Development of GIS/Remote sensing based system

Our laboratory is currently working with the Center for Advanced Spatial Technologies (CAST – www.cast.uark.edu ) to develop a publicly accessible internet-based information system. Digital satellite and aerial images, statewide geo-spatial data, historic oak decline data and ROB mortality data will be integrated together so that land owners and the forestry industry will be able to easily obtain on-line maps showing :

• Where past oak decline and ROB mortality have occurred.
• Current oak mortality status.
• Potential areas at risk to oak decline and ROB mortality in the future (2003-2005)

Satellite images of the Ozark National forest showing areas of change (red) in canopy structure from 1992-1999. These were used this summer to locate possible sites of high ROB infestation. Green arrow indicates the main area of our studies.

We have also noticed that red oaks that died this year turned brown around 23rd August before any other tree species. We are currently obtaining some satellite images on this date so we can obtain data and develop maps on the red oaks that have died this year.

The Ozark-St. Francis National Forest is mostly the white oak, red oak, hickory forest type, as illustrated by the pink color on the map.

Prism plots were done by this lab and by the USFS over the summer of 2003. These plots were assigned insect infestation severity ratings based on the health of the trees in the plots. Several different landscape variables are being analyzed to tell which contribute to poor tree health and thus, a higher number of red oak borer attacks. Several of these variables are shown as GIS data layers with plots marked for the Fly Gap and White Rock areas of the Ozark-St. Francis National Forest.

This is elevation with low clay content in white. It seemed at first, that low clay content seemed most prevalent on the ridgetops. After examining these two layers together, you can see that low clay content does seem to be on the ridges, but it is also at the lower elevations of the valleys and in the streams.

Plots that were not randomly generated were taken off trails that were chosen for variability in elevation, distance to roads and distance to streams.

Soils data comes from Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) These are some of the soils layers generated from this data.