Learning guide – Preparing your plan maps

From Wikiagro.com

In this learning guide, you will learn how to create the maps requested by the NRCS to apply for EQIP. You will first create your property boundary map from the GPS points you gathered in the field. Then, you will manipulate your property boundary map to create your stands type map. Finally, you will prepare a practice recommendations map based on your stand types.

Contents 1 Webcast 1.1 Exercise 01 – Importing GPS points from your field visit 1.2 Exercise 02 – Create your buffers 1.3 Exercise 03 – Define the spreadable acreage area 1.4 Exercise 04 – Draw your conservation practices 1.5 Exercise 05 – Adding annotations 2 Exercises 2.1 Where to Do the Exercises 2.2 Exercise 01 – Enter your land units 2.2.1 Import data from your field visit 2.2.2 Convert data from waypoints to polygons 2.2.3 Export Data to GIS Module 2.2.4 Related Articles 2.3 Exercise 02 – Create your buffers 2.3.1 Create your buffers 2.3.2 Related Articles 2.4 Exercise 03 – Define the spreadable acreage area 2.4.1 Define your spreadable acreage area 2.5 Exercise 04 – Draw your conservation practices 2.5.1 Create your offset polygon 2.6 Exercise 05 – Adding annotations 2.6.1 Create your offset polygon

Webcast

Exercise 01 – Importing GPS points from your field visit

Exercise 02 – Create your buffers

Exercise 03 – Define the spreadable acreage area

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Exercise 04 – Draw your conservation practices

Exercise 05 – Adding annotations

Exercises

Where to Do the Exercises

The first step to complete the exercises in this tutorial is to set up the computer you will be working on. If you completed our Getting Started Course, your system and datasets are ready to go through this learning guide. You will be able to use our GeoAgro GIS trial version for 2 months. From now on, you are ready to begin with any learning guide you wish.

Exercise 01 – Enter your land units

If you don’t have Land Units available from NRCS, you may draw your own field boundaries. In this exercise you will learn to import your tracts. Then you will learn how to build a polygon from it, and to import it into GeoAgro GIS for mapping the plan.

Import data from your field visit

Please refer to [CNMP1-Downloading|Download data from your field visit].

Convert data from waypoints to polygons

Note:

Note: This is one of the few exercises for which sample data is not provided, as you need a GPS device connected to the computer in order to work on the exercise. The same step-by-step method with sample data will be used to present the exercise, but in order to work on it you will need to connect your GPS and unload personal data that you have already gathered.

In the previous exercise you collected waypoints from your GPS device.

Now turn to the Selection Tools menu.

You will use the Rectangle Selection tool by clicking on it and dragging it to enclose the waypoints. By doing this you will select the waypoints of the facility or parcel that you marked earlier. The waypoints should appear highlighted as shown below:

Next, click on the Convert Points into a Polygon tool The next window will allow you to set the sequence of waypoints in order.

Note:

By default, Geoagro GIS displays waypoints in the order in which they were marked on site, so the tracks connecting the waypoints will probably form some triangulations or intersections.

Select waypoints one by one in the Convert Points… window (each selected waypoint will be highlighted in blue) and change their position on the list by using the up and down arrows on the right, until you set the correct sequence to close the shape of the facility or parcel.

Next, click on Accept to complete this operation. The polygon for the land unit area has been created.

Note:

If a waypoint that does belong in the polygon is selected, click on the Image:GIS_gps_Bar_05_02C.jpg tool to unmark it.

Export Data to GIS Module

Click on the Export to GIS Module Image:GIS gps Bar 08 01.jpg tool.

Note:

If you have selected one or more objects, Geoagro GIS will ask you whether you wish to export only the selected objects or all the objects in that layer. Select the appropriate option and then click on Accept.

In the “Export to GIS module”, export to the “Fields (NRCS)” layer.

In the “Import layer” window, do not match any attributes.

Click on the “GIS” tab to go to the GIS module. Turn off the WMS layers; you will see the property boundary polygon similar to the picture below.

Related Articles

Convert points into a polygon
Export to GIS Module

Exercise 02 – Create your buffers

In this exercise you will learn how to build a buffer based on a pond.

Create your buffers

In this exercise you will learn how to build your buffers in GeoAgro GIS.

If you haven't done so yet, click on the “Hydrology polygons” layer to make it active.

Zoom to the pond in the center of your tracts.

Choose the “Rectangle selection tool” in the “Navigation panel”

Draw a rectangle including any part of the pond to select it.

In the “Objects Panel” there is a tool called “Buffer”. Click on it.

We will create a 10 ft buffer. “Feet” is the unit of measurement and the “Buffers & Setbacks” layer is the target. See the picture below

You will see the resulting polygon in the “Buffers and setbacks” layer

Related Articles

Copy Object
Divide Objects (Line)
Delete selected objects

Exercise 03 – Define the spreadable acreage area

In this exercise, you will define the spreadable acreage area. You will do this by substracting the polygons created from the buffer operations. First, we will copy the farmstead polygon into the buffers and setbacks layer, and then we will substract the setback created in exercise 02.

Define your spreadable acreage area

Make the “Fields (NRCS)” layer active by selecting it . Choose the “Arrow selection tool” in the “Navigation panel”, and click anywhere within the polygon to select it. Open the editor menu and use the copy tool to copy the polygon to the “Buffers and setbacks”layer.
Now click on the “Buffers and setbacks” layer active by selecting it

Choose the “Arrow selection tool” in the “Navigation panel”, and click anywhere within the polygon to select it.

Now move over to the “Edit objects” menu and click on the “Delete Overlaps” tool to activate it. You will see the resulting polygon in the “Buffers and setbacks” layer.

Exercise 04 – Draw your conservation practices

In this exercise, you will create GIS data for a filter strip. First you will create the polygon from your existing hydrology polygons. Then, you will substract the polygon from your existing pond polygon, and copy it to your practices polygon layer.

Create your offset polygon

First, turn on the “Practices polygon” layer if you haven't done so.

Then, click on the “Hydrology polygons” layer to make it active.

Select the pond by clicking on the rectangle selection tool, and then draw a rectangle to select it.

Now move over to the “Edit objects” panel and clikc on on the “Offset” tool.

We will create a 15 ft buffer. “Feet” is the unit of measurement and the “Practices polygon” layer is the target. See the picture below:

We will now delete the overlaps with the pond polygon to reflect the actual acreage on the land unit. First, select the “Hydrology polygons” layer to make it active, and use the “rectangle Selection” tool to select the pond.

Move over to the “Edit objects” panel and use the “Copy” tool to copy the polygon to the “Practices polygon” layer.

Make the “Practices polygon” layer active, then choose the “Arrow selection tool” in the “Navigation” panel and click anywhere within the polygon to select it.

Now move over to the “Edit objects” menu and click on the “Delete overlaps” tool to activate it.
The remaining polygon in the filter strip we will use for conservation planning.

Exercise 05 – Adding annotations

In this exercise, you will learn how to create a map showing annotations.

Create your offset polygon

If you haven't done so yet, turn on layers “Buffers & Setbacks”, and “Spreadable Acreage”.

We will now label spreadable acreage with the number of acres.Click on the “Spreadable Acreage” layer to make it active and then select the “Edit layer properties” tool. The Layer Properties screen appears. Click on the “Symbology” tab, then on the “Label” tab, and then select the attribute fields. Click on “Accept”.

If you zoom out to see the total extent of your spreadable acreage, you will see the polygon labeled with the surface covered by the polygon.

You may now enter annotations. We are going to put legends to show the buffer around the pond. Zoom to the pond to see it in more detail

Make the “Buffers and setbacks” layer active by selecting it in the “References” panel in the left side.

Open the “Edit objects” menu and click on the “Map labels” tool to make it active.

Now click on any point inside the pond buffer. The annotation text box will appear along with the annotations menu. You may now use them to write your annotation.

When you're down, click anywhere in the map, outside the label, to finish adding it.

To edit it, double click on the label. You can just drag the annotation to any position in your map for its final position. Note that the legend shows a leading circle to the initial point where you started. If you would like to turn on and off the legends, click on the “Edit objects” tools and then click on the “Show / Hide Labels” toggle.