Preparing your plan maps

From Wikiagro.com

In this learning guide, you will learn how to create the maps requested by the NRCS to apply for EQIP. You will first create your property boundary map from the GPS points you gathered in the field. Then, you will manipulate your property boundary map to create your stands type map. Finally, you will prepare a practice recommendations map based on your stand types.

Webcasts

Exercise 01 – Prepare a property boundary or planning unit map

Exercise 03 – Prepare a stands type map based on imagery

Exercises

Where to Do the Exercises

The first step to complete the exercises in this tutorial is to set up the computer you will be working on. If you completed our Getting Started Course, your system and datasets are ready to go through this learning guide. You will be able to use our GeoAgro GIS trial version for 2 months. From now on, you are ready to begin with any learning guide you wish.

Exercise 01 – Prepare a property boundary or planning unit map

In this exercise you will learn to import your field property boundary data. Then you will learn how to build a polygon from it, and to import it into GeoAgro GIS for plan development mapping.

Import data from your field visit

Please refer to Import data from your field visit.

Convert data from waypoints to polygons

Note:

Note: This is one of the few exercises for which sample data is not provided, as you need a GPS device connected to the computer in order to work on the exercise. The same step-by-step method with sample data will be used to present the exercise, but in order to work on it you will need to connect your GPS and unload personal data that you have already gathered.

In the previous exercise you collected waypoints from your GPS device. Now turn to the Selection Tools menu.

You will use the Rectangle Selection tool

by clicking on it and dragging it to enclose the waypoints. By doing this you will select the waypoints of the facility or parcel that you marked earlier.

The waypoints should appear highlighted as shown below:

Next, click on the Convert Points into a Polygon tool

The next window will allow you to set the sequence of waypoints in order.

Note:

By default, Geoagro GIS displays waypoints in the order in which they were marked on site, so the tracks connecting the waypoints will probably form some triangulations or intersections.

Select waypoints one by one in the Convert Points… window (each selected waypoint will be highlighted in blue) and change their position on the list by using the up

and down

arrows on the right, until you set the correct sequence to close the shape of the facility or parcel.

Next, click on Accept to complete this operation. The polygon for the property boundary area has been created.

Note:

If a waypoint that doesn't belong in the polygon is selected, click on the

tool to unmark it.

Export Data to GIS Module

Click on the Drop down selection menu and deselect all items by clicking on "Remove Selection". Now click on the "Point selection" and then click on the polygon to select it. The polygon will highlight.

Click on the Export to GIS Module tool.

Note:

If you have selected one or more objects, Geoagro GIS will ask you whether you wish to export only the selected objects or all the objects in that layer. Select the appropriate option and then click on Accept.

In the “Export to GIS module”, export to the “Property boundaries” layer.

In the “Import layer” window, do not match any attributes.

Click on the “GIS” tab to go to the GIS module. Turn off the WMS layers; you will see the property boundary polygon similar to the picture below.

Exercise 02 – Prepare a stands type map based on GPS points

Note:

Note: This is one of the few exercises for which sample data is not provided, as you need a GPS device connected to the computer in order to work on the exercise. The same step-by-step method with sample data will be used to present the exercise, but in order to work on it you will need to connect your GPS and unload personal data that you have already gathered.

In this exercise you will import your field stands type data. Then you will learn how to build a polygon from it, and to import it into GeoAgro GIS for plan development mapping.

Import data from your field visit

Please refer to Import data from your field visit

Convert data from waypoints to polygons

The procedure is similar to the one described in the previous exercise. At this point, you have already collected waypoints from your GPS device.

Now turn to the Selection Tools menu.

You will use the Polygon Selection tool

by clicking on it and dragging it to enclose the waypoints. By doing this you will select the waypoints of the stand types that you marked earlier.

The waypoints should appear highlighted as shown below:

Convert to Polygon

Click on the Convert Points into a Polygon tool The next window will allow you to set the sequence of waypoints in order.

Note:

By default, Geoagro GIS displays waypoints in the order in which they were marked on site, so the tracks connecting the waypoints will probably form some triangulations or intersections.

Select waypoints one by one in the Convert Points… window (each selected waypoint will be highlighted in blue) and change their position on the list by using the up

and down

arrows on the right, until you set the correct sequence to close the shape of the facility or parcel.

Next, click on Accept to complete this operation.

Note:

If a waypoint that doesn't belong in the polygon is selected, click on the

tool to unmark it.

Export to the “Stand types” layer. In the “Import layer” window, do not match any attributes.

Click on the “GIS” tab to go to the GIS module. Now turn to the Selection Tools menu. You will use the Rectangle Selection tool by clicking on it and dragging it to enclose the stand type polygon. By doing this you will select the newly imported stand type polygon, which should appear highlighted as shown below:

Click on the “Edit objects data” and complete the attributes as seen below.

Exercise 03 – Prepare a stands type map based on imagery

In this exercise you will learn how to prepare a stands type map based on imagery. First, you will import imagery from the Maine GIS servers; then you will create a stand types polygon based on the imagery.

Download WMS maps

You will now download 2 feet ortho imagery from the Maine GIS servers. Click on “2 Feet Color Imagery” and tick the checkbox.

Click on “Update the WMS servers”. Wait for the data to download.

You will see the downloaded imagery for the area.

Draw your stand type polygon

Click on “Stand types” to select the layer. Click on “Edit layer's objects” to open the Editor menu.

You may now start clicking to define your new stand type. Single clicks will define new nodes. Double click to finish drawing.

Click on the “Edit objects data” and complete the attributes as seen in the previous exercise.

Exercise 04 – Prepare a practice recommendations map

In this exercise you will learn how to create recommendations for your stands. First, you will copy the stand type you will create a recommendation for, and you will modify the polygon for the area you are recommending the practice for. Then, you will complete the fields as required by the NRCS.

Note:

Note: Before starting with this exercise, please download and unpack the follwing two zip files: http://www.tekconsultants.net/files/Support/Tutorial/Maine_Forestry/PropertyBoundaries.zip contains a shapefile for property boundaries, and http://www.tekconsultants.net/files/Support/Tutorial/Maine_Forestry/StandTypes.zip contains a shapefile for stand types. They will allow you continue using a dataset identical to what will be shown in the following exercises and learning guides. After unpacking them, import them into GeoAgro GIS; to see how to import shapefiles in GeoAgro GIS, refer to this entry

Also, keep in mind these considerations:

The property boundaries shapefile should be named "Property Boundaries" and added inside the group "Plan Development"
The stand types shapefile should be named "Stand types" and added inside the group "Plan Development"