New Maine Forest Spatial Tool to aid understanding of state’s forest resources
A new interactive, online tool that allows high-resolution exploration and display of spatial data sets of Maine woodlands will help provide more information about the state’s forest resources to stakeholders — from landowners to researchers and policymakers.
The Maine Forest Spatial Tool, developed by the University of Maine Center for Research on Sustainable Forests, provides quick, easy viewing of a wide variety of spatial data about Maine forests, including past and current cover type, current and projected habitat for key species, and potential site productivity. Mill locations, projected future climate and roads are also provided.
Spatial layers will be added as the tool matures and is more widely used. New forest-related spatial data will also be added.
The tool serves as a platform for researchers and others who manage spatial data to make their information more publicly available.
The Maine Forest Spatial Tool links to Google Maps, and provides simultaneous viewing of multiple maps, and dynamic map syncing so users can navigate layers. Additional features including output figure generation and mobile device compatibility are under development.
Design of the Maine Forest Spatial Tool was led by Parinaz Rahimzadeh-Bajgiran and Robert Wagner of the UMaine School of Forest Resources, and Chris Wilson of UMaine’s Advanced Computing Group.
For more information on the Maine Forest Spatial Tool, contact the University of Maine Center for Research on Sustainable Forests, crsf@maine.edu.
Contact: Aaron Weiskittel; 207.581.2857; aaron.weiskittel@maine.edu