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Abstract
Developing an Integrated Ecosystem DSS Using ArcView 8.1
Track: Environment Management
Author(s): Mark A Books, Larry L Capelle, David J Buckley
Fort A.P. Hill, a 76,000-acre Army training installation located in the Coastal Plain of Virginia, has embarked on the development of a GIS-based Ecosystem Decision Support System (DSS) using the latest ArcGIS technology. The DSS uses Ecosystem Management guidelines to develop stand prescriptions, apply growth and yield projections, and plan forestry activities to achieve desired military training objectives. This is being accomplished while still growing commercial timber, protecting endangered/threatened species and cultural resources, managing a wide variety of forest types and wildlife habitats, protecting and enhancing (expanding) unique ecosystems, and preventing soil erosion. The problem of how to spatially distribute forest stand prescriptions to achieve a wide variety of goals that often compete with each other is being addressed by the use of the DSS. Forest prescriptions are being developed based on a myriad of data parameters such as military training objectives, current and past forest stand data, growth and yield models, wildlife habitat models, insect and disease models, site criteria and location of threatened species and cultural resources, forest health monitoring data, and landform features. The goal of this system is to preserve and enhance biodiversity while maintaining sustainable forest resources. Most importantly, the priority is to preserve and improve the land to support Fort A.P. Hill’s military training mission. This paper will review the design and development approaches of the DSS, from initial prototyping in ArcView 3.2 to operational implementation with ArcView 8.1. The design issues that will be discussed include integration of the core Ecosystem DSS components, such as the Growth and Yield model, silvicultural prescription generation and allocation tools, and the landscape structure analysis (FRAGSTATS) program, with future integration of other components such as a harvest scheduling model, fire and fuel management tools, and 3D visualization. Issues related to migrating from an Avenue development language to VBA-VB will be discussed.
Mark A Books
Fort A.P. Hill
DPW Environmental and Natural Resources,
19952 N. Range Rd
Fort A.P. Hill, VA 22427-3123
USA
Phone: (804) 633-8753
Fax: (804) 633-8443
E-mail: Mark_A_Books@belvoir.army.mil