A Geologic Information System and Hydrologic Survey of Wolf Road Prairie Nature Preserve Westchester, IL.
Continued
Conclusions and Recommendations
This survey consisted of two parts: compiling and analyzing existing spatial data using ArcViewGIS and studying the hydrology of Wolf Road Prairie. The projects were interrelated in that GIS is helpful in understanding the layout of the prairie and the relationship it has with the hydrology. Both projects were largely successful, although more data would improve all of the results.
The GIS map database consists of: USGS topographic map, color air photograph, historical air photograph, digital elevation map (DEM), Global Positioning System (GPS) survey, ground penetrating radar (GPR) survey, and digital orthophotoquad (DOQ). If more data are collected, such as vegetation maps, bird/animal migration, wetland delineations, etc., they can be included in the GIS if accurate locations are available. The entire GIS can be imported into ArcExplorer, a free GIS reader. This freeware offers viewing, printing, and some analysis of the data.
The GPS information provided maps of the exact current outline of the prairie and prairie features. It would be of further benefit to the prairie to purchase a GPS unit for marking delineation of burn areas, wetland, prairie, and savanna areas, and vegetation distribution.
The hydrologic data and model simulations suggest that urbanization has had a large impact on the groundwater flow and seasonal groundwater levels. Thus the migration and shrinking of the wetlands may be directly related to the increased pavement and diversion of water from the prairie area, especially within the last 60 years.
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