Please join us for our October Program at the Dolomite Lodge. Stephen Tulowiecki , from SUNY Geneseo, will discuss “Oak forests: standing the test of time? Using GIS to map historic landscape conditions of Western New York.” A picnic lunch will be served following the presentation.
When: Wednesday, October 4, 2017 11:30 AM to 1:00 PM
Where: Dolomite Lodge
3100 Atlantic Ave
Penfield, NY 14526
Cost: $5 (Pay at door)
Registration: tinyurl.com/GISSIG2017FallProgram
Oak forests: standing the test of time? Using GIS to map historic landscape conditions of Western New York
Stephen Tulowiecki – SUNY Geneseo
YouTube video: http://bit.ly/2vcsVol
This talk introduces a project that is currently underway at SUNY Geneseo and the University at Buffalo, funded by the National Science Foundation. This project is using GIS in combination with various historical datasets to study oak-dominated forests in Western New York – an important forest type that, like oak forests throughout the Eastern US, has declined over the past two centuries. The first step in this multi-phased project is to map the historic ranges of oak species in WNY to determine which environmental (e.g. soil) and human (e.g. Native American land use) factors shaped their past distributions. This research combines unique historic datasets in GIS, such as land survey records of the 18th and 19th centuries, historic atlases of the 19th century, and records of past Seneca Iroquois settlement. The talk will also cover the many ArcGIS tools and extensions used to assist in this project. This GIS/SIG program is recommended for anyone with interest in historical GIS, or who would like to learn about the natural and cultural history of Western New York. The talk answers many questions more broadly: What was the natural landscape of Western New York like before European settlement? How can mapping different types of historical records in GIS help to reconstruct past landscape conditions? And do historical records reveal evidence of past Native American modification to forested landscapes?