In Archbold’s Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Lab another subtle shift in "the way we do business" occurred during 1999-00. We added rectified digital orthophoto images to our library of spatial information.

Early in 1999, the GIS lab acquired digital orthophoto quarterquads from the Southwest Florida Water Management District. These 1995 raster images represent all of the Lake Wales Ridge in the District and are at 2-meter resolution. Subsequently, we acquired raster images from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection covering the 5-county region of Highlands, Polk, Lake, Orange, and Osceola. These images are at 6-, 3- and 1-meter resolution. Raster images have supplanted vector data as the underlying base maps for all spatial work done at Archbold, MacArthur Agro-Ecology Research Center, and the Avon Park Air Force Range, as well as all other protected sites along the Lake Wales Ridge.

During 1999-00, Archbold acquired a Trimble Pro-XR Global Positioning Unit (GPS). Originally developed by the U.S. Department of Defense, GPS is based on a constellation of more than 25 satellites in high orbits around the earth. Now GPS has been adopted by research, education, and commercial organizations worldwide. Locations accurate to within 1 meter are now routine for most spatial projects at Archbold.

Some 1999-00 GIS projects include the following:

• Archbold Property Mapping. In late 2000 Archbold added five land parcels, totaling just over 58 acres, at its southeast boundary (see map [a] and map [b] in Conservation). These mitigation properties are known collectively as the Sand Skink or Neoseps tract.
• Regional Habitat Map. In collaboration with the Plant Lab, an ambitious year-long effort came to completion with the production of two new spatial datasets. Original digital soils data provided by the U.S. Natural Resources Conservation Service were used to map upland xeric sands within the 5-county region of the Lake Wales Ridge. These data were then overlain with recent digital orthophotos from each county’s soil survey to produce a dataset assessing the remaining or non-developed, white, yellow, and grey sands supporting native vegetation (see map [a] below). This mapping effort also produced a new "Ridges of Central Florida" map (see map [b] below).
• Plant Lab Project. During 2000, the GIS Lab helped coordinate the Plant Lab’s use of GPS and GIS for mapping the distribution of Federally-listed scrub plants of the Lake Wales Ridge in Highlands County. This ongoing project is producing a detailed database of species locations, numbers, and associations (see map [c] and map [d], below).
• Fire History. The GIS spatial library includes a 30+ year history of fires at Archbold. To get a better sense of Archbold’s fire history the GIS lab created a "Decade of Fire at Archbold Biological Station," overlaying Archbold fires during 1990-1999 (see inside back cover).
• Regional Conservation. As Lake Wales Ridge conservation issues become more urgent and critical, Archbold is now a spatial data repository for each of the 30+ protected areas on the Ridge. The GIS lab works closely with local conservation groups, such as the Lake Wales Ridge office of The Nature Conservancy, to produce maps for preserves in Highlands and Polk counties and for Ridge Ranger volunteer projects.

Below, in the Conservation article, and the inside back cover, are map examples from some of the many projects supported by the GIS Lab.