GIS at Mpala Research Centre

Geographic Information Systems (GIS) help to reveal patterns and analyze processes that define and characterize the dynamics of natural resources in spatially explicit ways. A principal objective of GIS at MRC is to provide decision support for management of natural resources. To these ends MRC operates a GIS lab equipped with two high-performance desktop computers running ArcGIS 9.2, ArcView 3.2 and Erdas 8.7. Other equipment includes a Calcomp Db III digitizing board, A3 flatbed color scanner, IPAQ Pocket PC’s running ArcPad 6 and Pharos GPS units, Garmin 45 GPS units, Garmin GPSMap76, and A3 printers.

GIS databases have been established at MRC on two scales:

• The Ewaso Ecosystem (25,000 km²), of which Mpala is located at the core. The area is operationally defined by the geographic extents of two important processes that are unlikely to perpetuate themselves unaided: dry season river flow, and elephant migration. To date, the main focus of data collection and resource management has been on Laikipia District, an area defined by administrative boundaries in the upper, wetter, sector of the ecosystem. This database includes remotely-sensed images, scanned maps and aerial photographs, vector data, as well as a variety of attribute data. The database covers the following themes; climatic, hydrographic, infrastructure, land cover, political-administrative, topographic, cultivation, livestock, and wildlife. We maintain standardized database documentation, following GSDI recommendations. Mpala Research Centre welcomes proposals from scientists interested in collaborative and mutually beneficial research that would both use and add to the spatial database. Data can be accessed via a formal collaborative agreement (contact the Director at mkinnaird@mpala.org).
• The Mpala Conservancy (19,465 ha), defined by the boundary of the Mpala property. This database is intended to support research at MRC, and also to provide a spatial and temporal record of research projects, study sites, and results. MRC encourages researchers to deposit such data in the database, for the benefit of future research.