Comparison of GPS Point Selection Methods for GIS Area Measurement of Small Jurisdictional Wetlands

• Main Author: Shelton, Michael
• Other Authors: Atkinson, Samuel F.
• Format: Others
• Language: English
• Published: University of North Texas 2001
• Subjects: Wetland ecology.; Wetlands > Remote sensing.; Geographic information systems.; Global Positioning System.; GIS; wetlands; impact area
• Online Access: https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc2831/

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) regulates fill of jurisdictional waters of the United States including wetlands. Recent USACE regulations set a threshold of impacts to wetlands at one-half acre. Impact area can be determined by Global Positioning System (GPS) measurement of wetland boundary and Geographic Information System (GIS) calculation of impact area. GPS point selection methods include (1) equal time interval, (2) transect and (3) intuition. Four two-acre shapes were measured with each GPS method and brought into GIS for area calculation. Analysis of variance and Root Mean Square Error analyses determine that the transect method is an inferior point selection method in terms of accuracy and efficiency.