GIS and Remote Sensing

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Outlines
Introduction to GIS

● Introduction, history, importance and scope of GIS

● Geospatial concept
● Component of GIS
● Geographical phenomena (field and object)
● GIS data structure- raster and vector
● Data characteristic - spatial and non-spatial data

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 Geographic Information System

“A system for
capturing, storing, checking, integrating,
manipulating, analyzing and displaying
spatial data”

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 Theoretical Overview
GIS recreates real world spatial data
 Theoretical Overview
GIS recreates real world spatial data

as digitized themed data “layers”

(e.g. locations, boundaries,
infrastructure, socioeconomic
hydrology, land use/cover)
 Theoretical Overview
GIS recreates real world spatial data

as digitized themed data “layers”

(e.g. locations, boundaries,
infrastructure, socioeconomic
hydrology, land use/cover)

assembled in any combination

 Theoretical Overview
GIS recreates real world spatial data

as digitized themed data “layers”

(e.g. locations, boundaries,
infrastructure, socioeconomic
hydrology, land use/cover)

assembled in any combination

and overlaid for analysis

History of GIS

The roots of GIS lie in cartography, early maps were

essential tools for exploration.
● Roger Tomlinson, known as the father of GIS,
first developed and introduced the concept of
GIS in 1960.
● Howard Fisher’s SYMAP and Jack
Dangermond’s (1980)
Esri established the basics for GIS development.
● Esri’s ARC/INFO made GIS commercial, and
tools like
Google Maps brought it to the public in the
2000s. 9
Read more from…
Link: https://www.spatialpost.com/history-of-gis/

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Importance of GIS

Enhanced Decision-Making:
- GIS helps in visualizing spatial data, leading to better analysis (pattern/trend)
- more informed decisions across various sectors like urban planning, precision
agriculture, and disaster management.
Resource Management:
- It supports efficient management of natural resources like water, forests, and
minerals by analyzing and monitoring their distribution and usage.
Improved Communication:
- GIS provides clear and interactive maps that facilitate effective communication
among stakeholders, policymakers, and the public.

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…
Efficient Infrastructure Planning:
- planning and managing infrastructure like transportation networks, utilities, and urban
development projects.
Environmental Monitoring and Management:
- It assists in tracking environmental changes, monitoring pollution, and managing
biodiversity and conservation efforts.
Crisis and Disaster Management:
- GIS is vital in predicting, assessing, and managing risks during natural disasters like floods,
earthquakes, and wildfires.

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Scope of GIS in Agriculture
Agriculture and Precision Farming:

It optimizes crop management by analyzing soil conditions, weather patterns, and

crop yields.

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Soil and Agricultural Mapping

- GIS classifies soil and creates maps showing characteristics like pH,
drainage, salinity, and chemistry.
- Helps in determining soil suitability for crop growth and maximizing yield.
- Prevents environmental degradation by identifying land misuse.
- Facilitates predicting future changes in parameters like temperature,
precipitation, and crop yield.
- Supports corrective actions for fertilizer use, pest treatment, and natural
resource protection.

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Crop Health Monitoring and Pest Control
- GIS manages and analyzes data from remote sensors and field machinery for
crop health assessment.
- Satellite imagery and historical yield data help monitor environmental
conditions like air temperature and terrain.
- GPS-equipped harvesters measure crop yield and quality (e.g., chlorophyll
and water content).
- Enables early pest detection using AI and neural networks trained on imaging
data.
- Supports smart pest management and disease prevention with timely alarms.

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Irrigation Control and Water Management
- GIS provides insights into water stress and shortages through data
visualization.
- Combines water delivery maps with irrigation management strategies.
- Helps monitor rainwater drainage patterns and optimize water rerouting.
- Enhances crop quality and conserves water resources effectively.

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Disaster Control and Management
- GIS supports flood inventory mapping using historical data, satellite
imagery, and surveys.
- Identifies areas prone to flooding and helps in preventive measures.
- Provides maps for soil erosion and crop yield deterioration risk.
- Mitigates drought effects by monitoring soil moisture, rainfall, and
evapotranspiration.
- Promotes climate-smart agricultural practices to reduce risks from
extreme weather.

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Farming Automation and Strategic Planning
- GIS integrates with smart farming equipment for real-time field monitoring and
timely interventions.
- Enables automation of repetitive and time-consuming farm tasks.
- Supports strategic planning by offering real-time insights into soil, rainfall, and
irrigation needs.
- Helps agribusinesses optimize field use, improve efficiency, and boost yield.

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Components of GIS

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Components of GIS
Hardware:

Physical devices used in a GIS system, such as computers, servers, GPS devices, and printers. These
are necessary for data storage, processing, and visualization.

Software:

Applications and tools that manage, analyze, and visualize geospatial data. Examples include ArcGIS,
QGIS, and Google Earth. Software is used for tasks like data input, editing, query processing, and map
creation.

Data:

The most crucial component. GIS relies on spatial (location-based) and attribute (descriptive) data:

Spatial Data: Geographic coordinates, maps, and images.

Attribute Data: Descriptive information about spatial features, such as population density, land
use, and soil type. 20
…
People:
- Users and experts who manage and operate the GIS system.
- They include GIS analysts, cartographers, surveyors, and decision-makers who interpret the
data for applications in various fields.
Procedures/Methods:
- Defined workflows, models, and algorithms used to analyze geospatial data.
- These include data collection methods, analysis techniques, and protocols for producing
accurate and consistent results.
Network:
- In modern GIS systems, networks enable the sharing and distribution of geospatial data across
multiple users and locations, facilitating real-time data updates and collaborative
decision-making.

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Geospatial concepts

UNDERSTANDING MAPS & DATA

You may have been looking at geospatial data for a long time

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 Understanding data ‘layers’
What individual data layers were used to create this map?

https://ocw.mit.edu/help/faq-fair-use/
 Understanding data ‘layers’
What individual data layers were used to create this map?

T stops with label

Points of
interest

Street network

Bodies of water
Parks and other open space
Google maps is
a ‘Geobrowser’ © Google. All rights reserved. This content is excluded from our Creative Commons license. For more
information, see https://ocw.mit.edu/help/faq-fair-use/
Geospatial Data Types
Geospatial or coordinate data can
be represented in two different
data formats:

Vector:
e.g. points, lines, and polygons

Raster:
e.g. row and column matrix
 Data Types: Vector versus Raster
Vectors are composed of Raster's are composed of pixels
coordinates

These are often used for variables with:

defined borders, e.g. manmade continuous surface, e.g. environmental
 Data Types: Vector examples
Points Lines Polygons (Combined)
 Data Types: Vector mapping
Vectors have a frontend geometry
• In this example the geometry represents state polygons
 Data Types: Vector mapping
Vectors have a backend database,
normally called an ‘attribute table’
• rows represent unique
geometries (e.g. state
polygons)
• columns represent a
number of variables (theoretically
infinite)
• Here each row (state) is
symbolized by ‘NAME’ (categorical
variable)

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 Data Types: Vector file formats
• The shapefile is the most common vector file
format.
• “A” shapefile is actually a collection of several
different files with different extensions.
Shapefile =
When adding files to Make sure to keep all
ArcGIS Pro, you will .shp .shx .sbx files together when
only see one file, not
every extension. .dbf .prj moving.
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 Data Types: Raster
Raster data includes aerial photographs, digital
elevation models, and scanned maps.

(Remember these are constructed from pixels) 31

 Data Types: Raster mapping
Raster data have a
frontend cell matrix
• Here each
cell/pixel is being
symbolized by
elevation value

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 Data Types: Raster mapping
Raster data have a backend database,
normally called an ‘attribute table’
• rows represent unique values
(1m, 2m, 3m, etc.)
• columns have
specific variables
1) unique ‘ROW ID’
2) unique ‘VALUE’
3) ‘COUNT’ of pixels
with that ‘VALUE’
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 Data Types: Raster file formats
There are many different raster file extensions, including common
image formats.

.tiff .asc .img .jpg

Learn more about raster Some formats may include a

formats in this ArcGIS Pro collection of files with different
documentation. QGIS supports extensions, similar to a
similar formats. shapefile. 34
 Data Types: Tabular
Tabular data can be transformed
into spatial data in two ways:
1. Joining
– Use a shared unique identifier (GEOID, name, etc.) to
match up tabular data to the spatial data’s attribute table.
2. Geocoding
– Use lat/lon coordinates in table to plot as points on map
– Use addresses to plot locations based on a street network
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 Data Types: Tabular file formats
GIS software can read commonly used tabular
formats in order to transform them into spatial data.

.csv .xlsx .dbf

Shapefiles include a
.dbf, which is a
tabular format that
QGIS cannot read Excel file can be opened in
formats. other software, like
Excel. 36
Next topic…
Geographical phenomena (field and object)

Data characteristic - spatial and non-spatial data

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Geographical phenomena (field and object)
Geographic phenomena is a term for all phenomena with a spatial dimension, such as land cover or soil ph.

Phenomena are geographic (spatial) when they:

● Can be named or described;

● Can be georeferenced (have a location on the Earth’s surface);
● Can be assigned a time interval.

Geographic Phenomena can be divided into

1. geographic objects
2. geographic fields

and Geographic Fields can represent geographic phenomena as discrete fields or continuous fields.

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Geographic Objects
● Object based phenomena represent discrete entities or features in the
landscape. These are items that can be individually counted or identified, like
buildings, roads, or trees.
● The data is discrete, meaning there are clear boundaries between different
objects.
● Examples: Farm Plots (polygon), irrigation canal or pipelines (lines), individual
trees (point).
● Object based phenomena are visualized with symbols on a map.

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Object based phenomena

Figure: Map of Kathmandu University

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Geographic Fields
● Field-based phenomena represent continuous data across a landscape.
This type of data is often used to model natural features or conditions that
change gradually over space, such as temperature, elevation, or soil
moisture.
● The data is continuous, meaning there are no distinct boundaries between
different values.
● Examples: Soil pH map, Temperature distribution map, elevation map etc.
● This phenomena is visualized using color gradients on a map.

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Field based phenomena

Figure: Map showing temperature of Kathmandu valley in 2020

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Data Characteristics (spatial and non-spatial data)
➔ Spatial Data:
Also known as geospatial data.
Refers to the data that has a geographic or locational component.
Can represent objects or features on the Earth’s surface.
Has specific coordinate system (e.g, WGS 1984).
Can describe the shape of features, like points, lines and polygons.

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Data Characteristics (spatial and non-spatial data)
➔ Non-spatial Data

Also called attribute data.

Refers to information that describes the characteristics of spatial data but

does not include a locational component.

For example: A road is a spatial data. Its name (‘Ring Road’), type
(‘Highway’), surface type (‘Asphalt’) are its attribute data.

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Assignments
1. What are the key milestones in the history of GIS?
2. Explain what is meant by a “Coordinate System” and “Projection System” in
GIS.
3. Select a real-world case study where GIS has been applied in agriculture
(E.g, precision farming, crop monitoring). Analyze the components of GIS and
explain each components about how they are used.
4. Explore in details the more application of GIS in agriculture with real world
examples.
5. What is the difference between field-based and object-based geographical
phenomena?

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Any Queries???

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