Mapping Longleaf Pine

The GIS Resources for Longleaf Pine Ecosystem Restoration and Conservation Workshop was held on November 2010, click here for the summary and notes from this workshop.

Data Request

The Longleaf Alliance is developing a Geographic Information System (GIS) database of existing longleaf pine stand data, and your assistance is needed. The database will help assess the current extent of available spatial data on longleaf pine forests and provide a building block in the restoration of the longleaf pine ecosystem.

Basically, any spatial data or maps that can be provided for longleaf pine stands are being collected.  Examples are GIS files, GPS files, paper maps, or even a legal description.  At the basic level, just having a map with the outline of a stand would be a good start. 

For GIS users, shapefiles would be the easiest to work with because ESRI's ArcGIS is being used to build the database. If Google Earth is an option, .kmz or .kml files can be converted to shapefiles. All types of longleaf pine stands will be accepted including pure, mixed, planted, and natural stands. Any additional stand data that might be available would also be very useful for the project. Examples are stand type (planted/natural), stand composition (longleaf pine, longleaf pine/hardwood, etc.), age, density, burn history, etc. 

In addition to the stand data, any spatial data about known populations of RCWs and gopher tortoises along with other threatened and endangered species would also be beneficial. With the understanding that data might be sensitive, data at any scale that you feel is appropriate for the database will be accepted. The database is being created in a format that is available for public use. Sources will be acknowledged for their input or will remain anonymous if desired. If necessary, a potential solution might be to fuzz the locations by buffering or merging stands. Please see the contact information below if you have any questions or if you would like to talk about the database in more detail. Any additional contacts for potential data sources would be appreciated. Thank you for your assistance and your time.

For more information, please contact:

John Gilbert
Research Associate II

Longleaf Pine Stand Dynamics Lab
School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences
602 Duncan Drive
Auburn, AL 36849-5418

334-329-0236 Lab
334-844-1084 Fax
gilbejo@auburn.edu