cody cox wayde morse, christopher anderson, and luke marzen auburn university
TRANSCRIPT
Cody CoxWayde Morse, Christopher
Anderson, and Luke MarzenAuburn University
Using Public Participation Geographic Information
Systems to Identify Watershed Services
Background• Shift in natural resource management
philosophy from expert driven to collaborative approach
• Need for research on participatory decision making
• Need to capture and incorporate spatial data on stakeholder management preferences for comparison with other spatial data
Introduction to PPGIS• Public Participation
Geographic Information Systems (PPGIS)
• Developed in 1996
• Captures local values, knowledge, and preferences
• Used to spatially identify important places for stakeholders
Project Objectives• Determine whether a
representative sample of the general public can spatially conceptualize and identify places of ecosystem service provisioning for specific services
• Assess the spatial accuracy of these PPGIS results to understand how this information can be used to inform decision making
• Identify threats to places of ecosystem service provisioning from water pollution
Study Area• Mobile Bay, AL
(Baldwin and Mobile counties)
• 4,600 square miles• Mixed urban and rural
landscape• Variety of terrestrial
and aquatic ecosystems
Mobile
Fairhope
Bay Minette
Orange Beach
Gulf ShoresDauphin Island
Bayou La Batre
Citronelle
MobileBay
MobileCo.
BaldwinCo.
Survey Methodology• Dillman method:
1. Pre-notice letter2. Survey packet3. Reminder postcard4. Reminder letter
• 988 survey packets sent to randomly selected residents
• 274 received (27.7% response rate)
Questionnaire6 parts
1. Bay knowledge and length of residence
2. Participation in outdoor recreation activities
3. Opinions on a range of wildlife, water, and development issues
4. Satisfaction with a range of regional characteristics
5. A PPGIS mapping activity6. Demographic information
PPGIS Implementation
• Participants used color-coded 0.25 inch stickers to identify places on a map of the study area that they think are important for a range of natural resource management topics, including places that provide watershed services
PPGIS Mapping Exercise
• Example completed map• 87 possible points• 24 x 36 in.• True color aerial imagery• Scale: 1:150,000
PPGIS Mapping Results
• Results from 242 respondents (88% of survey respondents)• 11,391 points• Mean: 47.07 points per
respondent
Ecosystem Service Choice Rationale
• Ecosystem services are any benefits that humans derive from ecosystems
• Services provided by watersheds• General enough to be understood by public• Spatially explicit• Provided by large portions of study area• Regularly impact residents of the Mobile Bay
region
Watershed Services
Fish Nursery
Storm Protection
Flood Protection
Water Quality ProtectionImage courtesy of NOAA
Watershed Service Results
Watershed service
Number of dots used
Percent of dots used Hotspot area
Fish Nursery
679 56.1% 85.04 mi2
Storm Protection 578 47.8% 82.14 mi2
Flood Protection 319 26.4% 8.78 mi2
Water Quality Protection
452 37.4% 36.00 mi2
Accuracy Assessment:Fish Nursery
Total Area Providing Service 462.55 km2
Percent of PPGIS Points in Total Accurate Area 52.58%
Percent of Total Accurate Area in Hotspot
25.90%
Percent of Hotspot Identifying Accurate Land Cover
54.37%
Accuracy Assessment:Storm Protection
Total Area Providing Service 556.17 km2
Percent of PPGIS Points in Total Accurate Area
41.00%
Percent of Total Accurate Area in Hotspot
7.74%
Percent of Hotspot Identifying Accurate Land Cover
20.34%
Accuracy Assessment:Flood Protection
Total Area Providing Service 5,633.45 km2
Percent of PPGIS Points in Total Accurate Area
78.37%
Percent of Total Accurate Area in Hotspot
0.30%
Percent of Hotspot Identifying Accurate Land Cover
74.43%
Accuracy Assessment:Water Quality Protection
Total Area Providing Service 5,633.45 km2
Percent of PPGIS Points in Total Accurate Area
73.45%
Percent of Total Accurate Area in Hotspot
1.49%
Percent of Hotspot Identifying Accurate Land Cover
89.88%
Water Pollution Perceptions• PPGIS hotspots located
around listed polluted streams
• Except for Dog River, which should be further investigated by managers
Management Implications• PPGIS is a useful tool for natural resource
management• Highlights places with strong stakeholder support for
protection• Helps identify knowledge gaps for outreach
education efforts• PPGIS should be used in conjunction with other data
to create a more well-rounded decision; it does not replace them
• Data from this study are being used by the Mobile Bay National Estuary Program