APPLICATIONS OF REMOTE SENSING & GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEMS

TECHNOLOGIES IN LIVESTOCK MANAGEMENT.

1.OLATOYE T.A; 2.ODULARU G.O.1.Remote Sensing & GIS Unit, Dept. of Environmental Modeling, Forestry

Research Institute of Nigeria (FRIN Headquarters), PMB 5054, Forest Hills, Jericho, Ibadan, Nigeria.

2.2.Policy & Advocacy Unit, Forum for Agricultural Research (FARA), Accra, Ghana.

Being a paper presented at the Conference of the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), held at Hotel Africana Conference Centre, Kampala,

Uganda in September 9-11, 2013.

INTRODUCTION:• GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEM- A system for Processing,

manipulation, editing , management of geographic data inn a computerized environment. It is also defined as a system of hardware and software used for storage, retrieval, mapping, and analysis of geographic data, Via common geography, is able to link spatially distributed entities and their attribute data.

• Supports the capture, management, manipulation, analysis, modeling and display of spatially-referenced data for solving complex planning and management problems.

• REMOTE SENSING is the science and art of obtaining information about an object, area, or phenomenon through the analysis of data acquired by a device that is not in physical contact with the object, area, or phenomenon under investigation.

• Remote sensing relies on the measurement of electromagnetic (EM) energy emitted by objects. This (EM energy) can take several forms. The most important source of EM energy at the Earth is Sun.

HOW RS/GIS WORKS (Source: NASRDA, FCT, Abuja.

IMAGE ACQUISITION PROCESS IN RS:1. Incoming Solar Radiation

2. Scattered in earth’s atmosphere.

3. Interaction with feature or object. (3a) Reflected energy from feature

4. Reflected Energy (RE)

5. RE subject to atmosphere attenuation.

6. Airborne or satellite sensor.

7. Recorded image or Array of quantitative values.

1. Incoming Solar Radiation2. Scattered in earth’s atmosphere.3. Interaction with feature or object. (3a) Reflected

energy from feature4. Reflected Energy (RE)5. RE subject to atmosphere attenuation.6. Airborne or satellite sensor.7. Recorded image or Array of quantitative values.

GIS & RS AS MANAGEMENT TOOLS:

When RS and GIS are combined, we are able to:– Get a real time ‘birds eye view’ of large areas– Attribute a spatial dataset to just about anything

• Monitor changes over time and space– Combine/overlay various datasets from different disciplines

• Make informed decisions and optimise the way we manage livestock.

GIS APPLICATIONS IN IMPROVING LIVESTOCK GRAZING DISTRIBUTION:

• * Livestock Tracking, Forage Distribution, Epidemiology/Disease Mapping, Diffusion Trends & Control

• Animals can be tracked on a 24-hour basis using GPS receivers. used to track cattle during the summer, fall and winter.

• Collars can also record ambient temperature and number of vertical and horizontal head movements. Head movements can be used grazing time and differentiate animal activity (resting or grazing) between location fixes. The ArcView® Spatial Analyst and Tracking Analyst are used extensively. This GPS (collars) and GIS technology has become an integral component of livestock grazing distribution research .

LIVESTOCK GRAZING SUITABILITY MODELING:

• The livestock grazing model suitability comprises of three measures: the capacity and production of forage, the soil sensitivity to erosion, and physical factors (water resources and slope). The components of the suitability model for livestock grazing can be illustrated using ILWIS and ArcGIS Softwares.

LIVESTOCK SUITABILITY MODEL:

Other Examples At different scales –

The use of telemetry and GPS for the monitoring of goat movements

• Remote Sensing –landscape level change detection• Use the livestock to collect data at smaller and more

continuous scales • GPS collars could provide information on:• Grazing locations

• Activity Patterns

• Environmental Data

GIS Application in Livestock Disease Control

Another important veterinary application relates to the epidemiological study of specific diseases. The first step is usually to look for clustering of disease cases, as this can be a clue to the presence of risk factors; statistical techniques can be used to test for clustering. The next step is to analyse the relationships between the presence of various determinants of disease and disease incidence, or prevalence, on a geographical basis. The technique used is to overlay the coverages showing the spatial distribution of the variables under study with a map containing information on disease incidence or prevalence. Coverages used in the analysis could contain point information, or take the form of choroplethic (mean values over an area) or isoplethic maps (contours). Areas of overlap of the respective variables with different levels of disease are then calculated; multivariate statistical analysis could be used to identify important factors. Physical proximity of specific determinants to known sites where the disease is present (or absent) can also be studied. Once the causality of disease has been established, the GIS can be used to model disease spread. This would basically entail the overlaying of the various coverages depicting the presence of the disease determinants. The result would be maps showing expected disease incidence. In a study of diseases caused by Theileria parva in Africa, the known distribution of the vector (Rhipicephalus appendiculatus) was compared with the potential distribution, based on climatic suitability for the tick calculated from an interpolated climate database developed for Africa, and "Normalised Difference Vegetation Indices"

Suitability map of forage production (Using GIS Technology) at Ghara-Aghch, Iran

Quarantine Areas Around an Infected Farm.

CONCLUSION:

• RS/GIS represents a new technology in livestock management for the reporting of livestock monitoring,

inventory, epidemiology, distribution, information, as well as the study and modeling of specific

disease problems. However, the technology is not a panacea in its own right and any adoption of such a

system must be preceded by a careful evaluation of information needs. A fully featured GIS software

package, the necessary hardware and the digital maps needed to run a complete system can be

relatively expensive, when all that may be required is a standard database management system and an

additional graphical package that can display colored maps with a certain amount of text or numeric

information appended. This would not provide any sophisticated spatial analysis functions, but may

suffice as a reporting system. As needs grow and resources become available, an investment in a more

complete system could be made. In epidemiological research for instance, there are three situations in

veterinary science where it is suggested that GIS will play an increasingly important role in the future:

the need to solve epidemiologically complex disease problems, the need rapidly to monitor highly

contagious diseases that might cross international boundaries, and the need to deal with politically

sensitive diseases for which prompt and accurate reporting is essential.

THE END!!!

•THANKS FOR YOUR

ATTENTION.