Have you ever wanted to create your own maps, or integrate and visualize spatial datasets to examine changes in trends between locations and over time? Follow along with these training tutorials on QGIS, an open source geographic information system (GIS) and learn key concepts, procedures and skills for performing common GIS tasks – such as creating maps, as well as joining, overlaying and visualizing spatial datasets. These tutorials are geared towards new GIS users. We’ll start with foundational concepts, and build towards more advanced topics throughout – demonstrating how with a few relatively easy steps you can get quite a lot out of GIS. You can then extend these skills to datasets of thematic relevance to you in addressing tasks faced in your day-to-day work.

In this course, you will explore a variety of open-source technologies for working with geosptial data, performing spatial analysis, and undertaking general data science. The first component of the class focuses on the use of QGIS and associated technologies (GDAL, PROJ, GRASS, SAGA, and Orfeo Toolbox). The second component of the class introduces Python and associated open-source libraries and modules (NumPy, Pandas, Matplotlib, Seaborn, GeoPandas, Rasterio, WhiteboxTools, and Scikit-Learn) used by geospatial scientists and data scientists. We also provide an introduction to Structured Query Language (SQL) for performing table and spatial queries. This course is designed for individuals that have a background in GIS, such as working in the ArcGIS environment, but no prior experience using open-source software and/or coding. You will be asked to work through a series of lecture modules and videos broken into several topic areas, as outlined below. Fourteen assignments and the required data have been provided as hands-on opportunites to work with data and the discussed technologies and methods. If you have any questions or suggestions, feel free to contact us. We hope to continue to update and improve this course. This course was produced by West Virginia View (http://www.wvview.org/) with support from AmericaView (https://americaview.org/). This material is based upon work supported by the U.S. Geological Survey under Grant/Cooperative Agreement No. G18AP00077. The views and conclusions contained in this document are those of the authors and should not be interpreted as representing the opinions or policies of the U.S. Geological Survey. Mention of trade names or commercial products does not constitute their endorsement by the U.S. Geological Survey. After completing this course you will be able to: apply QGIS to visualize, query, and analyze vector and raster spatial data. use available resources to further expand your knowledge of open-source technologies. describe and use a variety of open data formats. code in Python at an intermediate-level. read, summarize, visualize, and analyze data using open Python libraries. create spatial predictive models using Python and associated libraries. use SQL to perform table and spatial queries at an intermediate-level.

Dataset contains training material on using open source Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to improve protected area planning and management from a workshop that was conducted on October 19-23, 2020. Specifically, the dataset contains lectures on GIS fundamentals, QGIS 3.x, and global positioning system (GPS), as well as country-specific datasets and a workbook containing exercises for viewing data, editing/creating datasets, and creating map products in QGIS. Supplemental videos that narrate a step-by-step recap and overview of these processes are found in the Related Content section of this dataset.

Funding for this workshop and material was funded by the Biodiversity and Protected Areas Management (BIOPAMA) programme. The BIOPAMA programme is an initiative of the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Group of States financed by the European Union's 11th European Development Fund. BIOPAMA is jointly implemented by the International Union for Conservation of Nature {IUCN) and the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission (EC-JRC). In the Pacific region, BIOPAMA is implemented by IUCN's Oceania Regional Office (IUCN ORO) in partnership with the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP). The overall objective of the BIOPAMA programme is to contribute to improving the long-term conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity and natural resources in the Pacific ACP region in protected areas and surrounding communities through better use and monitoring of information and capacity development on management and governance.

Dataset contains training material on using open source Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to improve protected area planning and management from workshops that were conducted on February 19-21 and October 6-7, 2020. Specifically, the dataset contains lectures on GIS fundamentals, QGIS 3.x, and global positioning system (GPS), as well as country-specific datasets and a workbook containing exercises for viewing data, editing/creating datasets, and creating map products in QGIS. Supplemental videos that narrate a step-by-step recap and overview of these processes are found in the Related Content section of this dataset.

Funding for this workshop and material was funded by the Biodiversity and Protected Areas Management (BIOPAMA) programme. The BIOPAMA programme is an initiative of the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Group of States financed by the European Union's 11th European Development Fund. BIOPAMA is jointly implemented by the International Union for Conservation of Nature {IUCN) and the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission (EC-JRC). In the Pacific region, BIOPAMA is implemented by IUCN's Oceania Regional Office (IUCN ORO) in partnership with the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP). The overall objective of the BIOPAMA programme is to contribute to improving the long-term conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity and natural resources in the Pacific ACP region in protected areas and surrounding communities through better use and monitoring of information and capacity development on management and governance.

Three months after the workshop, participants were surveyed to assess what workshop-related knowledge and materials were being used and disseminated to others. This document summarized data collected in this particular survey.

Dataset contains training material on using open source Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to improve protected area planning and management from a workshop that was conducted on August 17-21, 2020. Specifically, the dataset contains lectures on GIS fundamentals, QGIS 3.x, and global positioning system (GPS), as well as country-specific datasets and a workbook containing exercises for viewing data, editing/creating datasets, and creating map products in QGIS. Supplemental videos that narrate a step-by-step recap and overview of these processes are found in the Related Content section of this dataset.

Funding for this workshop and material was funded by the Biodiversity and Protected Areas Management (BIOPAMA) programme. The BIOPAMA programme is an initiative of the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Group of States financed by the European Union's 11th European Development Fund. BIOPAMA is jointly implemented by the International Union for Conservation of Nature {IUCN) and the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission (EC-JRC). In the Pacific region, BIOPAMA is implemented by IUCN's Oceania Regional Office (IUCN ORO) in partnership with the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP). The overall objective of the BIOPAMA programme is to contribute to improving the long-term conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity and natural resources in the Pacific ACP region in protected areas and surrounding communities through better use and monitoring of information and capacity development on management and governance.

This archive contains:

├── classification_dpt64_16_classes.tif : the 16 classes land cover map

├── classification_dpt64_16_classes_confusion_matrix.png : the confusion matrix. Have a look at it, it is performed on a different dataset than the one used for training the classifier.

├── classification_dpt64_21_classes.tif : the 21 classes land cover map including post-treatments (https://framagit.org/Schwaab/projet_predateurs64/-/blob/main/scripts/ClassificationPostProcess.py)

├── colorFile.txt : color file for symbology

├── configfile_iota2.cfg : iota2 configuration file (in case you are already using iota2. If not, what are you waiting for ?)

├── document_methodologique.pdf : technical report (french) for the classification

├── nomenclature.txt : nomenclature file

├── reference_data_2018.shp : the training and validation data set in its 2018 version (for crops)

├── reference_data_2019.shp : the training and validation data set in its 2019 version (for crops)

├── reference_photo_interpretation.shp : the part of the training and validation data set that has been photo interpreted with a field giving the potential species or combinations of associated vegetation

├── reference_tree_nomenclature.png : a visual about the reference data

├── stratification_3_zones.shp : the stratification layer that has helped improve classification results. It is based on landscape entities (https://data.le64.fr/explore/dataset/entite-paysagere/)

├── style_16_classes.qml : the Qgis style layer 16 classes

└── style_21_classes.qml : the Qgis style layer 21 classes

Description:

The land cover map of the French department Pyrénées-Atlantiques (64) is based on Sentinel-2 (L2A level) satellite images performed with Iota² chain (https://framagit.org/iota2-project/iota2/). The algorithm used is Random Forest. The time series used ranges from 2017 to 2018.

During the development phase of this classification, the collection of additional training data on the photo-interpreted classes 'landes basses' (low heath shrublands), 'landes hautes' (high heath shrublands) and 'landes hautes avec arbres' (high heath shrublands with young-growth forest) has led to a remarkable increase of the number of pixels of these classes and with it the visual quality of the map. However, this increase has been linked with only minor to almost no significant improvement of the F-scores on these classes. Some are still massively confused with other land covers like grasslands and broadleaf mature forests. Especially the mixed class 'landes hautes avec arbres' (high heath shrublands with young-growth forest).

We take it as a limit of the reference data that is built from divers data sources and would always beneficiate from more training samples of shrubby classes and a better precision of the class 'forêt de feuillus' (broadleaf mature forests). But this could also show the limit of pixel-oriented classifications for mixed/textured classes (classes with high intra-class heterogeneity). Experimentations using a contextual method – the Auto-context method now being included in Iota2 thanks to Dawa Derksen and Iota2 developers (http://lannister.ups-tlse.fr/oso/donneeswww_TheiaOSO/iota2_documentation/develop/autoContext.html) – has unfortunately not been conclusive on that matter yet.

These data sets include yearly maps of land cover classification for the state of Mato Grosso, Brazil, from 2001 (2000-09-01 to 2001-08-31) to 2017 (2016-09-01 to 2017-08-31), based on MODIS image time series (collection 6) at 250-meter spatial resolution (product MOD13Q1). Ground samples consisting of 1,892 time series with known labels are used as training data for a support vector machine classifier. We used the radial basis function kernel, with cost C=1 and gamma = 0.01086957. The classes include natural and human-transformed land areas, discriminating among different agricultural crops in state of land cover change maps for Mato Grosso State in Brazil. The results provide spatially explicit estimates of productivity increases in agriculture as well as the trade-offs between crop and pasture expansion. --- The correlation coefficients between the agricultural areas classified by our method and the estimates by IBGE (Brazil's Census Bureau) for the harvests from 2001 to 2017, were equal to 0.98. At the state level the soybean, cotton, corn and sunflower areas had a correlation equal 0.97, 0.85, 0.98 and 0.80. --- The areas classified as forest were compared with the Hansen et al. (2013, doi:10.1126/science.1244693) mapping for the year 2000. In order to separate the forest areas, we examined the areas with more than 25% tree cover on the Hansen et al. (2013, doi:10.1126/science.1244693) map. We found that 98% of the pixels classified as forest match the pixels indicated by Hansen et al. (2013) as having more than 25% tree cover. When we joined the cerrado and forest classes, 83% of the pixels match the pixels by Hansen et al. (2013) as having more than 25% tree cover. --- The pixels labeled as pasture were compared to the pasture mapping done by Parente et al. (2017, doi:10.1016/j.jag.2017.06.003). We found that 80% of the pixels classified as forest match the pixels indicated by Parente et al. (2017, doi:10.1016/j.jag.2017.06.003) for the state of Mato Grosso. --- In the land cover change maps for Mato Grosso State in Brazil version 3, we applied a methodology to deal with trajectories in classified maps. This methodology for reasoning about land-use change trajectories, called LUC Calculus, has been discussed in previous work (Maciel et al., 2018, doi:10.1080/13658816.2018.1520235). For reducing the temporal variability, we use the entire history of the study area considered as a set of land-use trajectories (from 2001 to 2017). For reasoning about this, we adopt the reference date 2001 and we used two-step post-processing, first applying masks and rules on the initial classified map (2001) and then land-use rules using LUC Calculus for the all years (2001-2017). The first-step post-processing was performed on the initial classified map (2001). We applied the forest mask to the classified map of the year 2001. This forest mask comes from the PRODES Project (http://www.obt.inpe.br/OBT/assuntos/programas/amazonia/prodes). In the non-forest, the appearance of secondary vegetation is not mapped. An additional set of rules was applied on the initial map using two sets of maps: PRODES map of the year 2001 and Cerrado map of 2000 (http://www.obt.inpe.br/cerrado). This mask of the Cerrado biome depicts the Cerrado within two classes: Anthropized Cerrado and Non-Anthropized Cerrado. The second-step post-processing was carried on the entire years from the classified map (2001-2017) using the LUC Calculus method. First, we elaborate a set of rules defined by experts in Amazon and Cerrado biomes. These rules express information about different trajectories of land-use change in MT that represent an irregular transition between classes. The rules used was: Forest (F), Cerrado (C), Pasture (P) and Soybean (S) 1. C -> F to C -> C 2. C -> C -> P -> C to C -> C -> C -> C 3. C -> C -> S -> C to C -> C -> C -> C 4. P -> P -> C -> C -> P to P -> P -> P -> P -> P 5. F -> C -> F -> F to F -> F -> F -> F 6. F -> F -> C -> F to F -> F -> F -> F 7. F -> C -> F to F -> F -> F 8. F -> C to F -> F 9. F -> F -> P -> F to F -> F -> P -> SV 10. P -> P -> F -> P to P -> P -> SV -> P The sequential application of the rules is able to ensure the temporal consistency among classes over the years. The class changed is highlighted with "*". From rule 1 to 8 we assume the reference date, 2001, as the starting point to find the class to will be changed. Rules 9 and 10 exemplify scenery where new class secondary vegetation (SV) occurs. The trajectory methodology enables us to include a new class called 'secondary vegetation'. This class represents a significant portion of the deforestation areas that have fallen into disuse or abandoned and have regrown as secondary forest. --- The following data sets are provided: (a) The classified maps in compressed TIFF format (one per year) at MODIS resolution. (b) A QGIS style file for displaying the data in the QGIS software (c) An csv file with the training data set (1,892 ground samples). --- The software used to produce the analysis is available as open source on https://github.com/e-sensing. --- Note: The TIFF raster files use the Sinusoidal Projection, which is the same cartographical projection used by the input MODIS images. When opening the TIFF raster maps in QGIS, to ensure correct navigation please use the Sinusoidal Projection, by selecting in QGIS projection menu, the following option: "Generated CRS (+proj=sinu +lon_0=0 +x_0=0 +y_0=0 +a=6371007.181 +b=6371007.181 +units=m +no_defs)"

The dataset contains a map of the main classes of agricultural land use (dominant crop types and other land use types) in Germany for the year 2024. It complements a series of maps that are produced annually at the Thünen Institute beginning with the year 2017 on the basis of satellite data. The maps cover the entire open landscape, i.e., the agriculturally used area (UAA) and e.g., uncultivated areas. Data and methods used to create map versions v301/2 differ from those used in previous versions. The v301/2 maps were derived from a time series of Sentinel-2 and Landsat 8/9 images. Map production is based on the methods described in Pham et al. (2024). All optical satellite data were managed, pre-processed and structured in an analysis-ready data (ARD) cube using the open-source software FORCE - Framework for Operational Radiometric Correction for Environmental monitoring (Frantz, D., 2019), in which SAR and environmental data were integrated. The map extent covers all areas in Germany that are defined as agricultural land, grassland, small woody features, heathland, peatland or unvegetated areas according to ATKIS Basis-DLM (Geobasisdaten: © GeoBasis-DE / BKG, 2020). Version v301: Post-processing of the maps included a sieve filter as well as a ruleset for the reduction of non-plausible areas using the Basis-DLM and the digital terrain model of Germany (Geobasisdaten: © GeoBasis-DE / BKG, 2015). Version v302: Additional post-processing was performed to detect and mask additional non-plausible areas that were not adequately covered by the first post-processing (e.g., areas with sparse vegetation, montane forests) based on the „Ökosystematlas Deutschland“ (© Statistisches Bundesamt, Deutschland, 2024). As a consequence, the current version includes a new class “Small woody features on other land”. Furthermore, the class "permanent grassland" was refinded. Each pixel that was classified as "cultivated grassland" in at least five years (between 2017 and 2022) was translated to "permanent grassland" in the annual maps. Validation: The final maps were validated using all pixels of the publicly available IACS parcels from the federal states of Brandenburg, Lower Saxony, and North Rhine-Westphalia that were not used for model training. Classes that are underrepresented in these federal states could therefore not be adequately evaluated (e.g., hops and grapevines). We provide this dataset "as is" without any warranty regarding the accuracy or completeness and exclude all liability. The maps are available as cloud optimized GeoTiffs, which makes downloading the full dataset optional. All data can directly be accessed in QGIS, R, Python or any supported software of your choice using the URL that will be provided on request. By doing so the entire map area or only the regions of interest can be accessed. QGIS legend files for data visualization can be downloaded separately. References: Pham, V.-D., Tetteh, G., Thiel, F., Erasmi, S., Schwieder, M., Frantz, D., & van der Linden, S. (2024). Temporally transferable crop mapping with temporal encoding and deep learning augmentations. International Journal of Applied Earth Observation and Geoinformation, 129, 103867. BKG, Bundesamt für Kartographie und Geodäsie (2015). Digitales Geländemodell Gitterweite 10 m. DGM10. https://sg.geodatenzentrum.de/web_public/gdz/dokumentation/deu/dgm10.pdf (last accessed: 28. April 2022). BKG, Bundesamt für Kartographie und Geodäsie (2020). Digitales Basis-Landschaftsmodell. https://sg.geodatenzentrum.de/web_public/gdz/dokumentation/deu/basis-dlm.pdf (last accessed: 28. April 2022). Frantz, D. (2019). FORCE—Landsat + Sentinel-2 Analysis Ready Data and Beyond. Remote Sensing, 11, 1124. Statistisches Bundesamt, Deutschland (2024). Ökosystematlas Deutschland https://oekosystematlas-ugr.destatis.de/ (last accessed: 08.02.2024). _ Agricultural land use (raster): National-scale crop type maps for Germany from combined time series of Sentinel-2 and Landsat data (2024) (Version v301) © 2025 by Tetteh, G. O., Schwieder, M., Blickensdörfer, L., Gocht, A., & Erasmi, S.; licensed under CC BY 4.0. Funding was provided by the German Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture as part of the joint project “Monitoring der biologischen Vielfalt in Agrarlandschaften” (MonViA, Monitoring of biodiversity in agricultural landscapes).

Dataset contains training material on using open source Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to improve protected area planning and management from a workshop that was conducted on February 26-28, 2020. Specifically, the dataset contains lectures on GIS fundamentals, QGIS 3.x, and global positioning system (GPS), as well as country-specific datasets and a workbook containing exercises for viewing data, editing/creating datasets, and creating map products in QGIS. Supplemental videos that narrate a step-by-step recap and overview of these processes are found in the Related Content section of this dataset.

Funding for this workshop and material was funded by the Biodiversity and Protected Areas Management (BIOPAMA) programme. The BIOPAMA programme is an initiative of the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Group of States financed by the European Union's 11th European Development Fund. BIOPAMA is jointly implemented by the International Union for Conservation of Nature {IUCN) and the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission (EC-JRC). In the Pacific region, BIOPAMA is implemented by IUCN's Oceania Regional Office (IUCN ORO) in partnership with the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP). The overall objective of the BIOPAMA programme is to contribute to improving the long-term conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity and natural resources in the Pacific ACP region in protected areas and surrounding communities through better use and monitoring of information and capacity development on management and governance.

Dataset contains training material on using open source Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to improve protected area planning and management from a workshop that was conducted on June 08-09 2022. Specifically, the dataset contains lectures on GIS fundamentals, QGIS 3.22, as well as country-specific datasets and a workbook containing exercises for viewing data, editing/creating datasets, and creating map products in QGIS.

Funding for this workshop and material was funded by the Biodiversity and Protected Areas Management (BIOPAMA) programme. The BIOPAMA programme is an initiative of the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Group of States financed by the European Union's 11th European Development Fund. BIOPAMA is jointly implemented by the International Union for Conservation of Nature {IUCN) and the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission (EC-JRC). In the Pacific region, BIOPAMA is implemented by IUCN's Oceania Regional Office (IUCN ORO) in partnership with the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP). The overall objective of the BIOPAMA programme is to contribute to improving the long-term conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity and natural resources in the Pacific ACP region in protected areas and surrounding communities through better use and monitoring of information and capacity development on management and governance.