A Campus Tree Species
Catalog;
A University of
Wisconsin Eau Claire Student-Faculty Project
Background:
In an
initiative to facilitate the growth of the University of Eau Claire campus, the
University plans to plant 100 trees in the institutions centennial year
(2016-2017). The campus currently has 83
identified different varieties of tree species, and with the new additional
trees being planted that number will grow to 107 species. The addition of new
tree species is an effort to harbor the idea of sustainability, and the further
inclusion of the ‘urban’ environment into the ‘natural’ environment. The
University of Wisconsin Eau Claire is investing considerable effort into
cultivating an interactive arboretum over the entirety of the campus.
The campus arboretum
student-faculty collaboration, that has gained much support from the university
and surrounding population. The need for a catalog of the population size and
species becomes very important for the development of a sustainable and
ecologically diverse environment on campus. In order to gain knowledge of the
tree species located on campus, a survey must first be conducted. The project
entails the careful attention to the species, and the population of each
species on campus. Given that the project is inherently geographic, initiating
a geographically based product for future development presents a great pathway.
To facilitate the production of the map, the online version of Esri’s ArcMap is
implemented using the mobile version of a collection application called Esri
ArcCollector. http://doc.arcgis.com/en/collector/
The ArcCollector app allows for the
creation of map that is capable of being published to an online platform, where
the collection of data can be captured using a mobile phone device in the field.
The centennial year project mark the beginning of a GIS-based map project that
will be an ongoing categorical tool used by University faculty, and will be
maintained and updated by faculty and student help in future semesters. The
project is portioned out into two parts, producing separate maps. The
preliminary portion of the Campus Arboretum mapping project was created by
Martin Gotle (University Geographic Information Systems), with help from Daria Hutchinson
(University Master Gardener). The map created is a locator map, identifying one
of each type of species present on the campus currently. The long-term plan for
the map is to be a publically accessible platform for people visiting the
campus to participate in the wonderful nature that encompasses the University
of Wisconsin Eau Claire. The potential end goal of this map is to make an “Arboretum
Walking Tour” that is guided by the individual’s mobile phone as they walk
around the campus. An addition to that, signs will be located in front of
particularly magnificent trees around the campus, containing a QR code can be
scanned to give more information about the species, genius, and history of the
tree. The second portion of the project is the creation of a large database of
every tree located on campus. This map and database will be purpose built for
campus faculty, particularly the grounds department for the planning, maintenance
of the trees located on campus. The mass collection of data points can be used
as a geographic tool to keep track of and manage the species that are located
on the campus. This type of map will be useful for tracking the progression of
tree diseases, the presence of pests/bugs, and damage control after strong
winds or storms. As the campus continually grows with new construction, a
highly detailed database of the trees located on campus will become more
important as greater details of the renovations and construction that is being
completed.
Study Area
The University of Wisconsin Eau Claire is situated directly
next to the Chippewa River, in West Central Wisconsin. The campus is located directly
adjacent to Putnam Park, in the city of Eau Claire. The University of Eau
Claire campus is expanding and growing, and is currently in the process of
several major construction projects.
The university campus contains also several areas of dense
forested area. For the constraints of time, and data space, this project will
not include these areas in the study. For the project, a sampling area created was
subdivided into separate zones. These zones use clean boundaries like roads and
paths where no trees will grow to delineate the separate zones. In sections of
the area where there is no clean boundary, specific use of a fence line, of
building boundary is used to delineate the separate zones as described in the
“Zones” sections of this report. The sampling area includes the satilite
location of Bollinger Fields (not shown) and the HAAS Fine Art Center and
accompanying parking lot.
 |
| Figure 1: Zones for sampling tree species populations on the University of Wisconsin Eau Claire Campus. |
Methods
Completing
a mapping project requires a large portion of planning and for-thought to
produce a successful product. Often times, using the technique of reverse
engineering the project leads to the most effective workflow. Starting with a
solid idea of what the end product should looks like, and how it is used can
greatly increase the effectiveness of the project. For the Arboretum Tree
Catalog map, much of the preliminary work entailed deciding how to structure
the map so the data can be curated online in a ordered fashion.
 |
| Figure 2: Table displaying the domain specifications for the attribute field "Tree Genus" |
Similarly to any project utilizing a map, the creation of a
geodatabase where all map layers and data can be stored. In the geodatabase, a
new feature class is created. The new feature class will possess attribute
fields of important information (like tree name, genus, maintenance …etc.).
Each field will have a specific domain created, to facilitate greater data
integrity and fewer mistakes when collecting data in the field. For the Arboretum
Tree Catalog project, the domains are structured to reduce the human error of
entering information in wrong. Most of the fields are text files for the name
and genus of the tree identified. Several fields are set up to be a Y/N
selection, for example there are two trees on campus that are considered to the
university to be Heritage trees. A field was created for this attribute, and to
accelerate the collection procress was made to be a Y/N selector. After the
field type is configured using domain, a map is created in the desktop form of
ArcMap. The map is built containing a shape file with the sampling zones that
can be digitized in using a basemap for reference. As an added benefit to this
project, Martin Gotle (GIS supervisor UWEC) previously supplied detailed
basemap information directly to Esri about the University campus. The added
level of cartographic detail helped create a better basemap to digitize the
sampling zones more effectively. Details like added fence lines, and updated
building plans made designating boundary lines less ambiguous then if the
digitizing was completed using a satellite image, as sometimes in the satellite
image trees can block certain physical elements, or the data may not be recent.
Once the zones are established, and the feature class is created, the map can
be published as a service and can be accessed from the Universities online Esri
profile. Following the specifications of the publishing wizard, the map is made
available to be accessed by any invited party.
Using a mobile device, the ArcCollector app is downloaded and
installed. Opening the application and signing into the ArcGIS online page, the
collection of a data can be done using the Collector app.
Results:
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