Application of Gis in Natural Resourse Management

Deforestation presents in an abundance of ways, including fires, clear-cutting for agriculture, ranching and development, unsustainable logging for timber, and degradation due to climate change. The foremost reason of deforestation in Latin America is the requirement for food, fuel, shelter, and foreign exchange. Year on year, a space of tropical forest the size of Great Britain is "converted" from an area equal to the size of Europe. Ever since 1950, according to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), half of the world 's forests have disappeared. “Latin America has lost 37 percent of its tropical forests,” says the FAO. As more and more of Latin American forest are degraded, more and more detrimental effects are being seen. Deforestation is changing a number of resources for tribal groups, altering their way of life, temperatures are increasing at a dangerous rate because of a buildup of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, habitats and species such as plants and wildlife are being annexed due to the destructive effects of deforestation. Deforestation is inarguably helpful to supplying money to countries that sell the products from the forest, but huge wealth being generated from the forests comes with large-scale environmental and social costs. The local residences are not benefitting and the funds are being siphoned out of the region.

Over half of the world’s forests have been destroyed in the last 10,000 years. An extensive fire that destroys a great deal of land or property could be thought to help “benefit” the economic or environmental aspects of daily life, but the society is clueless on the harm it is causing. Nearly half of the Earth's original forest cover has already been lost and each year an additional 32 million acres are destroyed. Our world is facing the greatest extinction crisis since the fall of the dinosaurs, 65 million years ago. The future of many of Earth's plants and animals will be determined within the next few decades. Hopefully, it comes as no great surprise to you that deforestation is a major problem in many areas of the world, both in terms of

Some of the major technologies used in geography, have made both sorts of information far more readily available and far easier to use. Statistical analysis and modeling of spatial patterns have relied on computer technology.

According to the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), an estimated 18 million acres of forest, which is roughly the size of the country of Panama, are lost each year. Undeniably, the deteriorating environmental situation, the increasingly severe pollution of the atmosphere, and water, the severe damage to the living environment of wild animals and plants, the extinction of many species, the deforestation and the transitional mining of mineral resources caused contrary facts. Human existence and development have brought real and more serious potential threats. The scarcity of environmental resources is manifested gradually. As environmental issues are becoming a bottleneck restricting economic growth, it is imperative that lousy effect governed the environment.

Images were analyzed in GIS to identify and map features such as woody debris, rock outcroppings, shifting versus stable sand, and smooth limestone bottom.

In Middle and South America, it is evident that human interactions affect the physical features. The human interaction that affects Middle and South America is deforestation. In 1970’s a period of deforestation began in Brazil with the construction of the Trans-Amazon Highway; the road allowed migrant farmers to grow crops (Pulsipher & Pulsipher 2012). Deforestation continued throughout Middle and South America. The use lodging of hardwoods, extracting minerals, oil, gas, stones and clearing off land for raising cattle, and growing crops has impacted most of the land in Middle and South America (Pulsipher & Pulsipher 2012). The human interaction of deforestation has led to many environmental issues, changes in physical features. There are loss

Maps are extremely important for studying the environment because of their significance with time. They can help explain weather patterns such as water and sun cycles as well understand how these impact upon our environment. Maps can help us understand how earth’s resources are divided amongst space and how these can be better managed. Finally, maps can help us understand the places we live in with regards to the physical features which can help us function more effectively.

GIS is a computerized integrated data management system used to analyze and present geographical and spatial data.10 GIS has been used

This paper uses the terms natural resource(s), resource(s), and reserve(s) in many different contexts. Please use care when interpreting their usage and context.

The three factors/ approaches that best explain the current patterns of forest decline and recovery are population/markets, political economy, and ethics. The population/markets approach introduces the concept of forest transition theory which talks about how the economic growth that destroys forests is also necessary for its restoration and return. The initial expansion in population and economic activity puts pressure on forest resources, resulting in rampant deforestation that clears land for agricultural use. The intensification of agriculture then allows more crops to be grown on less land, in turn freeing up unneeded land for forest recovery. From a political economy standpoint however, a decrease in forest cover is viewed as an expansion

Advocates for the preservation of these forests state that deforestation has devastating consequences including social conflict, extinction of plants and animals, and dangerous climate changes, and that local deforestation in these forests are causing damages that aren’t just local, but global. While opponents claim that tropical forests are destined to diminish as it is necessary for the growing human population to clear the natural landscape to make room for farms and pastures, to harvest timber for construction and fuel, to build roads and urban areas and to develop the economies of the often poor countries that surround the equator.

For the core indicators and methods to provide defensible resource information at multiple scales a georeferenced, statistically valid sampling framework is necessary. This sampling framework consists of a low-intensity grid that can be intensified for local monitoring needs or supplemented with other probability-based samples, all of which can be used to train remote imagery. An unbiased, statistically valid sampling framework will permit locally collected data to be combined with regional- or national-level data to improve estimates at larger scales. Further, the framework will provide the ability to defensibly answer resource questions about large tracts of land, with relatively few sample locations, and allow for sample-site relocation if an original site is disturbed (Toevs et al. 2011).

Rainforests have been declining rapidly over the last few decades. There are various factors responsible for this decline, resulting in serious impacts on the environment and the economy. Critically discuss the causes of deforestation and solutions to it.

The rainforest that have not been destroyed are being cleared for food crops, tree plantation or for grazing cattle. Due to the cash crop system the soil fertility is even declining in the rainforest. The main reason the cash crops are grown is because it’s an easy way to get money and they have little concern about the environment. The modern machinery sometimes even cattle damage the land to such extent that there is no further use so they keep on transferring to another land of the rainforest and destroying it similar to the farmers.

The rate of deforestation is increasing and the tropical forests are falling at approximately 140,000 acres per day (Miller & Tangley 1991: xvi). The forests are crucial to the environment. They are important in minimizing erosion, providing a stable habitat for many animals, and helping to keep the environment clean. Deforestation has devastating effects, not only on the biological dependents within the depleted forests, but also on the surrounding human-populated communities.