Layers in ArcGIS

[Emily James]

Hello everyone,

We are beginning to collect points for our plants. We are using ArcGIS and debating how we should create layers and attributes. 

- Should the layers be by family, genus, or type (Conifer, trees, shrubs, etc.)

- Do you use points for all collections or polygons? 

- We will be uploading points to IrisBG so any tips on this would be appreciated too.  

I would love to hear what has and hasn't worked for other gardens. Any user guides for building layers and attributes needed would be wonderful too. 

Thanks- Emily James

The State Botanical Garden of Georgia

eej...@uga.edu

[Nick Kreevich]

Hi Emily,

I'm not sure what your background is in GIS, but I highly recommend checking out the GIS data model for public gardens that was created by Brian Morgan at UC Davis back in 2007. It appears the project is no longer being updated, however you can still download the model here: 
https://publicgardensgis.ucdavis.edu/downloads/data-model/register

The download is an XML workspace that needs to be imported into a geodatabase. Once this is done, you can add the layers from the model to your map. It appears to be a rather complex geodatabase with multiple relationships, however, it may give you a starting point. Here are instructions on how to access an XML file in ArcGIS: https://desktop.arcgis.com/en/arcmap/latest/manage-data/geodatabases/importing-a-geodataase-schema-from-an-xml-workspace-document.htm

Also, here is a link to a publication regarding the model:

https://www.publicgardens.org/resource/gis-data-model-public-gardens/

[Katrina Lewin]

Hi Emily,

I am not a GIS expert by any means but have learned a lot in my 5 years as plant records coordinator.  

-You do not necessarily need separate layers, instead you can have fields in the data of your layer for anything you would want to filter on.  For me I'm often filtering by collection or planting year, but the options are endless.  

-  for simplicity I use points for all of our plants, for bigger patches I just pick a central spot.  We are working on creating polygons for collections but for now we can color code all of our points by collection name so it is relatively easy to see at a glance the rough boundaries (see screenshot below)

- We use Brahms for our database and simply upload lat/long values into it from an excel file (exported from ArcGIS),  I imagine there is similar functionality in IrisBG

Hope this is helpful,

Katrina Lewin

The Morton Arboretum

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[Brian Morgan]

All,

An updated version of the information model and documentation are available via the link below. I am currently working on other projects, but public gardens are my love. Please let me know if there is anything I can do to help.

Landscape Information Model - Cartezan

Landscape Information Model - Cartezan The Landscape Information Model is a free and open-source geodatabase model designed to help you collect, catalog, track, manage, analyze and share geographic information for any managed landscape throughout your organization and with the public.. It is the latest version of the standard formerly known as the ArcGIS Public Garden Data Model (version 1.0) and the ArcGIS Parks and Gardens ... cartezan.com

Brian Morgan

Founder

Cartezan

PO Box 4549

Incline Village, NV 89450-4549

+1 (775) 335-6596

cartezan.com

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From: 'Nick Kreevich' via Plant Mapping Meetup <plant-mapp...@googlegroups.com>
Sent: Tuesday, February 18, 2025 7:22 AM
To: Plant Mapping Meetup <plant-mapp...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: [PMMGroup] Re: Layers in ArcGIS

 

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[Nick Kreevich]

Thanks, Brian! I very much appreciate the effort and time that went into creating this model and providing it to the public garden community as open-source.