Trail Map Research Articles

Construction of trail networks based on growing self-organizing maps and public GPS data

Manual creation of trail maps for hikers is time-consuming and can be inaccurate. This paper presents a new method to construct trail networks based on a growing self-organizing map (GSOM) using publicly available Global Positioning System (GPS) data. Unlike other network topology construction techniques, this approach is not dependent on sequential GPS traces. Fine-tuning multiple hyperparameters enables to customize this process based on unique features of datasets and networks. The generated maps, which are trained on public GPS data, are compared to a ground truth from Open Street Map (OSM). The performance evaluation is based on the accuracy, completeness, and topological correctness of the trail maps. The proposed approach outperforms, particularly on sparse networks without significant GPS noise.

THE POTENTIAL OF HERITAGE TRAIL MAPPING IN BANDAR PENGGARAM, BATU PAHAT, JOHOR MALAYSIA: AN EMPIRICAL INVESTIGATION

This research assesses the potential of heritage trail mapping in Bandar Penggaram, Batu Pahat, Johor by observing the community’s perceptions. This research intends to profile and map the cultural heritage descriptions of Bandar Penggaram as a unique town from historical, economic, socio-cultural, and environmental backgrounds. This research has adopted a mixed-method approach by disseminating questionnaire surveys to the respondents, and having focus group discussions with various public and private agencies. The result shows that the majority (76.2%) of the respondents perceived that the heritage zone of Bandar Penggaram has the potential to attract tourists and researchers to the town, while the cooperation between the authorities and stakeholders has been found to be necessary to create awareness among the communities of their historical glory within the heritage zone.

Megalithic Stone Heritage Trail Mapping Using GIS as Tourism Product for Cultural Sustainability in Tambunan

Heritage trails are an effective way to preserve cultural sustainability. Nowadays, heritage trails have been widely developed as tourism products either domestically or abroad. Megalithic stones are an ancient tradition of high value that has interesting functions and backgrounds. Moderni-zation with infrastutural development, and changes in religion in society have caused the mega-lithic stone tradition to be less practiced and increasingly declining. One of the effective ways to preserve megalithic stones from further decline is by building heritage trails as a tourism product. Many megalithic stones are located in sloping areas. In this study, least-cost path analysis (LCPA) in GIS applications was used to identify cost-effective and sloping routes to produce heritage trails. Study data were obtained from fieldwork in Tambunan. The benefits of this study provide ex-posure to the outside world about the megalithic stone tradition, and determine the appropriate routes to develop heritage trails in the District, and assist in the economy of the local population.

KNN and Webgis Classification to Recommend Mountain Location According to Hiker Abilities

The increasing number of climbers has an impact on the need for a system that can recommend mountains for climbingaccording to the ability of climbers. This study aims to create a system that can help climbers determine the mountainaccording to their abilities. Researchers use one of the methods in data mining, namely classification, using the K =Nearest Neighbor (K-NN) algorithm.This research has produced a web-based system where this system can classify and provide recommendationsaccording to the ability of climbers. This system is equipped with a hiking trail map which is expected to help make iteasier for climbers to choose the mountain they will climb.

Predicting ecosystem productivity based on plant community traits.

With the rapid accumulation of plant trait data, major opportunities have arisen for the integration of these data into predicting ecosystem primary productivity across a range of spatial extents. Traditionally, traits have been used to explain physiological productivity at cell, organ, or plant scales, but scaling up to the ecosystem scale has remained challenging. Here, we show the need to combine measures of community-level traits and environmental factors to predict ecosystem productivity at landscape or biogeographic scales. We show how theory can extend the production ecology equation to enormous potential for integrating traits into ecological models that estimate productivity-related ecosystem functions across ecological scales and to anticipate the response of terrestrial ecosystems to global change.

Modeling walkability by remote sensing as latent walking speed extracted from multiple digital trail maps

Coordinating and managing teams searching for missing persons in wilderness areas is challenging. Local terrain characteristics and environmental conditions strongly influence how searchers accomplish their search tasks. When making decisions, searchers consult various maps of the area. In this paper we proposed a methodology for mapping characteristics of the area that influence user behavior when walking the area, and define a walkability model of the terrain. We define walkability as a measure of how fast a person can walk through terrain. The observed walking speed depends on factors such as the fitness and motivation of a person walking through the terrain, as well as on assistive features and the configuration of the terrain. In our method, walkability is predicted only as a feature of terrain configuration. We used singular value decomposition (SVD) to transform datasets to extract latent features of the terrain and users from multiple Global Positioning System (GPS) trails. We define the walkability measure as a latent component of walking speed, which is a function of terrain features. Finally, we use a polynomial regression algorithm to build a model for predicting terrain walkability based on remote sensing imagery from the Sentinel-2 mission. The application of the proposed model is demonstrated in the Kozjak mountain region in the Republic of Croatia.

Review: The Old Spanish Trail Auto Highway Archive and Map

Review: The Old Spanish Trail Auto Highway Archive and Map

Geology of Hin Chang Si Sandstone Geoheritage in Khon Kaen Province for Geotourism Planning of Northeastern Thailand

One of the most distinguished sandstone geoheritage resources in the Khorat Plateau is Hin Chang Si located in the Nam Phong National Park, Khon Kaen Province. The clastic sedimentary rocks of the Phra Wihan Formation of the Khorat Group covered this area. As a result of the lithologic study, the Hin Chang Si consists of pebbly sandstone, moderately sorted medium- to coarse-grained sandstone, and a small amount of siltstone interbedded with laminated shale. The characteristics (colors, cementation, and degrees of weathering) divided sandstones into two groups, including white grain-supported sandstone with silica cement and matrix-supported sandstone with Fe-rich cement. In addition, these sandstones present primary sedimentary structures, which comprise tabular cross-bedding and normal grading as well as bioturbation. Hin Chang Si demonstrates many geomorphological features, including cliffs, potholes, rock pillars, polygonal cracks, caves, tafoni, runnels, and natural arches according to inventory. The weathering and degradation processes in humid tropical conditions are the main processes that caused these geomorphological features. Whereas many primary factors affected various types of morphology that are composed of joints, folds, and faults. The national park provides the natural trail map, tourism information, and biodiversity data to visitors; however, geological information about sandstone landforms should be actualized for geotourism development.

Bird diversity analysis in the lower mountain forest of mount Bulusaraung to support ecotourism’s activities in Bantimurung Bulusaraung National Park

Lower mountain forest in the complex of Mount Bulusaraung Bantimurung Bulusaraung National Park, is a one of bird’s habitat in the South Sulawesi. This area is a tourist destination, especially mountain climbing activities. Thus, it is necessary to know the diversity of animals, especially birds on this hiking trail, so that the information can be used to support ecotourism activities. This study aims to analyze the diversity of bird species in the complex of Bulusaraung Mountain, Bantimurung Bulusaraung National Park in order to support ecotourism activities. This research was conducted from April to June 2018. Data was collected using the line transect method on three lines, namely the Balleanging, Kattokaddaro and Tompobulu lines. The second and third paths are hiking trails, while the rest are trails leading to community agricultural areas. The geographical position of the transect line was recorded using GPS. The GIS method was used to generate a bird watching trail map. Data analysis was carried out to calculate the individual density and frequency of bird presence. In addition, the species diversity indices, species evenness indices, and species richness indices were also calculated. The results showed that there were 44 species of birds found in the study area, which were 16 species in the Balleanging line, 27 species in the Kattokaddaro line and 37 species in the Tompobulu line. The highest bird species diversity indices value was found on the Tompobulu line (H' = 2.93), while on the Kattokaddaro line it was H' = 2.73 and the Balleanging H' = 2.55. The results of this study will support the management strategy in Bantimurung Bulusaraung National Park in order to harmonize the conservation of biological resources through ecotourism activities that involve local communities to increase their economic income.

GIS in the jungle: Experiential Environmental Education (EEE) in Panama.

A University of Redlands travel course to Panama builds on Monty Hempel’s legacy in environmental studies, Experiential Environmental Education, and geographic information systems (GIS) instruction at the University of Redlands. It follows his experience developing social relationships in Panama, and nearly 20 years leading an EEE travel course to Palau. This Panama course, nicknamed “GIS in the Jungle,” tasks students with activities such as trail mapping, gathering original data with unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), landcover mapping of pastures and forests, and visualizing the distribution of above-ground forest carbon content. These GIS activities help students construct an understanding of rainforest conservation that integrates their experiences living, hiking, and collecting original data in that environment. UAV and GIS also provided a platform for interacting with indigenous peoples struggling to defend their rainforest territory from colonist deforestation. As Monty Hempel observed about this course, students use GIS and UAV to integrate their direct experience with ground-level fieldwork in the rainforest with a birds-eye view of the interlocking ecosystems and human impacts. Combined with direct rainforest experiences, GIS projects help students develop an understanding of nature’s interlocking systems and the interdependence of life on Earth.

Randomized Informational Intervention and Adult Park Use and Park-Based Physical Activity in Low-Income, Racially Diverse Urban Neighborhoods.

Neighborhood parks are important locations to encourage and stimulate physical activity (PA) among the urban population. This study aims to evaluate the impact of an informational intervention on adult park use and PA behaviors in 3 low-income, racially diverse urban neighborhoods in Minneapolis, MN. The study employed a household-level randomized controlled trial and collected baseline and follow-up data from 171 participants. Within each neighborhood, participants were randomized to an informational intervention or to a no-intervention comparison. Intervention households received monthly, neighborhood-specific newsletters about park-based PA opportunities, park program brochures, trail maps, and activity guides. The average treatment effect of the newsletter intervention was positive yet moderated by respondent age. For a 20-year-old resident, treatment was associated with 0.97 (P < .05) additional park visits and 31.24 (P < .05) additional minutes of park-based PA over a 3-day recall period. For 40-year-old respondents, these positive effects are smaller at 0.36 (P < .05) additional visits and 4.66 (P < .05) additional minutes, respectively. An intervention to increase awareness about park-based PA opportunities and benefits increased self-reported park visits and in-park PA among adults who lived in low-income, racially diverse neighborhoods.

The Cultural and Historical Trail Map of Peranakan Heritage in the Andaman Provincial Cluster in Thailand

This study explored the trace of Peranakan heritage in the Andaman provincial cluster and presented the Cultural and Historical Trail Map of Peranakan heritage in Andaman provincial cluster. The concept of development communication objectives was used to create a research framework. Research results in the "complement" phase showed 117 traces of Peranakan heritage in the Andaman provincial cluster. As for the "facilitate" phase, 83 sites were qualified. An analysis of the relationship of qualified sites with Peranakan culture revealed five significant connections between each location and culture: 1) Peranakan ancestral monument, 2) Peranakan shrine, 3) Sino-European architectural building, 4) Peranakan residential areas, and 5) Peranakan cultural and historical learning center. Upon completion of the last phase, "extend," 6 tourist maps were created to display 8 cultural sites in Ranong province, 15 sites in Phang Nga province, 33 sites in Phuket province, 8 sites in Krabi province, 14 sites in Trang province, and 4 sites in Satun province, respectively. This study, thus, has produced a visual map in each province which is a catalytic communication tool to promote tourism development at the regional level and national level.

Conversations on education, time and the planetary

ABSTRACT The materiality of violence within our biosphere is a complex mix of glaringly painful, ameliorable possibilities on multiple scales, and this is a dialogic reflection and a topographical trail map that suggests that we can nourish ourselves and each other in ways that contribute to anti-oppressive realities. In particular, by engaging with the dimensions of time, space, and collective undoing of institutional hierarchies and linear models of thinking and building, we follow a pathway toward dismantling violence and (re)building collective education for more just worlds. Further, we recognize education as an ecosystem that is intimately related to environmental justice, and we argue that sustainable reimaginings of both are similarly reliant on intricate mappings of the relationships between time, collective and individual histories, and each other.

Mapping time-distance

Abstract. Traditional maps are often direct visualizations of the Euclidean distances in space. As the concepts of time and distance are intrinsically intertwined in the human cognitive systems for environmental perception, the mapping of a unity of time and distance is thus either intuitive or convenient in many occasions. This paper presents three examples to demonstrate the value of visualizing time-distance instead of the physical Euclidean distance in contemporary mapping. The first example maps travel time as perceived distance in an urban environment. Visualizations of the time-space reflecting modern high-speed travel behaviours make it convenient to detect patterns and identify anomalies that matter for the functions in such space. The second example concerns trail mapping in a remote rainforest, where hand-drawn maps reflecting travel effort are more desirable than accurate GIS maps for local navigation and trail hiking purposes. The last example shows that traditional maps are ineffective in communicating hurricane flooding risks since the conventional spatial model based on surficial distance does not reflect non-surficial spatiotemporal dynamics for realistic representations of the risk space. While the Euclidean distance on the physical earth surface is what traditional maps chart and what our modern spatial thinking has been accustomed to, these examples show that such distance is limited in portraying many aspects of our perceived and experienced dynamic distances that affect our living. The adoption of spatial representations such as time-distance maps breaks the mental set accustomed to the traditional distance maps and is worth considering in many occasions.

Exploring linear projections for revealing clusters, outliers, and trends in subsets of multi-dimensional datasets

Identifying patterns in 2D linear projections is important in understanding multi-dimensional datasets. However, local patterns, which are composed of partial data points, are usually obscured by noises and missed in traditional quality measure approaches that measure the whole dataset. In this paper, we propose an interactive interface to explore 2D linear projections with visual patterns on subsets. First, we propose a voting-based algorithm to recommend optimal projection, in which the identified pattern looks the most salient. Specifically, we propose three kinds of point-wise quality metrics of 2D linear projections for outliers, clusterings, and trends, respectively. For each sampled projection, we measure its importance by accumulating the metrics of selected points. The projection with the highest importance is recommended. Second, we design an exploring interface with a scatterplot, a projection trail map, and a control panel. Our interface allows users to explore projections by specifying interested data subsets. At last, we employ three datasets and demonstrate the effectiveness of our approach through three case studies of exploring clusters, outliers, and trends.

Beer-trail maps and the growth of experiential tourism

A well-designed map can influence tourists’ activities, yet tourist maps and their designs remain under-examined in the cartographic literature. Today, many Americans are traveling to indulge in new food and drink experiences, which can potentially increase revenues in other related tourist amenities. Specifically, travel to craft breweries is increasing, and tourism agencies throughout North America promote beer trails. This study identified 100 beer trails promoted by official tourism agencies, inventoried how many of those trails’ marketing materials included a map, and evaluated those maps using Quantitative Content Analysis (QCA) for common design elements. The overall goal of the project was to determine if the maps featured only the breweries or if they promoted visiting additional experiential activities that contributed to the creation of a sense of place, and that in turn, may provide potential benefits to the travel destination. The results found that tourism agencies aggressively advertise local breweries, but the maps developed for beer trails significantly underutilize effective cartographic principles and do not promote other regional activities. Most trail maps were made with Google Maps, an effective tool for navigation, but one that often produced unbalanced layouts and did not use symbology to effectively emphasize tourist activities. Additionally, Google Maps tends to suggest travel on main roads or highways rather than smaller back roads that are more likely to host additional local activities. A limited number of maps were artistically designed to focus the viewer’s attention on the regional landscape and other available activities, but were designed in a highly generalized, cartoon-like style. Only two agencies mapped breweries along with suggested routes and additional activities using symbols, colors, fonts, and pictures appropriate for the age demographic of their market audience.

The Subspace Voyager: Exploring High-Dimensional Data along a Continuum of Salient 3D Subspaces.

Analyzing high-dimensional data and finding hidden patterns is a difficult problem and has attracted numerous research efforts. Automated methods can be useful to some extent but bringing the data analyst into the loop via interactive visual tools can help the discovery process tremendously. An inherent problem in this effort is that humans lack the mental capacity to truly understand spaces exceeding three spatial dimensions. To keep within this limitation, we describe a framework that decomposes a high-dimensional data space into a continuum of generalized 3D subspaces. Analysts can then explore these 3D subspaces individually via the familiar trackball interface while using additional facilities to smoothly transition to adjacent subspaces for expanded space comprehension. Since the number of such subspaces suffers from combinatorial explosion, we provide a set of data-driven subspace selection and navigation tools which can guide users to interesting subspaces and views. A subspace trail map allows users to manage the explored subspaces, keep their bearings, and return to interesting subspaces and views. Both trackball and trail map are each embedded into a word cloud of attribute labels which aid in navigation. We demonstrate our system via several use cases in a diverse set of application areas-cluster analysis and refinement, information discovery, and supervised training of classifiers. We also report on a user study that evaluates the usability of the various interactions our system provides.

Ecology: A trail map for trait-based studies.

Global assessments of variation in plant functional traits and the way that these traits influence competitive interactions provide a launching pad for future ecological studies. See Article p.167 & Letter p.204 Within the possible variety of forms that organisms can take, only a few will prove evolutionarily successful. Sandra Diaz et al. analyse a comprehensive database mapping worldwide variation in six traits critical to growth, survival and reproduction of vascular plants, and arrive at a detailed quantitative global picture of plant functional diversity. Despite enormous possible variation, the authors find that coordination among traits means that all plants can be positioned along just two axes of variation: one corresponds to overall plant form and the other is the previously characterized leaf economics spectrum. Also in this issue of Nature, Georges Kunstler et al., in a study of data from millions of trees worldwide, show that functional traits consistently predict the competitive interactions between tree species. The properties of plants affect their physiology in predictable and consistent ways, but it is not clear if this can be extended to effects on ecological competitiveness. Georges Kunstler et al. assemble data from three million trees, 140,000 forest growth plots, and many vegetation types worldwide to show that certain key traits affect competitive ability in predictable ways, and that there are trade-offs between traits that favour growth with, and without, competition. Elsewhere in this issue of Nature, Sandra Diaz et al. analyse a comprehensive database mapping worldwide variation in six traits critical to growth, survival and reproduction of vascular plants and arrive at a detailed quantitative global picture of plant functional diversity.

Foraging in highly dynamic environments: leaf‐cutting ants adjust foraging trail networks to pioneer plant availability

AbstractMajor shifts in the availability of palatable plant resources are of key relevance to the ecology of leaf‐cutting ants in human‐modified landscapes. However, our knowledge is still limited regarding the ability of these ants to adjust their foraging strategy to dynamic environments. Here, we examine a set of forest stand attributes acting as modulating forces for the spatiotemporal architecture of foraging trail networks developed by Atta cephalotes L. (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Attini). During a 12‐month period, we mapped the foraging systems of 12 colonies located in Atlantic forest patches with differing size, regeneration age, and abundance of pioneer plants, and examined the variation in five trail system attributes (number of trails, branching points, leaf sources, linear foraging distance, and trail complexity) in response to these patch‐related variables. Both the month‐to‐month differences (depicted in annual trail maps) and the steadily accumulating number of trails, trail‐branching points, leaf sources, and linear foraging distance illustrated the dynamic nature of spatial foraging and trail complexity. Most measures of trail architecture correlated positively with the number of pioneer trees across the secondary forest patches, but no effects from patch age and size were observed (except for number of leaf sources). Trail system complexity (measured as fractal dimension; Df index) varied from 1.114 to 1.277 along the 12 months through which ant foraging was monitored, with a marginal trend to increase with the abundance of pioneer stems. Our results suggest that some leaf‐cutting ant species are able to generate highly flexible trail networks (via fine‐tuned adjustment of foraging patterns), allowing them to profit from the continuous emergence/recruitment of palatable resources.

Trails to the whale: reflections of change and choice on an Iñupiat icescape at Barrow, Alaska

Shorefast ice, present along Alaska's Arctic coastline from late fall through early summer, provides a platform for subsistence hunting by coastal indigenous communities. At Barrow, Alaska, Iñupiat hunters build trails each spring across the shorefast ice to connect the community to the adjacent lead where they hunt migrating bowhead whales. Building on efforts initiated by Alaska's North Slope Borough and in collaboration with the Barrow Whaling Captains Association, a systematic ice trail mapping and surveying project was developed in spring 2008. Using electromagnetic induction sounding, ice thickness surveys were completed along trails just prior to whaling. Semi-directed interviews with hunters addressed the impact of ice conditions on the hunt, choice of trail and hunting locations, and safety concerns. Four years of results (2008–2011) have shown that (1) tracking of local ice conditions along ice trails reveals the interannual variability of the shorefast ice thickness distribution, (2) documenting trail building and hunting strategies provides a baseline for how the community copes with variability, and (3) developing information resources for the community facilitates interaction with hunters and maintains project relevance to environmental challenges facing the community.