The Use of General Land Office Records and Geographical Information Systems for Restoration of Native Prairie Patches in the Jackson Prairie Region in Mississippi
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Mississippi State University Scholars Junction Theses and Dissertations Theses and Dissertations 1-1-2010 The Use Of General Land Office Records And Geographical Information Systems For Restoration Of Native Prairie Patches In The Jackson Prairie Region In Mississippi Michael Tobit Gray Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarsjunction.msstate.edu/td Recommended Citation Gray, Michael Tobit, "The Use Of General Land Office Records And Geographical Information Systems For Restoration Of Native Prairie Patches In The Jackson Prairie Region In Mississippi" (2010). Theses and Dissertations. 4685. https://scholarsjunction.msstate.edu/td/4685 This Graduate Thesis - Open Access is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses and Dissertations at Scholars Junction. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Scholars Junction. For more information, please contact [email protected]. THE USE OF GENERAL LAND OFFICE RECORDS AND GEOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION SYSTEMS FOR RESTORATION OF NATIVE PRAIRIE PATCHES IN THE JACKSON PRAIRIE REGION IN MISSISSIPPI By Michael Tobit Gray A Master’s Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of Mississippi State University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master in Landscape Architecture in the Department of Landscape Architecture Mississippi State, Mississippi December 2010 Copywright by Michael Tobit Gray 2010 THE USE OF GENERAL LAND OFFICE RECORDS AND GEOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION SYSTEMS FOR RESTORATION OF NATIVE PRAIRIE PATCHES IN THE JACKSON PRAIRIE REGION IN MISSISSIPPI By Michael Tobit Gray Approved: Timothy J. Schauwecker Robert F. Brzuszek Assistant Professor of Landscape Associate Professor of Landscape Architecture Architecture (Director of Thesis) (Committee Member) William Cooke G. Wayne Wilkerson Associate Professor of Geosciences Associate Professor of Landscape (Committee Member) Architecture Graduate Coordinator in the Department of Landscape Architecture George M. Hopper Interim Dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Name: Michael Tobit Gray Date of Degree: December 10, 2010 Institution: Mississippi State University Major Field: Landscape Architecture Major Professor: Dr. Timothy J. Schauwecker Title of Study: THE USE OF GENERAL LAND OFFICE RECORDS AND GEOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION SYSTEMS FOR RESTORATION OF NATIVE PRAIRIE PATCHES IN THE JACKSON PRAIRIE REGION IN MISSISSIPPI Pages in Study: 170 Candidate for Degree of Master of Landscape Architecture The Jackson Prairie Region represents a rare, poorly understood and threatened ecosystem. A review of the literature concerning the ecology, physiography and geology of the Region was undertaken, along with a search of General Land Office (GLO) records for locations of historic prairie patches. The prairie patch location data was transcribed, digitized and inserted as a base map in a Geographical Information System (GIS). A set of current, local conditions indicating suitability for conservation or restoration, along with importance weights for each condition, was derived from stakeholder input. A simple additive weighting technique was used to rank the locations in terms of suitability for conservation or restoration. Historic patch locations were visited and the presence of prairie indicator species noted. The use of GLO records and GIS in this way improves the ability of landscape architects to enhance and preserve an imperiled habitat as they design across multiple scales. Key words: General Land Office records, Geographical Information Systems, Jackson Prairie Region DEDICATION I dedicate this to my truest and dearest friend, my wife, Sally Hatch Gray. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The author wishes to express his sincere gratitude to many people helped this thesis to become reality. Dr. Timothy J. Schauwecker brought the project to me and gave me invaluable guidance in the conception and direction that it could take. His comments during the writing phase were concise and extremely constructive. Professor Robert F. Brzuszek taught me a great deal about natural systems and prairies in particular and I hope to continue learning from him throughout my life. Dr. William Cooke, a born teacher, fired my imagination regarding Geographical Information Systems and the fundamental issues surrounding spatial data. Kate Grala was enormously helpful, not only in the automation of the line-generation process, but particularly as a friendly guide to the perplexing intricacies of GIS software operations. Taylor Dearman helped me a great deal with reading scanned manuscripts of the surveys and identifying the useful ones. The people affiliated with the Nature Conservancy of Mississippi, especially Stacey Shankle, conservation director, Heather Sullivan, Mississippi Natural Heritage Program botanist, and Ken Gordon, U. S. Forest Service botanist, gave me numerous hints, tips, ideas and words of encouragement along the way. I would like especially to thank the anonymous TNC donor who funded the research. Above all I want to thank my wife, Sally, for her patience and understanding. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS DEDICATION.................................................................................................................... ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS............................................................................................... iii LIST OF TABLES............................................................................................................ vii LIST OF FIGURES ......................................................................................................... viii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ........................................................................................... xii CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................1 1.1. Purpose of Study...............................................................................................1 1.2. Objectives of Study...........................................................................................1 II. LITERATURE REVIEW ........................................................................................3 2.1. The Genesis of the Prairie Habitat in North America .......................................3 2.2. Blackland Prairies .............................................................................................9 2.3. The Jackson Prairie Region ............................................................................10 2.3.1. Geology and Soils of The Jackson Prairie Region.................................11 2.3.2. Vegetation of the Jackson Prairie Region..............................................13 2.3.3. Areal Extent of the Jackson Prairie Region ...........................................16 2.3.3.1. Introduction...................................................................................16 2.3.3.2. Harper and Hilgard .......................................................................18 2.3.3.3. Lowe and Fenneman .....................................................................19 2.3.3.4. Geologic Map of Mississippi........................................................22 2.3.3.5. Edwards and Merril et al...............................................................25 2.3.3.6. Hodgkins et al. and Chapman et al. ..............................................28 2.3.3.7. MARIS..........................................................................................37 2.3.3.8. The Mississippi Comprehensive Wildlife Conservation Strategy.........................................................................................37 2.4. General Land Office (GLO) Records .............................................................39 2.4.1. Historical Background ...........................................................................39 iv 2.4.2. The Use of GLO Records in Research...................................................42 2.4.2.1. Introductions .................................................................................42 2.4.2.2. Barone...........................................................................................44 2.5. Suitability Maps..............................................................................................48 2.5.1. McHarg ..................................................................................................49 2.5.2. Hopkins..................................................................................................51 2.5.3. Carr and Zwick ......................................................................................54 2.5.4. Malczewski ............................................................................................58 III. METHODS ............................................................................................................60 3.1. Format of Surveys Used for This Study .........................................................60 3.2. Establishing the Study Area............................................................................61 3.3. Transcribing the Data......................................................................................63 3.4. Inserting the GLO Data into a GIS .................................................................66 3.5. Establishing Criteria for Suitability ................................................................68 3.5.1. Selecting the Datasets ............................................................................69