A STEP BY STEP GUIDE FOR

CONDUCTING GIS TRAINING USING

QGIS

Leo Kris M. Palao*, Kristine B. Garcia*, Alfie M. Torres*, and Kharmina Paola A. Anit*
*Researchers, International Centre for Research in Agroforestry
World Agroforestry Centre
About Quantum GIS

Quantum GIS, just like any other commercial GIS software, has the ability to display, manipulate, process, analyze
vector and raster data type. Quantum GIS (QGIS) is a user friendly Open Source Geographic Information System (GIS)
licensed under the GNU General Public License. QGIS is an official project of the Open Source Geospatial Foundation
(OSGeo). It runs on Linux, Unix, Mac OSX, Windows and Android and supports numerous vector, raster, and database
formats and functionalities.

Quantum GIS provides a continuously growing number of capabilities provided by core functions and plug-ins.
Some of the core features and plug-ins are: view data view and overlay vector and raster data in different formats
and projections without conversion to an internal or common format, explore data and compose, interactively explore spatial
data (create, edit, manage and export data), analyze spatial data, and publish maps on the internet. The software also has the
ability to extend GIS functionality through the use of plug-ins - similar to extension tools in ESRI ArcDesktop.

As compared to commercial GIS software, open source GIS software has the following advantages: the software is
free, light software, and since it is light computations are much faster, the improvement is fast, many entities contribute for
the development of plug-ins, and GRASS application is integrated in QGIS which is mainly design for image processing.

Important note to participants

This training will not provide you with all the tools for mapping using GIS; rather it is expected that participants will
continue practicing GIS and explore other GIS tools.

QGIS Installation

Copy the GIS folder to your desktop which contains Materials (vectors and rasters), Presentation, and Installers for
quick access and to facilitate quick reference to any questions regarding locations of GIS data.

Remember where you saved your GIS folder. Navigate to Installers folder (located in GIS > Installers), and select
(double click) QGIS-OSGeo4W-1.x....exe. Follow the user friendly set-up wizard (just click next). Open Quantum GIS
1.x.x. Always check the website of QGIS (http://qgis.org) for the latest release of QGIS software.

After the installation, open QGIS. If a user created a desktop icon, then just double click the QGIS icon in desktop.
If not, another way to open QGIS is click Start in the Taskbar, then select all programs and under Quantum GIS xxxxx select
Quantum GIS Desktop (x.x.x).

Exercise 1. Getting familiar with the interface

The interface of QGIS is composed of 6 essential components: 1) Menu Bar; 2) Toolbar; 3) Map Legend; 4) Map
View; 5) Map Overview; and 6) Status Bar (Figure 1).

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 Figure 1. QGIS interface.

Menu Bar

The Menu Bar provides access to various QGIS features using a standard hierarchical menu; the more frequently
used features are usually found in the top level menu (Figure 2). Moreover, a user can easily identify the features in the Menu
Bar since it is arranged in logical order, i.e., if a user is working or raster images, all raster processing can be found in Raster
Tab in the Menu Bar. Another example is opening, removing, and adding layers which can be accessed in the Layer Tab.

a b
Figure 2. a) functions under the Layer Tab, and b) various raster processing functions under the Raster Tab.

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Map legend

The Map Legend area lists all the available active and inactive (hidden) layers of the current GIS project (Figure 3).
The box in the left portion in each legend is used to show or hide the layer. A layer can be selected and dragged up or down
in the legend to change the Z-ordering. Also in this section, a layer is indicated if it is a vector data type (points, lines, or
polygons) or a raster data type.

Figure 3. Map legend area showing the contour feature of MtMalindang (line data type).

Map view

The Map View displays all the active maps in the Map Legend - the map displayed in this window will depend on
the type of layer loaded in the Map Legend. Map View and Map legend are inextricably linked to each other, in such a way
that any modifications in map layer properties in the Map Legend will be reflected in Map View (Figure 4).

Figure 4. Connection between Map Legend and Map View.

Map overview

Map Overview panel provides a full extent view of layers added to Map Legend (Figure 5). This allows a user to
quickly determine which area of the map is currently in view.

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 Figure 5. Map overview in the lower left section of the interface.

Status Bar

The Status Bar is located in the lower middle to right most portion of the interface. This section shows the user's
current position in map coordinates, scale, and the projection of the GIS Project. The scale allows the adjustment of the
resolution of the layer using user defined ratio. At the far right of the status bar a user will find the EPSG code of the current
project coordinate reference system and a projector icon. The projector icon is used to quickly access the project properties.

Exercise 2. Map navigation, vector symbology, and editing vector attribute table

Specifically, this exercise will cover displaying vector layer, map navigation (pan, zoom in and out, viewing layer
extent), bookmarking, symbology, and attribute table editing.

Saving a GIS project

First and foremost, before starting a GIS project it is a good practice to save your current project immediately before
loading any layer. Save your project as Myfirstexercise. To save your project go to File and select Save Project or press
Ctrl + s, save it in your GIS directory, provide a filename, and click OK. Note that if you change the location of the files
currently saved in your GIS project, your saved project might not work properly.

Before we proceed, only show the following tools in your Tool Bar that we will use: Layers, Attributes, Digitizing,
File, Label, Manage Layers, and Map Navigation (Figure 6). In this case, a user will have enough window space to display
your map. This is particularly necessary if a user have smaller computer screen, for instance net book laptop. The size of the
Map View is important in GIS especially if you are working with data that covers large area.

Figure 6. Toolbars needed for our exercise.

Adding a layer

Open the Philippine administrative boundary vector layer. Go to Layers in Menu Bar and select Add vector layer
or click the Add vector layer in Layer Tool in the Toolbar. Click browse, and go to Phil_Adm_Shp folder (located in GIS >
Materials > Shapefiles > Phil_Adm_Shp). Add the vector layer PHL_Adm1.shp. Your map should display the Philippine
Map with administrative boundaries. The PHL_Adm1 displays the provincial administrative boundary level of the

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Philippines. The maps were downloaded from Global Administrative Areas (GADM) with URL: http://www.gadm.org/. The
website of GADM provides a free access of administrative boundary maps of the world. Please note that the PHL_Adm1 is
not an official provincial map of the Philippines provided by the National Mapping and Resource Information Authority
(NAMRIA) or Land Management Bureau (LMB), hence some inaccuracy on the actual boundaries may be encountered.

A user has the option to show the map in overview. To show in overview, go to View tab in Menu Bar, then go to
Panels, then tick Overview. Alternatively, you can access the Overview feature when you right click in any area in the
Toolbar, then tick on Overview. The Overview panel will then be added in the interface of QGIS. After, right click on
PHL_adm1 in your Map Legend, and tick Show in Overview located in the uppermost part of the selection. Please note
that in some version of QGIS, you need to open at least two layers to show the layer in Overview. A user can also navigate
using the Overview window. However, in this exercise, we will not use the Show in Overview feature, since this will slow
your computers — takes time in rendering spatial data both in Map View and Overview).

Use the Map Navigation tool which can be found in the Tool Bar, and try the following icons: Pan Map, Zoom In,
Zoom Out, Zoom Full, Zoom to Layer, Zoom Last, and Zoom Next. These navigation tools are important to view your area
of interest quickly, especially if your computer is having a hard time rendering the layers. A user can zoom in to his area of
interest quickly by selecting the Zoom in icon, then left click and hold on the upper left corner of the area of interest (AOI)
and slowly drag the mouse to the lower right most corner of the AOI, then release click. Try it.

Creating a Bookmark

Bookmarks are a good way to navigate fast if the user has many AOIs in large areas. Using map navigation tool, pan
and zoom in to your AOI (Figure 7). Click View in Menu Bar then select New Bookmark or simply press Ctrl + b. Specify
the name of your bookmark under the column Name (usually ready for editing). The succeeding column (xmin, ymin, xmax,
ymax) indicates the extent of the current view (lower left and upper right). Please note that a user can have multiple
bookmarks with the same name and can be used in multiple GIS projects. In this exercise, navigate to three AOIs in the
Philippines. Locate your first AOI somewhere at the tip of Zamboanga del Sur, second AOI somewhere at the tip of the
southern part of Palawan, and third at the northern most portion of Luzon.

Figure 7. Bookmark window.

To go to each view in your saved bookmarks, open the bookmark window again. To show available bookmarks, go
to View and select Show Bookmarks or simply press Ctrl + Shift + b. Select your desired AOI and click Zoom to. This will
quickly automatically go to your previous map extent of your AOI. Try navigating to your other AOI using bookmark.

Vector symbology

Before we proceed to vector symbology, let us first examine the properties of your PHL_Adm1 spatial data. Go to
properties, either by going to Layer then select Properties or by simply double clicking your layer in Map Legend. In the
Fields tab you will see the names of columns (field) of your attribute table (Figure 8). Please note that the columns in your
attribute table are used to describe each spatial feature. It is also indicated in this section the type and length (number of

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characters that can be handled) of each field. Remember that attribute table can be numerical or text. In the General Tab,
you can see the current Coordinate Reference System (CRS) of the project under the Specify CRS section. In the
Metadata Tab, you can see the storage type and source of the layer, geometry (point, line, or polygon), number of features,
editing capability, extent, and the spatial reference system. What is the spatial reference system of PHL_Adm1 layer?

Figure 8. Available field names of PHL_Adm1

Now, go to the Style tab of the PHL_Adm1 in Properties. The Style tab change or modify the display of the layer,
usually done for better visualization. The user might want to assign a unique color for each province of the Philippines.
Remember the number of features of PHL_Adm1 layer in your Metadata. If you missed that information go back to
Metadata. Under the Style tab, change the Single Symbol (found in the upper left portion) to Categorized using the drop
down menu. Change the Column to Name_1. The Name_1 in your attribute table contains the name of the Provinces in the
Philippines. In the Color ramp section, use the drop down menu and select New color ramp usually found in the bottom.
Set your color ramp style to Random. Then, set your Classes to the number of features of PHL_Adm1 layer. This will
generate random colors so that each feature will be assigned with different color. You will be prompt to specify a name for
your new color ramp. Please specify your preferred name of your new color ramp, then click OK. After you have created
the new color ramp, click Classify (located in the lower left portion adjacent to Add, Delete, and Delete All buttons). Your
map should display unique color for each province of the Philippines (Figure 9).

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 Figure 9. Map showing the different provinces of the Philippines each have unique color.

Editing attribute table

An attribute table is a tabular file containing information about a set of geographic features, usually arranged so that
each row represents a feature and each column represents one feature attribute. It is used to find, query, and symbolize vector
features or raster cells (ESRI 1995-2012). Editing the database of spatial features is an advantage of vector data type over
raster data type.

Open your attribute table either by 1) right click on Layer in Map Legend then select Open attribute table, 2)
click Layer in Menu Bar and select Open attribute table, or 3) click the Open attribute table in the Attributes tool in
toolbars. Remember to select first the desired layer in Map Legend, in this case PHL_Adm1.

The columns (field) in attribute table of PHL_Adm1 describe the characteristic of each province. For instance, let us
take Surigao del Sur. Select the row containing Surigao del Sur in the attribute table. Click on row number at the leftmost
side of the attribute table. In the attribute table, Surigao del Sur is described as a lalawigan or province (Type_1 and
Engtype_1) that belongs to the Philippines (Name_0), declared as Province on 19600619 — June 19, 1960 (Validfr_1), and
until now it is still valid (Validto_1).

In the attribute table of PHL_Adm1, you can see that there are fields that are unnecessary. A user may want to
eliminate other unnecessary field in the attribute table to retain only important descriptions. In this exercise, you will remove
the unnecessary fields in PHL_Adm1 attribute table. Remove the following fields: ID, NL_Name_1, HASC_1, CC_1,
Remarks, Shape length, and Shape area.

To remove the following fields in PHL_Adm1, go to layer properties then go to Fields and activate the Toggle
editing mode (pen-like icon). Select the rows (columns in attribute table) that you should erase. Click on the ID number on
the leftmost side to select. To select multiple rows click and hold on Shift, or hold Ctrl to select multiple individual rows.
Click on Delete column (left side of Toggle editing, table with x icon) to remove the fields. Click again the Toggle editing
mode and click Save.

Our next exercise is to automate the population of rows in our attribute table, in such a way that the highlighted rows
will be filled with a user specified name. You will create a new field named PHL_IG which stands for Philippine Island
Groups of Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. You will need to populate first the provinces that belong to Mindanao Island
Group as "Mindanao".

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 Open attribute table of PHL_Adm1 and select the provinces that belongs to Mindanao (please refer to the list
provided below). Click on the row number in the leftmost side to select the row of interest. Click and hold Shift button to
select multiple rows or Ctrl button to select multiple individual rows. You can also click the Name_1 field above to sort the
province name in ascending or descending order.

Provinces covered by Mindanao: Agusan del Norte, Agusan del Sur, Basilan, Sulu, Tawi-tawi, Surigao del
Norte, Surigao del Sur, Davao del Norte, Davao del Sur, Davao Oriental, Compostela Valley, Misamis
Oriental, Misamis Occidental, Bukidnon, Lanao del Norte, Lanao del Sur, North Cotabato, South
Cotabato, Saranggani, Sultan Kudarat, Maguindanao, Zamboanga del Norte, Zamboanga del Sur,
Zamboanga Sibugay, Shariff Kabunsuan (Wikipedia)

After you have selected all the provinces that belong to Mindanao, in Attribute table click Toggle editing, then
click Add new column (Figure 10). Name your new field as PHL_IG, set Type as String, and Width to 20 (meaning this
field can handle 20 characters). Your new field will show in the last column with NULL values.

Figure 10. Selection in the attribute table needed to populate rows.

Now, you will populate your selected rows as Mindanao. Open Field Calculator. Make sure to tick Only update
selected features and Update existing field. Set your field to PHL_IG (located below the Update existing field option). On
the expression dialogue box type in 'Mindanao' including the single quotation marks, then click OK. This will populate your
PHL_IG with selected rows as Mindanao. In your attribute table click again Toggle editing and Save the changes you made
in attribute table.

However, it is found out that Shariff Kabunsuan which was declared as province through the Expanded ARMM Law
or RA 9054 was later declared void by the Supreme Court of the Philippines on July 17, 2008. In this case, we have to edit
the Field/Column VALIDTO_1 of Shariff Kabunsuan to 20080717 (2008 July 17). Also edit the Shariff Kabunsuan as
Maguindanao.

To edit, click on Toggle editing. Double click on the cell of Shariff Kabunsuan with value Present under the field
Validto_1. Change the value Present to 20080717. This means that Shariff Kabusuan is only valid until July 17, 2008.
Change also the name Shariff Kabunsuan to Maguindanao. Click again Toggle editing and Save changes.

Now, try to populate the rows of the provinces that belong to Luzon Island Group as "Luzon". The list of provinces
in Luzon is shown below (Figure 11).

Abra, Albay, Apayao, Aurora, Bataan, Batanes, Batangas, Benguet, Bulacan, Cagayan, Camarines Norte,
Camarines Sur, Catanduanes, Cavite, Ifugao, Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, Isabela, Kalinga, La Union,
Laguna, Marinduque, Metropolitan Manila, Mountain Province, Nueva Ecija, Nueva Vizcaya, Occidental
Mindoro, Oriental Mindoro, Palawan, Pampanga, Pangasinan, Quezon, Quirino, Rizal, Romblon,
Sorsogon, Tarlac, Zambales (Wikipedia)

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 Figure 11. Provinces of Luzon are highlighted in yellow.

However, in this exercise you will use Select features by freehand to select your feature(s) of interest. Go to View in
Menu Bar and go to Select > Select Features by Freehand. You will also notice that more options are shown as you click
on Select. Selections in Menu Bar which have forward arrows indicate that there are more options in that selection.
Alternatively, you can go to Attributes tool in toolbars and click on the select feature drop down menu and click on Select
features by freehand. Usually, the default selection is Select Single Feature tool (icon with spark-like drawing in the tip of
the arrow head with surrounding yellow irregular shape). Before you start your selection you must set first the extent of your
selection (i.e., pan and zoom into Luzon). In using the freehand selection, it is a good practice to start from the top and follow
a clockwise or counter clockwise sequence of selection to avoid overlaps. The overlaps in selection can erase some of the
selected features. Start your selection by clicking on the left mouse, then hold click and drag to your features of interest.
Make sure that you select all provinces of Luzon. It is not necessary to trace the exact boundary of your features of interest.
You can just trace the portion of your feature of interest and it will automatically select the whole province. If you select
some of the features outside Luzon, simply revert your selection tool to Select single feature, then press Ctrl and click on
the feature that you want to unselect. Do the same process if you have feature that have been missed out during your initial
selection. To check if all the provinces have been selected, go to attribute table and tick Show selected only (located in the
lower left portion of the window). Now, you are ready to populate the selected rows as "Luzon".

Your next exercise is to populate the provinces that belong to Visayas Group of Island as "Visayas". Open the
attribute table of PHL_Adm1. What did you notice in the remaining rows in PHL_IG? Take note of the remaining
unpopulated values since you will use it in the next step. Search the remaining values of PHL_IG by using the Look for
option. Enter the value of the remaining unpopulated rows in the Look for option and set the appropriate field (located in the
adjacent to the left of the Look for) using the drop down menu adjacent to the Search button (Figure 12). Then click Search.
This will highlight the remaining rows, which mainly belongs to Visayas Island Group. Populate the rows as Visayas and
Save changes.

Figure 12. Attribute table showing the Look for option in red box and Field to search in dark blue box.

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 Select the Maguindanao Provinces in PHL_Adm1 (use any selection method that you want). Remember you
changed the Province name of Shariff Kabunsuan to Magiundanao. Click Toggle editing, then go to Edit in Menu Bar and
select Merge Selected Features. The Merge features attribute window will appear. Select the row of Maguindanao with the
attribute Validfr_1 as 19731122 and Validto_1 as Present, then click on Take attributes from selected feature and click
OK. Click again on Toggle editing and Save changes.

Now you have modified and corrected the database of your PHL_Adm1 layer.

Save your project. In every GIS project it is a good habit to save frequently to save progress.

Exercise 3. Adding a raster data, raster symbology, labeling, and using on-the-fly projection, vector to raster
conversion, and using raster calculator

Adding a raster layer

Before starting your third exercise, save your project as mysecondexercise. Add a raster layer using Add raster
layer in Manage layers tools in toolbar or go to Layer and select Add raster layer. Add the raster layer srtm61_10.tif in
DEM folder (located in GIS > Materials > Grid > DEM). SRTM which stands for Shuttle Radar Topography Mission
provides free access digital elevation model (DEM) of the whole world. This data can be accessed in http://srtm.csi.cgiar.org.
The Philippines is composed of eight tiles, i.e., srtm60_09, srtm60_10, srtm60_11, srtm61_09, srtm61_10, srtm61_11,
srtm62_10, and srtm62_11. The raster layer that you opened is the DEM for the Central and Southern Luzon, and Visayas.

Raster symbology

Hide your PHL_Adm1 layer by ticking on the adjacent box. In this case, your PHL_Adm1 layer will not be rendered
by your current project. This will allow your computer to have additional speed to render your DEM. Remember that raster
data type usually have large file size. Initially, your DEM is display in grayscale without contrast enhancement. You want to
see the minimum and maximum values so that you can identify river networks, ridges, and mountain peaks. Open properties
of your DEM; go to Layers and select Properties or double click your raster layer. In the Style tab, select Load in the Load
min / max values from band section, then in the Contrast enhancement section set Stretch And Clip to MinMax in the
Current option by clicking on the drop down menu. Click Apply, then OK. Now, your DEM is displayed with maximum
values in brighter colors and minimum values in darker colors. Now you can see the mountain peaks and ridges in bright
colors, while depression (which indicates river networks) and low lying areas in dark colors (Figure 13). Can you examine
the metadata of the DEM; a) Maximum and minimum elevation values? b) Pixel resolution? and c) Layer spatial reference
system?

a b

Figure 13. Display of DEM of srtm61_10 a) without contrast enhancement, and b) with stretch and clip to minmax contrast
enhancement.

Try the other Color map options and see how it changes the display of your DEM.

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 What if we want to narrow down on specific location in our DEM, for instance we want to know where the possible
locations of Dipterocarpus sp. are. According to Fernando (2012), Dipterocarpus sp. thrives in elevation starting from 0 to
1,000 meters above sea level. In this exercise, you will change the symbology of your DEM to show only elevation ranging
from 0 - 1,000 meters.

Under Style tab select Color map as your preferred Colormap option, and this will activate the Colormap tab. Go to
Colormap tab. Click add entry and enter the value 1,000, then color it as red. Click add entry again, then enter the value
2,567 (maximum value) and choose violet as its color. Set your Color interpretation to Discrete. Red colors in your map
will indicate the range of habitat of Dipterocarpus sp.(Figure 14).

Figure 14. DEM map with red colors showing the elevation range of Dipterocarpus sp.

For your next exercise, show the elevation range of Vitex parviflora (Molave) using DEM srtm61_10. The elevation
range of Vitex parviflora is approximately 300-1000 meters above sea level (Orwa et al., 2009. Source: Agroforestree
Database 4.0) (Figure 15).

Figure 15. Map of DEM with red colors showing elevation range/possible habitat of Molave.

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 After showing the range of possible habitat of Vitex parviflora (Molave) you might want to see the coverage of each
province. In this exercise, you will label your PHL_Adm1 layer so that the name of the provinces will be displayed.
Remember you hide the PHL_Adm1 layer to facilitate the rendering of the DEM layer. Show again your PHL_Adm1 layer
by ticking on the box adjacent to the layer. If the PHL_Adm1 layer is behind the DEM layer, you have to change the position
of your PHL_Adm1 layer in the Map Legend. Select your PHL_Adm1 in Map Legend, left click on mouse and hold. Now
drag your mouse up until your layer PHL_Adm1 go above the srtm_61_10 list. Your administrative boundaries should go on
top of your DEM layer in Map Legend.

Set the display of the PHL_Adm1 layer to without fill with only the borders showing the boundaries of each
province. To do this, go to Properties, then click Change (wrench icon), and set the Symbol layer type from Simple fill to
Outline: Simple line. In Symbol layer properties, increase the Pen width to 0.5, then click OK. In the Layers properties
window, click Apply, then OK.

Labeling

To label your PHL_Adm1 layer, select Labeling in Label tool in toolbar (Figure 16). Tick the box adjacent to Label
this layer with then select drop down menu, and select Name_1. Leave other options to its default values, the click Apply,
then OK.

Figure 16. Labeling window in QGIS.

Save your GIS project.

Opening other layers with different projection

The file L5113054_05420100207_B40.tif is the near infrared band (band 4) of the LandSat5 image acquired on
February 7, 2010 from USGS Glovis with 30 meter resolution in Mt. Malindang. The USGS Glovis provides free access to
various raster data (Aster and Landsat images), their URL is http://glovis.usgs.gov/. The image coordinate reference system is
projected to UTM zone 51 North. If you examine the metadata its spatial reference is +proj=utm +zone=51 +datum=WGS84
+units=m +no_defs. The UTM zone 51 North has an EPSG code of 32651. For each layer to integrate or to overlay with each
other, it should have the same spatial reference. Try to add the layer L5113054_05420100207_B40.tif. It is located in the
Landsat folder (GIS > Materials > Grid > Landsat). Did the LandSat image overlay with your DEM and administrative
boundary layer? Select LandSat image in Map Legend and click Zoom to Layer. What did you notice in the Status Bar's
Coordinate box?

QuantumGIS has this ability to harmonize different layer with different spatial reference by automatically, but
temporarily, changing the added layer’s spatial reference system to that of the specified coordinate reference system.

Go to Setting in Menu Bar and select Project Properties. In the Project Properties tick the Enable 'on the fly'
CRS transformation. Then set the Coordinate reference systems of the world to WGS 84 with EPSG code 4326. The
Landsat image for Mt. Malindang automatically overlay with your DEM and administrative boundary layer.

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 Save your GIS project.

Using raster calculator (analysis using raster data)

The raster calculator allows you to perform mathematical operations on each cell in a raster. This can be useful for
converting and manipulating your rasters. Operators include mathematical, trigonometric, comparison, and logical. To
perform operations on a raster(s), they must be loaded in QGIS. In this exercise you will identify the possible habitat of Vitex
parviflora in Layawan Watershed.

Our criteria for identifying the possible habitats of Vitex parviflora in Layawan Watershed are: elevation greater
than 300 but less than 1000, located in Layawan Watershed, and should be forested. You will have to convert the shapefiles
Layawan Watershed and MisOcc_lcover2010 to raster. To do this, add the shapefiles that you will convert to raster to your
Map Legend (Layawan_Watershed.shp and MisOcc_lcover2010.shp). Go to Raster in Menu Bar, then go to Conversion >
Rasterize (Vector to raster). The Rasterize window will appear (Figure 17). Since your Layawan Watershed is already
loaded in your Map Legend it will automatically appear in the drop down menu in the Input file section. Set
Layawan_Watershed as your Input file, and set Attribute field to ID. Click Select in the Output file for rasterized vectors
(raster) section and navigate to Rastercalc folder (GIS > Materials > Grid > Rastercalc). Specify filename as Layawanshed
and set the format to GeoTIFF using the drop down menu in Files of type (below the File name section). Leave the Width
and Height to its default value (i.e., 3000). Tick Load into canvas when finished, then click OK. Initially, the display will be
in grayscale without contrast enhancement. Click Load in Load min / max values from band, then change Min and Max
values to 1 in Custom min / max values. Select Stretch And Clip to MinMax as your Current Contrast enhancement. This
will display the Layawan Watershed in Map View in raster type. If you will examine your Layawanshed raster data, all cells
that falls within the Layawan Watershed have a value of 1. If you will examine the attribute table of Layawan_Watershed, the
boundary of the Watershed has a value of 1. You just use the existing value of the attribute table to assign values in your
Layawanshed raster data.

Figure 17. Window for converting vector to raster.

Follow the steps you used in converting Layawan Watershed and convert the MisOcc_lcover2010 vector layer to
raster. Specify your filename as Lcover2010, and set GeoTIFF as your type of file. Now your raster data are ready for Raster
calculator.

Your next step is to reclassify your values to binary format, i.e., elevation range 300-1000 is classified as 1, while
other values are classified as 0. To do this, add the raster layer srtm61_11.tif, then open Raster calculator in Raster Menu >
Raster calculator (Figure 18). Double click srtm61_11@1 under available Raster bands then type in the expression dialogue
box: >= 300 (use the buttons in Raster calculator to indicate the logical operators). Double click again srtm61_11@1, then
type in the expression dialogue box <= 1000. Your expression should be srtm61_11@1 >= 300 AND srtm61_11@1 <=
1000. The expression means that you are only interested in the values greater or equal to 300 but not greater than 1,000. At
the bottom left, it should say Expression valid. Save your raster in Rastercalc folder and specify filename as srtm61_11-

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300-1000. Set Output format as GeoTIFF. Tick Add result to project, and click OK. Set your Current Contrast
enhancement as Stretch And Clip to MinMax, and change the value of Min and Max to 1 in the Custom Min / Max values.
Now, you have changed your elevation data into a binary data. If you will examine your DEMdata, elevation range from 300-
1000 are classified as one, while less than 300 and greater than 1,000 are classified as 0.

Figure 18. Raster calculator window.

Load the Lcover2010 raster layer. Follow the steps in processing your DEM. However, the expression for
Lcover2010 should be Lcover2010@1 = 5. If you go back to the attribute table of MisOcc_lcover2010, the forest areas are
assigned as ID number 5. Save the file in Rastercalc folder and specify filename as lcover_forest2010, and set the Output
format as GeoTIFF. Tick Add result to project., then Click OK.

Make sure that all your processed raster data are loaded in Map Legend: Layawanshed, lcover_forest2010, and
srtm61-11-300-1000. The expression in the Raster calculator dialogue box should be
Layawanshed@1*lcover_forest2010@1*300-1000@1. Save it in Rastercalc folder, and specify filename as
Vitex_layawan. Set the Output format to GeoTIFF. Tick Add result to project, and Click OK.

Now you have the map of areas where you can find Vitex parviflora in Layawan Watershed. Save your GIS
project. Raster calculator is also used for land suitability analysis, if working on raster data.

Exercise 4. Querying, feature extraction, projection, geoprocessing, and area calculation of vector layer

Before starting your fourth exercise, Save as your project and name it as mythirdexercise.

Querying an attribute table

One of the strength of vector type of data is database management. Attribute table are meant to provide information
that describes the characteristics or qualities of earth surface features (spatial database) (Eastman, 2012). A user can query the
attribute database to create a new spatial database. Open the PHL_Adm1 attribute table.

A user might want to know the information contained in a particular subset and display that subset in map view. A
simple search can be done in the attribute table. Type the subset name in the Look for section. Select the appropriate field
name and click Search. In this exercise we will look for Misamis Oriental. Type in Misamis Oriental, select the dropdown
menu and select the field name Name_1. Do not tick Case sensitive. Click Search when finished. If your search is
successful you will see a notification in the upper portion of your attribute table window indicating 1/82 feature(s) selected.

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In your attribute table select Zoom Map to the Selected Rows. To better visualize your selected feature, change the
symbology to Simple Fill with color light blue.

Alternatively, you can use the advance search option in your attribute table. Open attribute table and select the
Advance Search option, and the Query Builder window will appear (Figure 19). Double click on Name_1 under Fields.
Select the Operator ‘=’. Select All in the values section. The double click on Misamis Oriental, then click OK.

Figure 19. Query builder window.

Extracting feature(s)

Before you can extract a feature subset of a layer, you need to select first the desired features. Select the feature in
Map View using the Select Single Feature option in the Attributes tool or in Attribute table. But in this case, the feature
Misamis Oriental is already selected so we do not need to select it again. Right click on PHL_Adm1 in Map Legend. Select
Save Selection As (Figure 20) and the Save vector layer as window will appear. Select ESRI Shapefile as the type of
format. Specify the filename. Do not input the filename directly in the box provided adjacent to Save as, rather click the
browse button, then navigate to the folder Created Shapefiles (located in GIS > Materials > Shapefiles > Created
Shapefiles). Check that the CRS is set to WGS 84. Do not forget to tick Add saved file to map. Click OK. The feature
Misamis Oriental will automatically add to your project

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 Figure 20. Save as window used to set details of your selected feature.

Vector projections

Projection is the method by which the spherical (ellipsoidal) model of earth is being converted to two-dimensional
(planar) model. There are different types of projections available in GIS, such as Equal-Area, Equidistant Cylindrical,
Transverse Mercator, Sinusoidal, Interrupted Sinusoidal, and Universal Transverse Mercator. Each of the mentioned
projections has some disadvantages and advantages, and some favors (minimal distortions) some areas over the other.
Through this process some of the features of the earth have been distorted, i.e., some areas have been exaggerated,
compressed, and eliminated. Many of these types of projections favors — which allows for precise measurements — those
areas that are near the equator. QGIS supports approximately 2,700 known Coordinate Reference System. Projections are
important if you want to perform geometric calculation (i.e., area, perimeter) of a vector. In shapefiles, the projection has the
extension *.prj.

The Universal Transverse Mercator projection commonly known as UTM divides the globe into 60 north and
south zones, with 6°of longitude interval. However, limited to latitudes 84o N and 80o S. Advantage of this projection is that it
allows precise measurements in meters to within 1 meter (geology.isu.edu), accurate representation of small shapes, minimal
distortion of larger shapes within the zone, and local angles are true. On the other hand, the disadvantage is that error and
distortion increase for regions that span more than one UTM zone. The Philippines cover three UTM north zones, these are
zone 50N, 51N, and 52N (Figure 21). The N or North in the UTM projection indicates that the feature belongs to the northern
hemisphere. Due to practical reasons, zone 52 is also assigned to zone 51.

Figure 21. UTM zones covering the Philippines.

On Map Legend, right click on the layer Misamis Oriental and select Save As. Set the Format to ESRI Shapfile.
Click Browse in the Save as section and navigate to the folder Created Shapefiles and specify a filename. It is a good
practice to include the type of projection in your filename, i.e., Puerto_UTM. Set your CRS to WGS84 / UTM zone 51N
(EPSG:32651). Tick Add save file to Map, then click OK. Disable your Enable ‘on the fly’ CRS transformation. Zoom to
the reprojected layer, the CRS should be in meters.

For your next exercise, Extract the Province of Misamis Occidental in the layer PHL_Adm1 and save it as
MisamisOccidental. Since the PHL_Adm1 is projected in WGS 84 (EPSG: 4326), reproject Misamis Occidental to
WGS84 / UTM zone 51N and name it MisamisOccidental_UTM. Add your shapefile MisamisOccidental_UTM and select
Zoom to Layer. Then Check the layer's CRS, it should be in meters.

Vector geoprocessing

Geoprocesing is an operation in GIS used to manipulate spatial data. A typical geoprocessing operation takes an
input dataset, performs an operation on that dataset, and returns the result of the operation as an output dataset. The

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fundamental purpose of geoprocessing is to provide tools for performing analysis and managing your geographic data (ESRI
1995-2012)

Open your PHL_Adm2 and MisamisOccidental layers. Go to Clip tool in Menu Bar, then select Vector >
Geoprocessing Tools (Figure 22). Set PHL_Adm2 as your Input vector layer and MisamisOriental as your Clip layer. In the
Output shapefile section, click the Browse button, navigate to Created Shapefiles folder, and specify the filename of your
new layer. Click OK when finished. The output should display the municipalities covered by the Province of Misamis
Occidental.

Figure 22. Clip window

For your next exercise, you want to know the types and amount of land cover within Layawan Watershed that falls
within the core zone and buffer zone of the protected area (Figure 23). This is particularly necessary in making protected area
or watershed management plans.

First, remove all the layers. You can do this by; left click on the first layer and press and hold Shift then click the
last layer, then click Remove layer(s) in Layer tool in toolbar or go to Layers in Menu Bar then select Remove layer(s).

Add the vector layers MtMalindang_PA, MisOcc_lcover2010, and Layawan_watershed shapefiles. These files
can be found in the following folders: Layawan Watershed folder (MisOcc_lcover2010.shp and Layawan_watershed.shp);
and Mt Malindang folder ( MtMalindang_PA). The description of the files are: MisOcc_lcover2010 is the land cover map of
Misamis Occidental derived from LandSat 5 with 30 meter resolution; Layawan_watershed is the boundary map of Layawan
Watershed in Oroquieta City; and MtMalindang_PA is the protected area map (i.e., core zone and buffer zone) of Mount
Malindang provided by Protected Area and Wildlife Bureau (PAWB).

Just follow these three simple steps: First, clip the protected area to Layawan Watershed; second, intersect the land
cover to the clipped protected area map derived from the first step. You can access the intersect processing tool in Vector in
Menu Bar, then go to Geoprocessing tools > Intersect. Third, calculate the area in hectares so you'll know the coverage of
each land use within the watershed and protected area. To calculate the area follow the steps provided below.

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 Figure 23. Layawan watershed showing forest (green) and cropland (yellow) area that falls within protected area.

Area calculation

The first step is to reproject the derived shapefile to WGS84 / UTM zone 51N. In this way, the CRS will be in
meters. Open attribute table of the reprojected shapefile. Select Toggle editing, then select Invert selection (third icon from
the left - icon table with an arrow pointing up, while the other arrow pointing down). Select Open Field Calculator (Figure
24). Tick Create a new field. Specify Output field name as Area_ha (meaning area in hectares). Set Output field type to
whole number and output field width to 10 (can handle up to 10 characters). If you want precision, set your output field type
to Decimal number (real) and Precision (decimal places) set to 2 or 3.

In the Function List click the + sign adjacent to Geometry to open more functions and select (double click) $area.
Select the / sign in the operators. In the Expression dialogue box type in 10000. The default value for area calculation is
square meters. The $area / 10000 expression indicates that you want to divide the area to 10,000 so the values will be in
hectares. The expression should be like this: $area / 10000. Click OK. The Area_ha field with values in hectares should be
available in your attribute table. Click again Toggle editing and Save changes.

Figure 24. Field calculator window used to calculate the area of polygons.

Symbolize and display your map; green indicates forest, and yellow as agricultural area. Save your GIS project.

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Exercise 5. Methods for uploading GPS coordinates

About Global Positioning System

Global Positioning System (GPS) is a satellite-based system that allows one with GPS receiver to find their exact
location anywhere in world. It receives signals from satellites which are used to calculate latitude, longitude, and elevation.
The three basic feature types of GPS data are waypoints, routes, and tracks - form of vector data (QGIS 1.7.0). The satellite-
based navigation system is made up of a network of 24 satellites placed into orbit by the U.S. Department of Defense
(Garmin 1996-2012). GPS is a free service that works non-stop (24/7) in any weather conditions, anywhere in the earth.
Before the GPS actually work it needs a receiver and satellites which continually orbit the earth. The signal of each satellite
travels through space and captured by GPS device. Note that GPS devices only receives signal and do not have the ability to
transmit signal to the satellites. The satellite then calculates the distance of the GPS receiver. The satellite then creates a
sphere relative to the distance of the GPS receiver. The GPS device is now somewhere within the sphere created by the first
satellite. Assume a second satellite, which will also create a sphere relative to the distance of the device. This process will put
the location of the device in the intersection of the two sphere created by the two satellite. The presence of the third satellite
will further narrow down the location of the GPS receiver, possibly to two points. In essence, locating a point in space using
GPS device follows the principle of triangulation (Figure 25). The presence of more satellites will further narrow down the
location of the GPS device.

Figure 25. Triangulation method used by GPS device to acquire location. Black dots indicate two possible locations with the
presence the third satellite.

Uploading GPS exchange format

Before you start this exercise, save your project as myfourthexercise.

In QGIS, or other GIS software, there are various methods and formats for uploading and displaying GPS
coordinates.

Your first exercise is to display the waypoints from a GPS device in QGIS, then save it as ESRI Shapefile. One of
the formats used by GPS devices in saving GPS points is Global Positioning System Exchange Format [*.gpx]. Normally,
GPS points in this format are saved according to date. The waypoints that you will upload have a filename Waypoints_28-
JUL-11.gpx. This means all the points gathered on July 28, 2011 is lumped in only one *.gpx file. Let us assume that you
have already downloaded your GPS points in your hard drive. Go to Vector in Menu Bar, then select GPS > GPS Tools. In
GPS Tools window go to Load GPX file, then click Browse. Navigate to your GPX folder (located in GIS > Materials >
Coordinates > GPX), then select the file Waypoints_28-JUL-11.gpx, and click Open. Only tick the box waypoints. Do not
tick the Routes and Tracks. Click OK. The waypoints have 83 point features, and each feature represents a landmark,

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resource, or land use. Note that your layer is still in GPX format. You need to convert it to ESRI Shapefile format. To do
this, right click on the layer in Map Legend, then select Save As, a window Save vector layer as...will appear. In Format
section, click on the drop down menu and select ESRI Shapefile [shp]. Click the Browse button, navigate to your Created
Shapefiles folder, and specify filename as Resources_and_landuse. Check that the CRS is set to WGS 84. Tick Add saved
file to map, then click OK. Now you have already saved your GPS coordinates into ESRI Shapefile. The advantage of
converting GPX to ESRI Shapefile is that, you can now develop a more comprehensive database for your point features.

Uploading GPS coordinates using Excel

Your second exercise is to display GPS coordinates encoded in Microsoft Excel®. The first step is to reformat the
excel file into a format accepted by GIS. In this exercise we will format the layout of the columns into ID, long, and lat, etc.:
First column should be the ID, second column should be the Y-value, third column should be the X-value, fourth column
Accuracy, fifth column Classification, sixth column Description, and seventh column Name of Barangay. Save your table as
resources_and_landuse in comma delimited format (CSV); your newly formatted table should have a filename and format
resources_and_landuse.csv.

In the QGIS interface, go to Plugins, then select Manage Plugins. Make sure that the Add Delimited Text Layer is
selected (Figure 26). If not activated, tick the adjacent box. Click OK.

Figure 26. QGIS Plugin Manager window

Go to Layer in Menu Bar, then select Add delimited text layer and the Create a layer from a Delimited Text File
will appear (Figure 27). Click the Browse button in File Name section and navigate to your resources_and_landuse.csv.
Select the Selected delimiters radio button, then select Comma as your delimiter. Do not tick the other options. Check that
the Start import at row has a value 0. Select X Y fields radio button then set x field as long and y field as lat. Click OK.
Your CSV table should load and display properly in Map View. Since your file is still in table format, convert it to ESRI
Shapfile with CRS WGS 84 using the same filename and save it in your Created Shapefiles folder.

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 Figure 27. Add delimited text layer window

Viewing your GPS data in Google Earth

Most of the images now in Google Earth® have high resolution and sometimes cloud free. A user might want to
validate the GPS points in Google Earth. It can be done. Convert your resources_and_landuse.shp to Keyhole Markup
Language [KML]. Follow the same procedure before when you convert your GPX format to ESRI Shapefile or CSV to
ESRI Shapefile. However, in this case, you will choose the format Keyhole Markup Language [KML]. Save it in your
Created Shapefiles folder. On the other hand, the GPX data that you used in the previous exercise can be open directly in
Google Earth.
In case you have not installed Google Earth, the installer can be found in the same folder together with the QGIS
installer. If you already installed Google Earth, open it now. In the Google Earth window, click File in Menu Bar, then select
Open and navigate to your KML file. Click Open. It will automatically open and placed in the Temporary Places. If you
want to change the style of your point features in Google Earth, right click on the file then select Properties. Go to Style,
Color tab, then select Share style (Figure 28). By default, the icon is a placemark. If you want to change the icon of your
point features click the Placemark icon in the upper right corner, just below the x button, and select your desired style. You
can change also change the icon color.

Since your file is saved in the Temporary places, if you will close Google Earth, it will automatically erase your file.
Save your file in My Places. Right click on the file and select Save to my places.

Figure 28. Layer properties window in Google Earth

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 If you can open features from QGIS to Google Earth, then this means that we can also create — digitize features —
in Google Earth and open it in QGIS. We can have a separate session for this one if time permits.

Extracting longitude and latitude values from GPX

One of the sources of data comes from GPS coordinates. For instance you had a survey in the mountain, and your
primary interest is to know the distribution of Vitex parviflora. You use your GPS to acquire the locations of your interest. In
the report you need to specify the coordinates of Vitex parviflora. How will you do this?

In our next exercise, we will extract the longitude and latitude values in our Waypoints_28-JUL-11.gpx. For the
meantime, let us assume that the Waypoints_28-JUL-11.gpx is the coordinates of Vitex parviflora. Install GPS Babel
(located in the Installers folder). Open GPSBabel either in programs or desktop (Figure 29). In the Input section, set your
File as GPX XML. Click File Name(s) button below the File and browse to the file Waypoints_28-JUL-11.gpx. In the
Output section set your format as Comma separated values. Click on File Name, navigate to your Excel folder (located in
GIS > Materials > Coordinates > Excel) and specify filename as Vitex_parviflora.csv (do not forget to write .csv as the file
extension format). Click Apply. If the process is successful, it will indicate Translation successful.

Figure 29. GPS Babel window and numbers indicates the step by step process for translating the gpx coordinates to comma
delimited format.

Remember where you saved your Vitex_parviflora.csv file. Navigate to that file and open it. You will notice that in
the excel file there are two columns indicating the latitude and longitude values. Now you are ready to report the location of
Vitex parviflora. For your last exercise for GPS session, reformat the table and file type and open it in QGIS.

Save your GIS project.

Exercise 6. Pre-processing of DEM data for MaxEnt.

Before you start this exercise, save your project as myfifthexercise.

This exercise is not only relevant for MaxEnt Model but also for other models which require similar raster
resolution. Go to Manage Plugins and make sure that GDALTools (Version 1.2.29) is activated. Open the srtm61_10.tif.

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Resampling a raster

Go to Raster in Menu Bar, then select Projections > Warp and the Warp window will appear (Figure 30). In the
Input File section, click on the drop down menu adjacent to Select, then select srtm_61_10. Since your DEM (srtm61_10) is
already loaded in Map Legend, it will be automatically become available in the Input File drop down menu. Click Select
button in the Output file section, navigate to your Resampled folder (located in GIS > Materials > Grid > DEM >
Resampled), and specify the output filename as srtm61_10_res. Set your output file format to [GDAL] GeoTIFF (*.tif *.tiff
*.TIF *.TIFF) by using the drop down menu in the Files of type section (just below where you input the filename). Going
back to the Warp window, tick Source SRS and click the Select button. Set your Source SRS to EPSG 4326 (WGS 84).
Tick Target SRS and set it also to EPSG 4326 (WGS 84). Tick the Resampling method and select Cubic in the drop down
menu. Tick No data values and enter the value -9999. Do not forget to tick Load into canvass when finished. Before
clicking OK, edit the syntax. Click edit (yellow pencil icon) behind the syntax window. Type –tr 0.008 0.008 right after Gtiff
command. i.e., gdalwarp -s_srs EPSG:4326 -t_srs EPSG:4326 -r cubic -dstnodata -9999 -of GTiff -tr 0.008 0.008 ….
The parameters set for this resampling exercise are prescribed by MaxEnt Model.

Figure 30. Warp (projection) window with parameters set for resampling prescribed by MaxEnt.

Note that one degree is equal to 111.12 kilometers. Since your projection is in degrees, our target resolution 0.008 is
approximately one kilometer (0.008*111.12). You can observe that the resampled DEM has coarser resolution (pixel size)
(Figure 31). But why 0.008? Because raster data that will be used for MaxEnt should have uniform pixel resolution. The
other raster type environmental variables prepared for MaxEnt has a resolution 0.008.

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 a b

Figure 31. DEM of Mindoro: a) resolution 0.000833333; b) resampled DEM with resolution 0.008

Raster format conversion from GeoTIFF to ASCII

Now you have to convert the raster format from GeoTIFF to ASCII. This is the format prescribed by MaxEnt
Model.

Go to Raster in Menu Bar, then select Conversion > Translate (Convert format) (Figure 32). Set the Input layer to
srtm61_10_res.tif. Specify output filename as srtm61_10_res, however, you will change the format to ASCII. Use the drop
down menu and select Arc/Info ASCII Grid. Tick Target SRS and set it to EPSG:4326 (WGS 84). Click OK

Figure 32. Translate window with parameters specified prescribed by MaxEnt.

Save your GIS project.

Exercise 7. Georeferencing an analog map, Digitizing, and Map Composition

Before you start this exercise, save your project as mysixthexercise.

Georeferencing a scanned map

One of the sources of raster data are from scanned maps, aerial photographs, and satellite images. However, scanned
maps do not contain spatial reference information (either embedded in the file or as separate file — supporting file) (ESRI).

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When you georeference a scanned map, you are actually defining its existence in physical space. In essence, it is the process
of defining the location of the raster data using map coordinates and assigning a coordinate system. For more information
about georeferencing go to this link:
http://webhelp.esri.com/arcgisdesktop/9.2/index.cfm?TopicName=Georeferencing_a_raster_dataset

The process of georeferencing is simple; add the raster data, add control points that link the raster data to known
positions in map coordinates; save the georeferenced information; and lastly to transform permanently the raster dataset. In
this exercise, the process of georefencing will be elaborated.

For instance, you conducted a participatory mapping in Layawan Watershed. You and your team have comeback
from the fieldwork. You have the map in your office which contains information drawn by the community during your
participatory mapping. The challenge is how to convert the map into a digital format so your team can perform more analysis.

Open your Participatory_map.tif located in Participatory Map folder (Materials > Grid > Participatory Map). What
are the coordinate values of the Participatory_map raster data (found in the Status Bar)? Do you think it has spatial reference?
This type of data cannot be used in GIS, since GIS only works with data that have spatial reference. In this case, we need to
process the raster data so that it will possess a spatial reference.

In georeferencing, you will need an existing spatial data (target data) preferably vector data that already have map
coordinate system. Before you start the georeferencing exercise, you need to load the following vector layers: Layawan
Watershed (located in GIS > Materials > Shapefiles > Layawan Watershed), MtMalindang_Rivernetworks (located in GIS >
Materials > Shapefiles > Mt Malindang). The loaded vector data already have spatial reference, and it will be used to identify
and set the map coordinates and coordinate system of your Participatory map. Let us call the loaded vector layers as target
data. Layout properly the vector layers in a way that you can view the river network inside Layawan Watershed. In QGIS, go
to Raster in Menu Bar, then select Georefencer > Georeferencer. Some of the important icons are shown in Figure. 33.

Figure 33. Important buttons to remember in georeferencing.

A new window will be added in QGIS, which will be dubbed as Georeferencer window. In the Georeferencer
window go to File and select Open raster. Open the Participatory_map.tif and set the coordinate reference system to WGS
84 EPSG: 4326. The most crucial part of georeferencing is selecting the ground control points, since this will determine your
mean error. Ground control points are known x,y coordinates that link the locations on the participatory map with the
locations in the spatially referenced data (ESRI). Make sure that the control points in your participatory map can be
accurately identified in your target data. To accurately identify the control points in your target data, select the most striking
features in your participatory map, such as river intersection and tight corners of the Watershed boundary.

The first step is to search in the raster layer one striking feature in the Georeferencer window. Next is to set your
vector layer in the same extent as your raster layer. Click Add point. Click the desired point in the raster layer in
Georeferencer window. The Enter map coordinates window will appear, select From map canvas. Select that exact point
in the vector layer. After clicking, the x and y values in the Enter map coordinates will be populated with map coordinates
of the vector layer (Figure 34). Click OK. One control point is set. Create at least four control points. Follow a clockwise
sequence in selecting your control points.

The control points are used to build a polynomial transformation that will convert the raster dataset from its existing
location to the spatially correct location. The connection between one control point on the raster dataset (the from point) and
the corresponding control point on the aligned target data (the to point) is a link (ESRI), and therefore the accuracy of control

26
points are important. Make sure that your mean error is less than one. If your mean error is greater than one, you might want
to repeat the process and find good control points, or modify your control points.

Figure 34. Example of a control point in georeferencing.

After selecting at least four control points, click on Start georefencing. You can access Start georeferencing either
on the toolbar (play icon) or File > Start georeferencing in georeferencer window. Set your Transformation type as
Helmert, and Resampling method as Cubic (Figure 35). Click the folder icon in the Output raster section, then navigate
to your folder Participatory Map and specify the filename sa Participatory_map_rectified.tif. Make sure the Type of file
as GeoTIFF. Tick Load in QGIS when done. Click OK. Now your map has known map coordinates and coordinate
reference system. It should overlay properly with your vector layers (Layawan Watershed and river network).

Figure 35. Transformation settings window

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 To exit your Georeferencer window, click on File then select Quit. Save your GIS project.

Digitizing

Digitizing is the manual tracing all the lines, polygons, and point features from hardcopy map and creates identical
digital map on the computer. It is very time consuming.

Open the Aster image with the filename TL_ASTER_date2003-04-08_lat8.42_lon123.60.jpg. This is an image
type raster data with 15 meter resolution and projected to WGS 84. The location of the file is in Aster(MisamisOcc) folder
(GIS > Materials > Grid > Aster(MisamisOcc). If you cannot see the file, choose [GDAL] JPEG JFIF or [GDAL] All files
as your format type.

In your first exercise, you will digitize the known land uses in the image. How many land uses do you see? Digitize
at least three polygons for Rice paddy, three polygons for build-up areas, and two polygons for mangrove area. To start
digitizing, you need to create an empty feature layer. Go to Layer in Menu Bar, then select New > New Shapefile Layer
(Figure 36). Select Polygon as the type of shapefile. Click the Specify CRS and select EPSG 4326.

Add Landuse as a new attribute. Enter the name Landuse in the Name section, then click Add to attribute list.
This will add the land use name in your attribute table. At the end of digitizing a polygon you will be prompted to specify ID
and name of land use. Click OK. Save it in your Created Shapefiles folder and specify filename as MisOcc_landuse.

Figure 36. New vector layer window

Your new empty layer will be added automatically in your Map Legend. Select the layer MisOcc_landuse in Map
Legend, then click Toggle editing in the Digitizing tool in toolbar. Now, the other icons are activated in the Digitizing tool.
Now you are ready to digitize. Select the Add feature icon in the Digitizing tool. Simply press the left mouse click and trace
the boundary of the features that you desire to digitize. Do not hold left click when you are digitizing, this will create points
with very fine interval. When you are finished simply right click on mouse. A window will appear asking for the ID and
Landuse name. Enter the appropriate values. You can assign one ID for each landuse, i.e., ID 1 is assigned to Rice paddy.

Open your Participatory_map_rectified.tif. Digitize the point features and save it as threatened species. Add to
your attribute list the name Species. Name each point feature as Almaciga. Your last exercise is to digitize the red lines in
your participatory map. Save it as threats. Add Type of threat in your attribute table list, and name each line feature as
Prone to erosion.

When you are finished you are already ready to compose your first map in QGIS.

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Map composition

In this exercise, you will create a map for presentation. Go to File and select New Print Composer. Select Add new
map. Drag your mouse on the canvass; starts with the upper left corner to lower right corner. This set the extent of your
map. Add the following elements in your map: Legend, North Arrow, Title, Scale Bar, and Grid in your map extent. Just
point your mouse in one of the icons, and the name of it will pop. To add an element, select an icon in the tool bar, then click
anywhere on the map canvass. You can change the location of the elements once in the map canvass.

Figure 32. Map composer window in QGIS.

Add north arrow

To select more arrow options, select the Add image in the tool bar, then click anywhere in map canvass. Go to Item
properties and select Picture options. Select the arrow style you want in the Pre-loaded images. To remove the border of the
arrow, go to General options under Item properties. Select Frame color and change to white.

Add grid marks

Click first on the map, then go to Grids under Item properties. Tick Show grid then select Cross as your Grid
type. Adjust the X, Y interval to 0.05.

Add scale bar

Click on the Add new scalebar icon in tool bar. Select the Style in Item properties. Also adjust the Segment size
(map units) to 0.02.

Add map title

Click on the Add new label icon. The default title is Quantum GIS. To change the title, go to Label under Item
properties then change it to My First Map. You can also change the alignment and font of the map title in Item properties.

Exporting a map

To save your map for presentation, go to File then select Export as Image. Save it in your GIS folder and specify
the filename as Myfirstmap.

-End-

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