GIS and Environmental Modeling: Progress and Research Issues Michael F. Goodchild, Louis T. Steyaert, Bradley O. Parks, Carol Johnston, David Maidment, Michael Crane, and Sandi Glendinning, Editors With growing pressure on natural resources and landscapes there is an increasing need to predict the consequences of any changes to the environment. Modelling plays an important role in this by helping our understanding of the environment and by forecasting likely impacts. In recent years moves have been made to link models to Geographical Information Systems to provide a means of analysing changes over an area as well as over time. GIS and Environmental Modeling explores the progress made to date in integrating these two software systems. Approaches to the subject are made from theoretical, technical as well as data stand points. The existing capabilities of current systems are described along with important issues of data availability, accuracy and error. Various case studies illustrate this and highlight the common concepts and issues that exist between researchers in different environmental fields. The future needs and prospects for integrating GIS and environmental models are also explored with developments in both data handling and modelling discussed. The book brings together the knowledge and experience of over 100 researchers from academic, commercial and government backgrounds who work in a wide range of disciplines. The themes followed in the text provide a fund of knowledge and guidance for those involved in environmental modelling and GIS. The book is easily accessible for readers with a basic GIS knowledge and the ideas and results of the research are clearly illustrated with both colour and black and white graphics.

Drug overdose, driven largely by overdose related to the use of opioids, is now the leading cause of unintentional injury death in the United States. The ongoing opioid crisis lies at the intersection of two public health challenges: reducing the burden of suffering from pain and containing the rising toll of the harms that can arise from the use of opioid medications. Chronic pain and opioid use disorder both represent complex human conditions affecting millions of Americans and causing untold disability and loss of function. In the context of the growing opioid problem, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) launched an Opioids Action Plan in early 2016. As part of this plan, the FDA asked the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to convene a committee to update the state of the science on pain research, care, and education and to identify actions the FDA and others can take to respond to the opioid epidemic, with a particular focus on informing FDA's development of a formal method for incorporating individual and societal considerations into its risk-benefit framework for opioid approval and monitoring.

This open access book synthesizes leading-edge science and management information about forest and rangeland soils of the United States. It offers ways to better understand changing conditions and their impacts on soils, and explores directions that positively affect the future of forest and rangeland soil health. This book outlines soil processes and identifies the research needed to manage forest and rangeland soils in the United States. Chapters give an overview of the state of forest and rangeland soils research in the Nation, including multi-decadal programs (chapter 1), then summarizes various human-caused and natural impacts and their effects on soil carbon, hydrology, biogeochemistry, and biological diversity (chapters 2–5). Other chapters look at the effects of changing conditions on forest soils in wetland and urban settings (chapters 6–7). Impacts include: climate change, severe wildfires, invasive species, pests and diseases, pollution, and land use change. Chapter 8 considers approaches to maintaining or regaining forest and rangeland soil health in the face of these varied impacts. Mapping, monitoring, and data sharing are discussed in chapter 9 as ways to leverage scientific and human resources to address soil health at scales from the landscape to the individual parcel (monitoring networks, data sharing Web sites, and educational soils-centered programs are tabulated in appendix B). Chapter 10 highlights opportunities for deepening our understanding of soils and for sustaining long-term ecosystem health and appendix C summarizes research needs. Nine regional summaries (appendix A) offer a more detailed look at forest and rangeland soils in the United States and its Affiliates.

Forest Resources Resilience and Conflicts presents modern remote sensing and GIS techniques for Sustainable Livelihood. It provides an up-to-date critical analysis of the discourse surrounding forest resources and society, illustrating the relationship between forest resources and the livelihood of local people. The book is organized into four parts consisting of 31 chapters. Each chapter then reviews current understanding, present research, and future implications. Utilizing case studies and novel advances in geospatial technologies, Forest Resources Resilience and Conflicts provides a timely synthesis of a rapidly growing field and stimulates ideas for future work, especially considering sustainable development goals.In addition, the book presents the effective contribution of the forestry sector to populations' livelihoods through improved collection of forestry statistics that foster the understanding and integration of the forestry sector in poverty reduction processes and the national economy to enhance its integration in national planning. It is a valuable resource for researchers and students in environmental science, especially those interested in forestry, geography, and remote sensing. - Demonstrates tools and techniques for measurement, monitoring, mapping, and modeling of forest resources - Explores state-of-the-art techniques using open source software, statistical programming, and GIS, focusing on recent trends in data mining and machine learning - Addresses a wide range of issues with both environmental and societal implications - Provides a global review of the multiple roles of forest resources utilizing case studies to illustrate management strategies and techniques

Signi?cant technological advances have been few and far between in the past approximately one hundred years of soil survey activities. Perhaps one of the most innovative techniques in the history of soil survey was the introduction of aerial photographs as base maps for ?eld mapping, which replaced the conventional base map laboriously prepared by planetable and alidade. Such a relatively simple idea by today’s standards revolutionized soil surveys by vastly increasing the accuracy and ef?ciently. Yet, even this innovative approach did not gain universal acceptance immediately and was hampered by a lack of aerial coverage of the world, funds to cover the costs, and in some cases a reluctance by some soil mappers and cartog- phers to change. Digital Soil Mapping (DSM), which is already being used and tested by groups of dedicated and innovative pedologists, is perhaps the next great advancement in delivering soil survey information. However, like many new technologies, it too has yet to gain universal acceptance and is hampered by ignorance on the part of some pedologists and other scientists. DSM is a spatial soil information system created by numerical models that - count for the spatial and temporal variations of soil properties based on soil - formation and related environmental variables (Lagacheric and McBratney, 2007).

This book provides a foundation for modern applied ecology. Much of current ecology research and conservation addresses problems across landscapes and regions, focusing on spatial patterns and processes. This book is aimed at teaching fundamental concepts and focuses on learning-by-doing through the use of examples with the software R. It is intended to provide an entry-level, easily accessible foundation for students and practitioners interested in spatial ecology and conservation.