An Introduction to Digital Mapping

This tutorial will guide you through the basic steps in the creation of the forest resource maps that are needed in a management plan.  The tutorial uses a woodland at Little Wittenham in Oxfordshire as a case study. The wood is part of Little Wittenham Nature Reserve, owned and managed by the Northmoor Trust.

1.      Preparing a base map

Tutorial: An introduction to digital mapping – managing layers and displaying labels.

Practical: Open an OS Land-Line.Plus tile. Open English Nature Ancient Woodland and SSSI map layers. Produce a simple labelled boundary map of Little Wittenham Wood.

2.      Using data from paper maps

Tutorial: Vector and raster images. Scanning and digitising.

Practical: Register a raster image of the Little Wittenham compartment map.

3.      Linking a database to a map

Fieldwork: Collect information on the species and planting date of all compartments in Little Wittenham wood.

Practical: Open a raster image of a scanned map and trace compartment boundaries. Link each compartment to field data stored in an Excel spreadsheet.

4.      Adding attribute data to create a thematic map

Practical: Create a thematic map showing crop types.

5.      Using GPS data to refine a map

Tutorial: Global positioning systems in forestry. How a GPS works.

Practical: Import GPS data. Create map layers showing positions of veteran trees.

6.      Using a GIS for planning and projections

Tutorial: Use a database to make simple projections (future composition, timber volume production etc.)

Practical: Create a map showing management operations 5 and 20 years from now for a single year (areas allocated to planting, thinning, weeding, felling, position of access routes etc.) Produce a summary costing of these operations at current prices.