UC GIS Week

Sky High Insights: Campus Facility Management with Drones:

This lightning talk will explore the integration of drone technology in university campus facility management. We will discuss how drone flights capture high-resolution images, enabling the creation of detailed 3D models of campus infrastructure. Leveraging advanced image processing and machine learning algorithms, these models facilitate enhanced data analysis for maintenance and planning.

Key benefits include enhanced accuracy in monitoring facility conditions, proactive maintenance strategies, and optimized resource allocation. Through case studies, we will demonstrate how to prepare for drone flights and illustrate how the integration of drones with AI and machine learning can transform facility management, fostering smarter and more sustainable campus environments.

Building accurate range maps for California’s 104 tree species:

Biogeography is the study of the distribution of biota across space. In this way, it can inform every kind of ecological study. So, if we’re going to study biota across space, including predicting where those biota might be in the future or how they could respond to external pressures, we need a good estimate of where those biota are now. In essence, we need a good species range map.

The last major effort to systematically map tree species ranges in California was done by Griffin and Critchfield (1972) of the U.S. Forest Service, over 50 years ago. Since then, thousands of studies have been completed with coordinates for trees, and many thousands more civilians have collected GPS points in public repositories for citizen science, advocacy, or enjoyment. After vetting for accuracy, this data can significantly enhance existing range maps. Also, recent high-quality vegetation mapping efforts by public agencies can provide both additional “presence” data to expand range maps beyond existing known boundaries and “absence” data in the sense that they can be used to subtract out unlikely range area within existing known boundaries.

In this presentation, we’ll discuss the partially-automated GIS workflow we’ve developed for building the most accurate and comprehensive range maps for California’s 104 tree species, from creating the highest-quality-ever digitization of the Griffin and Critchfield (1972) range maps to collecting, processing, and incorporating hundreds of additional datasets to subtracting out non-range areas. We’ll also discuss how we’re using these state-of-the-art maps to assess the climate exposure, fire risk, and operational priority (seed demand) of each tree species to inform seed collection efforts for reforestation, as well as examples of how the actual map-building process can be used to address some fundamental questions in biogeographical theory.

Hand-drawn historic maps: Utilization and conversion of unique features into Geographic Information Systems (GIS):

The GIS Center at the University of California, Merced provides research services to faculty and is responsible for managing and maintaining a geospatial collection for our students and researchers. We support Geographic Information Systems (GIS) software for over 500 users yearly and provide workshops and consultations. GIS Center technical research staff have provided consulting services to researchers and direct project support. Through four case studies, we will detail our processes for converting historic maps into GIS products that contribute to research publications and data sets. Specifically, we will discuss the technical demands and research benefits of georeferencing and vectorizing digitized historic maps utilizing various methods including machine learning and heads up digitizing and sharing that data via ArcGIS Online and other cloud-based applications. We conclude with recommendations for others embarking upon this type of work.