GIS Mapping
the Future of Ag and Environmental Sciences
Understanding our changing landscapes is essential to protecting natural resources and building more resilient communities. At Cal Poly's Geospatial Systems Lab, students and faculty use advanced mapping technologies to study complex ecosystems and develop solutions to real-world agricultural and environmental challenges.
The interdisciplinary lab uses aerial LiDAR (eye-safe, vegetation-penetrating laser scans), imagery and precision surveying equipment to create detailed three-dimensional models of forests, rangelands and watersheds.
These technologies are helping students and faculty researchers reconstruct complex plant communities in detail, explore methods for quantifying variations in wildland fire fuels, identify hazards, like potential flooding risks from accumulating sediment or debris in riparian areas, and track the progress of plant diseases in agricultural crops. Development of these kinds of information products, updated on a timely basis, can provide valuable information for land and resource managers.
Through Cal Poly's Learn by Doing approach, students from academic disciplines spanning every college on campus work alongside faculty to plan missions, operate and maintain specialized equipment, collect, process, and analyze data from multiple sensor sources and turn their findings into useful information products and practical applications.
From agricultural management to wildfire mitigation to ecosystem monitoring, the Geospatial Systems Research Lab gives students hands-on experience with emerging technologies that are transforming how we understand and manage the natural world.
Research Across the Landscape
The Geospatial Systems Lab brings advanced mapping, remote sensing and data analysis together to investigate challenges across natural and agricultural systems that aren't always visible from the ground. From wildfire risk and ecosystem health to water management and crop production, researchers turn complex spatial data into actionable insights.
Wildfire Research and Mitigation
Use high-resolution LiDAR fused with spectral information (imagery) to map wildland fuels by their densities, structure and combustibility to improve fire preparedness and landscape management.
Ecosystem and Landscape Monitoring
Explore how geospatial technologies reveal changes in forests, rangelands and vegetation over time, helping researchers better understand ecosystem health and natural resource conditions.
Watershed and Flood Management
Apply precision mapping and terrain modeling to study watersheds, identify potential drainage obstructions and support better planning and management of water resources.
Crop Management
Develop and refine methods of detecting stresses in crops earlier (irrigation failures, disease, etc.), and adapt them for practical use by farm managers and certified crop advisers (CCAs).
Be Part of the Research
Interested in more and want to be part of the lab? Contact Marc Horney for more information.