To: permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org, paul.cereghino@comcast.net
Subject: Re: [permaculture] GIS
Date: Tue, 26 Sep 2006 07:56:48 -0700
Hi Paul
There is some competition for ESRI, but Qgis is starting waaaaaayyyy
behind the juggernaut, with a huge lead to overcome. But hey, they said
that about firefox, too.
I've never worked with Qgis....I'm thinking of messing around with it
some this winter, but I know for a fact it won't happen before then.
Hawth's Tools (http://www.spatialecology.com/htools/tooldesc.php) is
probably what you're looking for as a free plug in to Arc9x. It's got
pretty much the functionality that I remember from the free Xtools, plus
a little more.
I'd love to see your database/template/model. What's the best way to
get it (with the understanding that I'm on a dialup connection.... :) )?
Rich -- Glad to hear that there is finally some competition for ESRI!
Do you know if QGIS has the ability to draw and calculate the area of
polygons. Or alternately if there is a free extension for ArcGis 9.x
that has the same functions as XTools -- a once free extension created
for ArcView 4.x by some forestry guys in Oregon? I have used GIS for
site planning and have found it very useful... given that you have some
rational for developing the proficiency. For native revegetation
projects I typically divide sites into polygons based on the
intersection of existing conditions and desired future conditions. GIS
allows calculation of polygon area. The areas can be used as the basis
for calculating plant counts based on templates and density... the
fastest way to get from a landscape to a shopping or propagation list.
I have developed an Access database that allows multiple planting
templates to be applied in multiple phases over multiple zones and then
it spits out a range of reports from nursery requests for availability
to plant placement specs and cost estimates based on stock type. These
reports can be 'rolled up' by phase or by zone or whatever your
interest. The template concept translates well to the guild concept.
Multiple templates in a zone can be a multiple guild mosaic. I am
looking for critique and the database is roughly public domain if you
have Access. I have been considering buying the Plants for a Future
database so I can adapt this tool to agroforestry design, but I am
unsure how well I would be able to query the PfaF database for species
appropriate to my temperate maritime dry summer climate, though I could
hand pick based on personal preference and availability.