Cody CoxWayde Morse, Christopher

Anderson, and Luke MarzenAuburn University

Using Public Participation Geographic Information

Systems to Identify Watershed Services

Background• Shift in natural resource management

philosophy from expert driven to collaborative approach

• Need for research on participatory decision making

• Need to capture and incorporate spatial data on stakeholder management preferences for comparison with other spatial data

Introduction to PPGIS• Public Participation

Geographic Information Systems (PPGIS)

• Developed in 1996

• Captures local values, knowledge, and preferences

• Used to spatially identify important places for stakeholders

Project Objectives• Determine whether a

representative sample of the general public can spatially conceptualize and identify places of ecosystem service provisioning for specific services

• Assess the spatial accuracy of these PPGIS results to understand how this information can be used to inform decision making

• Identify threats to places of ecosystem service provisioning from water pollution

Study Area• Mobile Bay, AL

(Baldwin and Mobile counties)

• 4,600 square miles• Mixed urban and rural

landscape• Variety of terrestrial

and aquatic ecosystems

Mobile

Fairhope

Bay Minette

Orange Beach

Gulf ShoresDauphin Island

Bayou La Batre

Citronelle

MobileBay

MobileCo.

BaldwinCo.

Survey Methodology• Dillman method:

1. Pre-notice letter2. Survey packet3. Reminder postcard4. Reminder letter

• 988 survey packets sent to randomly selected residents

• 274 received (27.7% response rate)

Questionnaire6 parts

1. Bay knowledge and length of residence

2. Participation in outdoor recreation activities

3. Opinions on a range of wildlife, water, and development issues

4. Satisfaction with a range of regional characteristics

5. A PPGIS mapping activity6. Demographic information

PPGIS Implementation

• Participants used color-coded 0.25 inch stickers to identify places on a map of the study area that they think are important for a range of natural resource management topics, including places that provide watershed services

Mapping Components

PPGIS Mapping Exercise

• Example completed map• 87 possible points• 24 x 36 in.• True color aerial imagery• Scale: 1:150,000

PPGIS Mapping Results

• Results from 242 respondents (88% of survey respondents)• 11,391 points• Mean: 47.07 points per

respondent

Ecosystem Service Choice Rationale

• Ecosystem services are any benefits that humans derive from ecosystems

• Services provided by watersheds• General enough to be understood by public• Spatially explicit• Provided by large portions of study area• Regularly impact residents of the Mobile Bay

region

Watershed Services

Fish Nursery

Storm Protection

Flood Protection

Water Quality ProtectionImage courtesy of NOAA

Watershed Service Results

Watershed service

Number of dots used

Percent of dots used Hotspot area

Fish Nursery

679 56.1% 85.04 mi2

Storm Protection 578 47.8% 82.14 mi2

Flood Protection 319 26.4% 8.78 mi2

Water Quality Protection

452 37.4% 36.00 mi2

Kernel Density Analysis: Fish Nursery

Kernel Density Analysis:Storm Protection

Kernel Density Analysis:Flood Protection

Kernel Density Analysis:Water Quality Protection

Accuracy Assessment:Fish Nursery

Total Area Providing Service 462.55 km2

Percent of PPGIS Points in Total Accurate Area 52.58%

Percent of Total Accurate Area in Hotspot

25.90%

Percent of Hotspot Identifying Accurate Land Cover

54.37%

Accuracy Assessment:Storm Protection

Total Area Providing Service 556.17 km2

Percent of PPGIS Points in Total Accurate Area

41.00%

Percent of Total Accurate Area in Hotspot

7.74%

Percent of Hotspot Identifying Accurate Land Cover

20.34%

Accuracy Assessment:Flood Protection

Total Area Providing Service 5,633.45 km2

Percent of PPGIS Points in Total Accurate Area

78.37%

Percent of Total Accurate Area in Hotspot

0.30%

Percent of Hotspot Identifying Accurate Land Cover

74.43%

Accuracy Assessment:Water Quality Protection

Total Area Providing Service 5,633.45 km2

Percent of PPGIS Points in Total Accurate Area

73.45%

Percent of Total Accurate Area in Hotspot

1.49%

Percent of Hotspot Identifying Accurate Land Cover

89.88%

Water Pollution

664 points identified Hotspot area: 80.98 mi2

Water Pollution Perceptions• PPGIS hotspots located

around listed polluted streams

• Except for Dog River, which should be further investigated by managers

Water Pollution Threats

Area of overlap: 1.54 mi2 Area of overlap: 1.54 mi2

Management Implications• PPGIS is a useful tool for natural resource

management• Highlights places with strong stakeholder support for

protection• Helps identify knowledge gaps for outreach

education efforts• PPGIS should be used in conjunction with other data

to create a more well-rounded decision; it does not replace them

• Data from this study are being used by the Mobile Bay National Estuary Program

Acknowledgements• Funding for this project was generously

provided by

• Mobile Bay National Estuary Program

• U.S. Forest Service