# Presentation: 932498

## Customer Service Toolkit and GIS

- Geographic Technology for Conservation Planning

**Brent Stinson**
**State GIS Specialist**
**NRCS, Michigan**

## What Is GIS?

- The term “GIS” stands for...

**G****eographic**
**   ****I****nformation**
**     ****S****ystem**

**Notes:**
 What is GIS?
 The term “GIS” stands for...

Look at it backwards...
SYSTEM - An orderly, interconnected arrangement of parts
	- Calculated orderliness
INFORMATION - Knowledge obtained by search or study 
	- The communication of facts
GEOGRAPHIC - Of or relating to geography 
	- Pertaining to the physical world/universe

So GIS Is - An orderly set of tools for obtaining knowledge about the world around us

## What is Geographic ???

*x*

*y*

**What is** **G****eographic** **???**

*North*

*South*

*East*

*West*

**Notes:**

What is Geographic? - Geographic refers to the process of location points on the face of the Earth by way of x and y coordinates.

All familiar with grid referencing,  4 quadrants on a flat Cartesian plane

It’s when we apply N-S-E-W directions to the grid that it becomes georeferenced

Can apply this x-y grid based referencing to any geographic area.

## Since GIS data is georeferenced, multiple data layers may be overlaid simultaneously.

**Since GIS data is ****georeferenced****, multiple data layers may be overlaid simultaneously.**

**Land Use**

**Local Bounds**

**Highways**

**Streams**

## There are two main types 

**There are two main types **
**of geographic information...**

**Notes:**
What is “Geographic Information”? - Geographic information is any data that can be referenced to a known point on the face of the Earth.

TWO MAIN TYPES OF GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION:

## Slide 6

**Notes:**
What is this? (Michigan, Counties of Michigan)

How do you know? (Because of the shape)

- Michigan covers a specific space on the face of the Earth that is shaped like this.

## WHERE ??

**Spatial Data:**

**Graphically represents specific spaces on the face of the earth.**

***WHERE ??***

**Notes:**

SPATIAL DATA - Graphically represents specific spaces on the face of the Earth

GOOD - Visually  locates places on the Earth - In relation to everything else on Earth

BAD - Can’t really tell a whole lot about those places at one time

## WHAT ??

**Tabular Data:**

**Text-based information about conditions at specific places on Earth.**

***WHAT ??***

**Notes:**
TABULAR DATA - Text-based information about conditions at specific places on Earth

Databases, spreadsheets, plain text files: 
 Access, Informix, Oracle, Excel, Lotus, Dbase, etc, etc, etc

GOOD: Stores a TON of attributes about certain locations

BAD: Can’t see spatial relationships: How elements relate to each other across the Earth’s surface

## Geographic

**I****nformation**
**S****ystem**** ****???**

**A GIS is a computer-based system for the storage, management, ****analysis****, and display of spatial and associated tabular data.**

**Spatial Data**

**Tabular Data**

**What is a**

**Notes:**
What is a Geographic Information System? - A GIS is a computer based system for the storage, management, ANALYSIS, and display of spatial and ASSOCIATED tabular data.

Spatial data and tabular data may be for the same geographic area - therefore they are related to each other

 - Spatial = Where?
- Tabular = What?

## Combining spatial and tabular data

**Combining spatial and tabular data**

**Notes:**
The main power of GIS - Combining (analyzing) spatial and tabular data

With GIS, data goes in - information comes out

## Combining spatial and tabular data

**Combining spatial and tabular data**

**Spatial Data**

**Tabular Data**

- Geographic Locations of Soil Shapes

- Soil Characteristics

***Where is it ?***

***What is it ?***

## Slide 12