The authors explore and explain current techniques for handling the specialised data that describes geographical phenomena in a study that will be of great value to computer scientists and geographers working with spatial databases.

This book places spatial data within the broader domain of information technology (IT) while providing a comprehensive and coherent explanation of the guiding principles, methods, implementation and operational management of spatial databases within the workplace. The text explains the key concepts, issues and processes of spatial data implementation and provides a holistic management perspective.

Spatial database research has continued to advance greatly since three decades ago, addressing the growing data management and analysis needs of spatial applications. This research has produced a taxonomy of models for space, conceptual models, spatial query languages and query processing, spatial file organization and indexes, and spatial data mining. However, emerging needs for spatial database systems include the handling of 3D spatial data, temporal dimension with spatial data, and spatial data visualization. In addition, the rise of new systems such as sensor networks and multi-core processors is likely to have an impact in spatial databases. The goal of this paper is to provide a broad overview of the recent advancements in spatial databases and research needs in each area.

Spatial Data Analysis: Theory and Practice, first published in 2003, provides a broad ranging treatment of the field of spatial data analysis. It begins with an overview of spatial data analysis and the importance of location (place, context and space) in scientific and policy related research. Covering fundamental problems concerning how attributes in geographical space are represented to the latest methods of exploratory spatial data analysis and spatial modeling, it is designed to take the reader through the key areas that underpin the analysis of spatial data, providing a platform from which to view and critically appreciate many of the key areas of the field. Parts of the text are accessible to undergraduate and master's level students, but it also contains sufficient challenging material that it will be of interest to geographers, social and economic scientists, environmental scientists and statisticians, whose research takes them into the area of spatial analysis.

The book addresses the problem of accuracy of spatial databases, and comprises of papers drawn from a wide range of physical and human systems, taking approaches which vary from statistical to descriptive. Together they present both a comprehensive review of existing knowledge, techniques and experience, and an analysis of critical research needs in this area of spatial data handling.

Applied Spatial Data Analysis with R, second edition, is divided into two basic parts, the first presenting R packages, functions, classes and methods for handling spatial data. This part is of interest to users who need to access and visualise spatial data. Data import and export for many file formats for spatial data are covered in detail, as is the interface between R and the open source GRASS GIS and the handling of spatio-temporal data. The second part showcases more specialised kinds of spatial data analysis, including spatial point pattern analysis, interpolation and geostatistics, areal data analysis and disease mapping. The coverage of methods of spatial data analysis ranges from standard techniques to new developments, and the examples used are largely taken from the spatial statistics literature. All the examples can be run using R contributed packages available from the CRAN website, with code and additional data sets from the book's own website. Compared to the first edition, the second edition covers the more systematic approach towards handling spatial data in R, as well as a number of important and widely used CRAN packages that have appeared since the first edition. This book will be of interest to researchers who intend to use R to handle, visualise, and analyse spatial data. It will also be of interest to spatial data analysts who do not use R, but who are interested in practical aspects of implementing software for spatial data analysis. It is a suitable companion book for introductory spatial statistics courses and for applied methods courses in a wide range of subjects using spatial data, including human and physical geography, geographical information science and geoinformatics, the environmental sciences, ecology, public health and disease control, economics, public administration and political science. The book has a website where complete code examples, data sets, and other support material may be found: http://www.asdar-book.org. The authors have taken part in writing and maintaining software for spatial data handling and analysis with R in concert since 2003.

This is a book about how ecologists can integrate remote sensing and GIS in their research. It will allow readers to get started with the application of remote sensing and to understand its potential and limitations. Using practical examples, the book covers all necessary steps from planning field campaigns to deriving ecologically relevant information through remote sensing and modelling of species distributions. An Introduction to Spatial Data Analysis introduces spatial data handling using the open source software Quantum GIS (QGIS). In addition, readers will be guided through their first steps in the R programming language. The authors explain the fundamentals of spatial data handling and analysis, empowering the reader to turn data acquired in the field into actual spatial data. Readers will learn to process and analyse spatial data of different types and interpret the data and results. After finishing this book, readers will be able to address questions such as “What is the distance to the border of the protected area?”, “Which points are located close to a road?”, “Which fraction of land cover types exist in my study area?” using different software and techniques. This book is for novice spatial data users and does not assume any prior knowledge of spatial data itself or practical experience working with such data sets. Readers will likely include student and professional ecologists, geographers and any environmental scientists or practitioners who need to collect, visualize and analyse spatial data. The software used is the widely applied open source scientific programs QGIS and R. All scripts and data sets used in the book will be provided online at book.ecosens.org. This book covers specific methods including: what to consider before collecting in situ data how to work with spatial data collected in situ the difference between raster and vector data how to acquire further vector and raster data how to create relevant environmental information how to combine and analyse in situ and remote sensing data how to create useful maps for field work and presentations how to use QGIS and R for spatial analysis how to develop analysis scripts