• Use of past work
• Implementing listed ideas
• Help for projects in the above-listed counties
• Help getting Rural System designed and started
• Help in getting a strong GIS component to Rural System, Inc.
• Occasional involvement, maybe a question or two

GIS-Related Dissertations and Theses of my students at Tech: 1. Smart, C. W. 1976. A computer-assisted technique for planning minimum impact transmission right of way routes. Unpub. Ph.D. Dissertation, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, Va. xiii + 192 p.
2. Koeln, G. T. 1980. A computer-assisted general aviation airport location and evaluation system for Virginia. Unpub. Ph.D. Dissertation, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, Va. xii + 235 pp.
3. Williamson, J. F., Jr. 1981. Dynamic classification: conceptual development and applications in wildlife management. Unpub. Ph.D. Dissertation, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, Va. x + 231 pp.
4. Trani, M. K. (Margaret Trani-Griep). 1996. Landscape pattern analysis related to forest wildlife resources. PhD Dissertation, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA.
5. Fales, R. R. 1969. Some applications of computer-generated maps to wildlife management, Unpub. MS Thesis, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA. 83 pp.
6. Graf, R. L. 1973. Methods for delineating wildlife and other environmental management regions. Unpub. M.S. Thesis, Va. Poly. Inst. and State Univ., Blacksburg, Va., xii + 164 p.
7. Jones, A. B. III. 1976. POWER: a computer information system for land use decisions. Unpub. M.S. Thesis, Va. Poly. Inst. and State Univ., Blacksburg, Va., vi + 194 p.
8. Lawrence, G. E., Jr. 1976. A computer-based insolation mapping algorithm for large areas. Unpub. M.S. Thesis, Va. Poly. Inst. and State Univ., Blacksburg, Va.
9. McDonald, M. V. 1977. A computer information system for Virginia counties. Unpub. M.S. Thesis, Va. Poly. Inst. and State Univ., Blacksburg, Va., viii + 99 p.
10. Saunders, E. F. 1977. WATFLOW: A computer system to aid in reclaiming watersheds affected by surface mines. Unpub. M.S. Thesis, Va. Poly. Inst. and State Univ., Blacksburg, Va., xii + 296 p.
11. Hamm, C. P. 1978. A soil information algorithm for the Appalachian Ridge and Valley Province of Virginia. Unpub. M.S. Thesis, Va. Poly. Inst. and State Univ., Blacksburg, Va., vi + 75 p.
12. Gladwin, D. N. 1978. An airport environmental information system for Virginia. Unpub. M.S. Thesis, Va. Poly. Inst. and State Univ., Blacksburg, Va., viii + 307 p.
13. Hoar, A. R. 1980. A methodology for mapping probable ranges of endangered terrestrial mammals within selected areas of Virginia. Unpub. M.S. Thesis, Va. Poly. Inst. and State Univ., Blacksburg, Va., xi + 191 p.
14. Francis, D. L. 1980. A computer-based wind information system for land use planning in Virginia. Unpub. M.S. Thesis, Va. Poly. Inst. and State Univ., Blacksburg, Va., vii + 207 p.
15. Cason, T. W., Jr. 1980. Phaedrus: a system for the preliminary environmental evaluation of large physical projects. Unpub. M.S. Thesis, Va. Poly, Inst. and State Univ., Blacksburg, Va., viii + 305 pp.
16. Anderson, D. R. 1981. A climatological information system for natural resource management: temperature. Unpub. M.S. Thesis, Va. Poly. Inst. and State Univ., Blacksburg, Va., vii + 220 pp.
17. Ziewitz, J. W. 1982. A computer-assisted method for deriving soil maps of Virginia counties. Unpub. M.S. Thesis, Va. Poly. Inst. and State Univ., Blacksburg, Va. 175 pp.
18. Kroll, G. 1982. Computer aids for reclaiming eastern surface mines as rangelands. Unpub. M.S. Thesis, Va. Poly. Inst. and State Univ., Blacksburg, Va. 272 pp.
19. Fies, M. L. 1983. Predicting forest cover types in Southwestern Virginia using topographic information. Unpub. M.S. Thesis, Va. Poly. Inst. and State Univ., Blacksburg, Va. 134 pp.
20. Martin, S. M. 1988. Select geomorphological components of wildlife habitat in the Ridge and Valley Province of Virginia. Unpub. M.S. Thesis, Va. Poly. Inst. and State Univ., Blacksburg, Va. 203 pp.
21. Gruen, K. A. 1993. Mesoscale temperature estimates for western Virginia. M.S. Thesis, Va. Poly. Inst. and State Univ., Blacksburg, Va. 164 pp.
22. Wajda, R. K. 1993. A site-specific rainfall model for Western Virginia ecosystems. M.S. Thesis, Va. Poly. Inst. and State Univ., Blacksburg, Va. xi + 143 pp.
23. Casabona, G. 1994. GIS Procedures for analyzing wildlife topics in a National Park in Virginia. Unpub. M.S. Thesis, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA. 99 pp.
24. Findley, S. H. 1994. Hydrologic modeling as a decision-making tool in wildlife management. Unpub. M.S. Thesis, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA. ix + 164 pp.
25. Hassouna, K. M. 1997. Developing a natural resource data base for geographic information system. M.F. Thesis, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA. 81 pp.
26. McCombs, J. W. 1998. Geographic information system topographic factor maps for wildlife management. M.S. Thesis, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA. 141 pp.
27. Klopfer, S. D. 1998. Insolation, precipitation, and moisture maps for a Virginia geographic information system. M.S. Thesis, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA. 184 pp. electronic thesis access: http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/theses/public/etd-7197-113632/etd-title.html
28. Morton, D. 1998. Landcover map of Virginia. M.S. Thesis, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA.

Help Wanted! 1. Warm Seasons Grasses - repeat the model of Anderson for Dickenson and Wise with new data and color mapping. Present to Dr. Roane, Plant Pathology who is working on fungi of grasses. Map useful in proposal writing for future work. Do similar maps for species or species groups, partially to assist him. See my Pastures and Rangeland Group in www.RuralSystem.com.

2. Topographic Shadows - collect and improve topographic shadow maps for key (Wise, Dickenson and Campbell counties (TN)). Concentrate on growing season. Concentrate on ponds and lakes. Test assumptions about maximum length of a shadow and effects on maps. Hypothesis: shadows do not affect plant elevational distribution in coalfield counties, especially key counties. Include algorithm in dynamic planning systems for approvals for all proposed structures. Show the difference in shadows as "impact" of tree cutting on ridge crests (0 -60 foot change).

3. Active Insolation - solar radiation (Klopfer) in the growing season, with shadows removed

4. Pond GIS - explorations for comprehensive spatial analyses of a general pond - area, volume, changing volume with evaporation, phototropic zone volumes, 3-d representations, shade, insolation, lunar light (see below), catchment relations, morphoedaphic factor T/D (surface/depth=X) analyses , then using P = 0.1357 X 0.44351 as relative fish production ( in pounds per acre); also ((Ad + A0 / V) analyses see Watt p.168=169; protocol for other ponds

5. Distance to Water - for the fishery, relate distance from roads to ponds and lakes; perhaps later to streams of a specific type or size.; color ponds with relative distance from roads

6. Gross Geological Surface - map probable sand or silt soil origins. Use streams and elevations to exclude alluvium and colluvium. Make a 3-factor geology map (probable sand, silt, other) for the key counties.

7. Flatness - prepare a paper will illustrations of the meaning of the "flatness" decision. The upped level of slope needs to be examined for land use decisions. Different maps result from a 0-3% slope and a 0-6% slope. Examine the differences and inspect the distributions in the key counties and the possible effects on decisions. Show a "flat" map, then show it in relation to slope maps, then in relation to aspect maps (since flat can produce data analysis anomalies for aspect classification).

8. Modified Slopes a - convert slopes to the slope exponential of the USLE and show for comparison the 2 maps as attempted by Hassouna.

9. Modified Slopes b - convert slopes to relative maximum solar radiation in growing season, where right angles to noon (or 2pm maximum photosynthetic time) solar radiation angle is assigned a value of 1.0 or 100% of daily maximum)

10. Forest Layers - develop presentations of forest layers (0-4) from field data. Use forest cover but add information on layers (of great relevance to bird and other ecological factors, ground winds, and watershed protection (and effects of wild fires)

11. Workable Forest Slopes - see Crest document for Powell River Project. Logging equipment has maximum slope working specifications. Exclude all forested tracts with too-steep slopes for conventional logging. Show as a percentale of the county, of all forests, of all hardwood and conifer forests. Consider these for recreation and forest wildlife. See how the percentages enter into county deer harvest predictions (deer as a function of these areas or 100%-minus- these areas.

12. The Hunted Zone - use North Carolina data on distance hunters hunt from roads (about 0.5 miles). Map the potentially hunted zone for each key county - using roads and a zone width of about 2500 feet. Show map and percentages. Test sensitivity of "area hunted" to the zone width (justifying or not further study of this exact width.

13. Lunar Forces - map the light received in pixels on cloudless nights during the growing season. Use topographic shadows. See Lunar Forces in The Trevey (my web site)

14. Viewscapes - see range of needs in website under Viewscapes. Develop working algorithms for "seen from" where "from" are points (pixels), lines (such as trails and roads), and areas (a total land ownership, a pond, a county) and also "see to," given a point, show gradations in distance seen or effects of air pollution on clear days. Single sighting algorithm...if I am at x, can I see z? (no map, just the answer based on the database.) Study maps resulting from presence or absence of 50-ft trees. For law enforcement, a county wide map of visibility from all roads.

15. Potential Ground Water Level - given that base flow reflects the groundwater crest, connect the baseflow lines (stream channels) of adjacent streams (straightline) and map the surface of the county if a plane was cast between all approximate mapped base flow. Later include minor assumptions about the convexity likely between streams in the ridges between them. Show water elevations nd the potential ground water. Develop field tests and well drilling data to test the goodness of the gross model. Use GPS to improve baseflow maps.The fractured environments suggest detailed studies are inappropriate.

16. Production Algorithm- expediting GIS map delivery given a specified window

17. Walnut Map - see Walnut Vales. Make a map of high quality sites for walnut tree growth and nut-fruit production

18. Days in the Growing Season - isolate the max, and min temperature days and present the total days in the growing season. Make this generally useful for recalculating degree days, precipitation, insolation, and evapotranspiration (see Klopfer); sort out biotemperature limits and see effects on growing season days.

19. Pseudosoils - same soils ( a variety of use oriented association categories) are pseudosoils and are classified exclusively using GIS factors. Hypothesis: Every pixel is unique. Excluding urban and disturbed areas and generalizing on recent alluviums and colluviums (giving them special numbers) then assign a number based on "overlays" of elevation (4 classes), slope (4 classes), aspect1 (3), aspect2 (3), distance from water (3), geology (see 3 types above) giving 1296 unique, named soil types (only 20-30 of which can be distinguished in map colors by average people). Use these with supervised classification to relate them to otherwise named soil types… but especially to data sets on appropriate soil use. Make county maps of the numbered pixels that have soil names listed with those "suitable" for example for septic fields or home sites. Develop an algotithm for users to select a use or use type and get a county map (for planning or decision making).

20. Slope/Aspect Equivalency - Using published model (pub available), map the equivalent pixels. Study use in forest site index or wood production expressions.

21. Wild-Fire Maps- use expert opinion (or local data sets on past fires) to score areas in 10 classes of a- important to control, b- probability of burn, c- probability of past human fire ignition, d- probability of future fire within 50 years.

22. Precipitation - re-run Klopfer's analyses for probable precipitation resulting in available moisture (effective) for wildland plants, another for crops, etc.

23. Vegetative Islands - maps of islands of vegetation left by strip mining. (These will be floristic gems in the future.

24. Dynamic Watersheds- automate pixel descriptions within watersheds then among-pixel flow relations for flow models (see Findley, 1994)

25. Land Suitability - revised maps based on more than slope classes.

26. Probable Erosion Maps for the key Counties (Revised USLE )

27. The Historical Terrain - Hypotheses of the landsurface of the key counties based on parent materials, land cover, and the tons of soil moved since settlement, if it were replaced on the present surface.

28. Riparian Volumes - map and characterize them (see http://fwie.fw.vt.edu/rhgiles/trevey/riparian.htm), present them as volumes across the land. Develop color coding for fish, birds, other flora/fauna or endangerment. Map the riparian volumes away from pixels in which there are roads (since vegetation will be minimum in such sites.

29. Test of Assumptions - in a- Giles, R.H., Jr. and Margaret K. Trani. 1999. Key elements of landscape pattern measures. Env. Management 23(4): 477-481. and b- Giles, R. H., R. G. Oderwald, and A. U. Ezealor. 1993. Toward a rationally robust paradigm for agroforestry systems. Agroforestry Systems 24:21-37.

30. Biotic Zone Maps (Holdridge Classes) - characterizing the land (30 x 30 m pixels) using logarithmic classes suggested by Holdridge in Life zone ecology, 1967, to include 10 even classes of potential evapotranspiration in the growing season (see Klopfer), and 10 even classes of available precip in growing season only). Potentially 100 classes in Virginia. Count frequency of each class. See influence of elevation on these classes. Later revision of this work to study primary germination and seeding periods as "start-up" periods (not the entire growing season) for all disturbed areas over the last 5000 years since-glacier recession.

31. Primary Production - see Whittaker p.82; p = f(mean annual precip); also Watt p.215 showing latitude and maximum energy production in kcal/hectare; run new NPP equations (Ecology, vol 84 (5) May 2003)

32. Difference Maps - maximum differences in temperature, isolation, and precipitation and overlaps (these represent system instability and high disease probability; also widest biological diversity); repeat for least differences, i.e., unique spots; repeat for standard deviations

33. Dry Spots - find and map the pixels with minimum expected precipitation over past 30 years, combine with high-temperature areas within the growing period. These are hypothesized to be southern pine beetle problem areas (moisture stress) when they have or are about to be planted with pines. See Heikkenen.

34. Warming - run maps for evapotranspiration with "global warming" of 4 degrees

Please see www.RuralSystem.com and link to contents - The GIS Group

Correspondence welcomed : RHGiles@RuralSystem.com