sitestobecompatiblewiththelandscapeandtomeetmajoruserneeds. Relatedresourcedata arealsoincorporatedintotheprocessofgeneratingtheinventory,whichishelpfulindescribing theoccurrenceandextentofsoilcomponentsandinclusionswithinasoilmapunit. TheILAmethodologyprovidesagoodqualitycontrolandtrainingtoolforsoilsurv'eysand ecologicalsitecorrelation. Inexperiencedscientistscaneasilyandeffectivelygraspconceptsof soilmappingandecologicalsitecorrelationbyusingtheILAmethodologybecauseoftheway thattheenvironmentisbrokendownintoitssimplercomponents. TheILAapproachtosoilsurveyenhancementandecologicalsitecorrelationprocessprovides additionalinterpretationandanalysiscapabilitiesforlandmanagement,e.g.,watershedanalysis, riparianareaandgrazingmanagement,monitoringsiteselectionandlandhealthassessment. It alsomoreeffectivelydisplaysandcommunicatessoilinformationandaccompanyingecological siteinformation,whichareessentialinmanagingpubliclands. Oneofthekeyreferencestohelp landusedeterminationsandlandhealthassessmentsisqualitysoilsurveyinformationthatcan beconvenientlyandeffectivelydisplayedandcommunicated. TheILAapproachallowsanyscaleanalysis(specificon-sitetoregional),withemphasison 1:24,000scaleactivities. TheuseofDEMandTMdataalonecannotproduceasoilsurv^ey. Fieldobser\''ationsandsoilsamplingarestillanintegralpartofthesoilmappingprocess. However,withtheILA‘toolbox’andassociatedmethodology,inconjunctionwitheffectiveuse ofsupportivedatabyexperiencedsoilscientists,ILAcanaidinmakingandupdatingsoil surveys. Justasaerialphotographsreducefieldtimeandimprovetheaccuracyofsoilsurveys. 08/06/01 9