Cadastral Boundaries Research Articles

Review: Drawing Lines in the Forest: Creating Wilderness Areas in the Pacific Northwest, by Kevin R. Marsh

Review: Drawing Lines in the Forest: Creating Wilderness Areas in the Pacific Northwest By Kevin R. Marsh Reviewed by Elery Hamilton-Smith Charles Sturt University, Australia Marsh, Kevin R. Drawing Lines in the Forest: Creating Wilderness Areas in the Pacific Northwest. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2007. 227pp. ISBN 0-295-98702-2 (Hardcover) US $35.00. This is the oft-told story of the contest over land between the economic interests of the logging industry and the conservation interests of many community activists. But it has rarely been told with such painstaking detail over an extended time period. Marsh notes that the debate is really about natural system boundaries, yet to be effective it must be located and fought out in the realm of cadastral boundaries. It is perhaps regrettable that he does not enter into the issue of the impact of this ambiguity, but he instead maintains a rigorous focus on the politics of cadastral definition. Conservationists will find it of interest because of its tactical insights. Logging interests may well be less satisfied with it as the author is indeed critical of the extent to which they have often pursued tactics that clouded public perception of their responsibilities and alienated potential supporters. Their misunderstandings of the role of Congress within the legalities of the Wilderness Act of 1964 also did not serve their interests. One would hope that the industry would have learned from that experience, and would now act more wisely. It does so in some situations, but fails in many others, and in relatively impoverished countries, often resorts to falsehoods, bribery and corruption. Even though it grows out of earlier experience, this book does provide a case study that illustrates various aspects of the analyses developed by Spaargaren et al in their work on flows as a basis for thinking about resource governance. (See the review of Governing Environmental Flows in this issue). Elery Hamilton-Smith , Professor, Environmental Studies, Charles Sturt University, N.S.W. Chair, IUCN / WCPA Task Force on Caves and Karst, Albury, New South Wales, Australia. Electronic Green Journal , Issue 26, Spring 2008 ISSN: 1076-7975

Measuring conservation value at fine and broad scales: implications for a diverse and fragmented region, the Agulhas Plain

This study explores the implications of spatial scale for conservation planning in the Agulhas Plain, South Africa. Regional planning relies on broad-scale data but fine-scale data are usually required for implementation at local level. This study addresses the implications of broad-scale planning for fine-scale implementation. Two original systems of notional reserves were developed for this region using C-plan, a decision support system for systematic conservation planning. The first conservation plan was derived using broad scale data (1:250,000) and consisted of nine broad habitat units (land classes based on topography, geology, and climate), remote sensing mapping of habitat transformation and large planning units defined by 1/16th degree squares (average size 3900 ha). The second system was identified at a finer scale (1:10,000) using 36 vegetation types (mapped in the field), ground survey mapping of habitat transformation and cadastral boundaries as planning units (average size 252 ha). Using classification trees, this study compared reserve-design efficiency (the area required to achieve conservation targets), the spatial patterns of conservation value (the irreplaceability value of planning units), biodiversity features, and habitat transformation at both scales. A similar amount of land was required to meet all conservation targets (identified using minimum set analysis) at the broad and fine scale. There was considerable overlap between the two conservation plans as most of fine-scale conservation targets could be achieved under the broad-scale conservation plan. However, irreplaceability values, which measure the likelihood of selecting planning units for achieving representation targets, were much higher at the fine scale. The use of broad-scale biodiversity features underestimated irreplaceability value at a fine scale in heterogeneous and fragmented portions of the landscape. The implications of moving from broad- to fine-scale conservation planning, as well as their respective benefits are discussed. Maximising biodiversity conservation while minimising cost and resources might be achieved by a combination of broad-scale assessments for relatively homogeneous and untransformed areas and fine-scale ones for heterogeneous and fragmented areas.

Establishing an urban digital cadastre: analytical reconstruction of parcel boundaries

A new method for generating a spatially accurate, legally supportive and operationally efficient cadastral database of the urban cadastral reality is described. The definition and compilation of an accurate cadastral database (achieving a standard deviation smaller than 0.1 m) is based on an analytical reconstruction of cadastral boundaries rather than on the conventional field reconstruction process. The new method is based on GPS control points and traverse networks for providing the framework; the old field books for defining the links between the various original ground features; and a geometrical and cadastral adjustment process as the conceptual basis. A pilot project that was carried out in order to examine and evaluate the new method is described.

Land surveying in Latvia

Since regaining independence in 1991 the massive job of resurveying all land boundaries in Latvia has almost been completed. All boundary corners are coordinated which allows easy integration of cadastral boundaries into Geographic Information Systems. This paper outlines the surveying process in Latvia today, as well as giving an historical overview which reveals why Latvia uses a coordinated cadastre.

Land Surveying in Latvia

Since regaining independence in 1991 the massive job of resurveying all land boundaries in Latvia has almost been completed. All boundary corners are coordinated which allows easy integration of cadastral boundaries into Geographic Information Systems. This paper outlines the surveying process in Latvia today, as well as giving an historical overview which reveals why Latvia uses a coordinated cadastre.

Can we bring about a perennuially peopled and productive countryside

This paper is a reflection on the workshop Agriculture as a Mimic of Natural Systems. It analyses what is essential for protecting agricultural land from degradation, including enabling features of the social context. It looks at how natural systems maintain a stable landscape, and explores ways in which pertinent features of natural systems can be copied in agriculture to help solve particular problems of land degradation, such as: erosion; hydrologic instability and the often associated secondary salinity; and chemical imbalances, such as those leading to excessive acidity. The conservative practices that many farmers have recently adopted are in several respects based on attributes of natural systems, but the mosaic nature of land is one important aspect that has not yet strongly influenced practices, which are often too strongly tied to cadastral boundaries.

Mean high water as a cadastral boundary

New Zealand coastal management is diffused through many, seldom consistent agencies and statutes. At some coastal developments, erosion has developed and property losses occurred. Progress has been made in predicting erosion potential, but with limited successful application. Evaluation of the problem requires some knowledge of beach dynamics. Mean High Water lies within a continuously mobile fore-shore and falls short of criteria for a cadastral boundary. It is not suitable as the general limit of land and is particularly inappropriate in some cases. Some other system is required, established for specific sites and using appropriate expertise. New perceptions reflecting current demands of coastal boundaries are needed. The surveyor's role in establishing new directions and delineation technology is significant.

A base mapping program for Wyandotte County, Kansas (a multipurpose land records information system)

Wyandotte County, Kansas, has developed a parcel-level land records system over the past 10 years, accomplished primarily by the staff of the County Base Mapping Program. The graphic component of the system is a digital map of the boundaries of ownership parcels based on recorded deeds. The non-graphic component is a common data base with records on land parcels, designed to be easily accessible, easily maintained, flexible for new applications and expandable for new data elements. The positions of parcel boundaries in the digital map have been reconciled with the positions of all planimetric features shown on the large-scale topographic base maps. However, the mapping of boundaries is only gradually being reconciled with the legal descriptions of the properties, as the results of new surveys or other reviews of the legal records become available. This incremental approach to accuracy in mapping of cadastral boundaries has allowed the County to complete its digital map relatively quickly with sufficient accuracy for most users, while continuing to improve the precision of the map for eventual use for legal or engineering records which require higher standards. Topological relationships among parcels are recorded in the digitizing process, but the topology has been used to date only for editing of the digitized point data.

High Accuracy Photogrammetric Determinations Using Image Deformation Corrections

This paper summarizes considerations related to the use of photogrammetric procedures for the surveying of cadastral boundaries and for the densification of control point nets. It gives an overview of a number of analytical aerial triangulation results and examines the effectiveness of various procedures for the elimination of the effects of image errors. Sources of image errors and procedures for the correction of the effects of these errors are also reviewed.