Map Tools - helping improve natural environments
Grip on Life has developed a handful of map tools focused on improving natural environments in forests and waterways. We have also created a guide for those who want to learn more about how geographic information systems – digital map tools – work.
Please note: the map tools are only available in Swedish.
The Forest Water Map is a tool designed to help assess the risk of negative impacts on lakes and watercourses when carrying out forestry activities, such as logging.
The map contains completely new data and is available as a layer in the Swedish Forest Agency’s mapping services at skogsstyrelsen.se. It shows where surface water can be expected within the area where an activity is planned, and also gives an indication of how water moves between the area in question and downstream lakes and streams. Additionally, the map provides an estimate of water flow volume.
Laser data from the national LiDAR survey of Sweden’s forests has been used to create a digital elevation model showing ground surface characteristics. Artificial intelligence (AI) has also been employed to assess where culverts may be needed.
The tool is also valuable when planning for the rewetting of drained wetlands, implementing protective measures during ditch cleaning and protective ditching, and for sizing culverts when constructing forest roads.
The Forest Water Map was developed by the Swedish Forest Agency in collaboration with Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), with funding from Grip on Life.
In the Grip on Life project, we have established more than 60 demonstration areas across the country, the majority of which are shown in the Find Demonstration Areas map.
The map service makes it easy to locate our demonstration areas and provides a description of each site.
At the demonstration areas, you can learn more about forestry with consideration for forest water, continuous-cover forestry, conservation management, and life in and around the water.
The demonstration areas are ideal for educational use by various organizations, or you can visit them on your own.
The GIS-based Wetland Map for Jönköping County shows where it may be suitable to create, restore, or rehabilitate wetlands.
The Wetland Map was developed by the County Administrative Board of Jönköping and combines various map layers with information relevant to wetland management.
With funding from Grip on Life, special map layers have been added to the Wetland Map showing potential wetlands based on five ecosystem services:
- Reduced greenhouse gas emissions
- Increased biodiversity
- Nutrient retention
- Reduced flood risk
- Groundwater recharge
The tool is primarily intended for use by municipal and government staff in their wetland work, but it is also freely available for use by forestry operators and interested landowners.
Grip on Life’s guide to digital map tools provides descriptions of what different geographic information systems – digital maps – contain and how they can be used to enhance environmental consideration in forestry.
The guide is aimed at anyone who wants a basic understanding of the maps now commonly used in forestry. It focuses on maps related to forestry near water. The Soil Moisture Map, developed by the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), is one example.
The guide was developed by the Swedish Forest Agency and the County Administrative Board of Jämtland as part of the Grip on Life project.
Forestry by Water – A Guide to Digital Map Tools (lansstyrelsen.se)
In Grip on Life, the County Administrative Board of Halland has developed an Integrated Action Plan for Water (SÅV – the Swedish abbreviation for "Samlad åtgärdsplan för vatten"), which brings together all the needed measures for lakes and watercourses in one place and prioritizes them.
The purpose of the SÅV plan is to gather all water-related actions in one place and to prioritize between different measures and geographic areas. The plan is intended to serve as a basis for those working on water management measures.
The SÅV plan is structured as a geodatabase with a GIS layer. Within the geodatabase, measures are listed in order of priority, from Priority 1 (highest priority) to Priority 4 (lowest priority).
The plan includes measures related to connectivity (migration barriers) and morphological changes (for example, restoring cleared sections or reconstructing key sections). The work is based on natural values and does not cover measures for eutrophication, recreation, cultural environments, flow regulation, or water management.
The method used to develop the Integrated Action Plan for Water in Halland can also be applied in other areas.
The importance of riparian zones for aquatic life is well documented. But what constitutes a functional riparian zone, and how should it be delineated? In the Hedströmmen catchment area in Västmanland, where Grip on Life has worked to improve conditions for the freshwater pearl mussel, we conducted a GIS-based analysis of the riparian zones along the watercourses to gain a better understanding of their function and condition. In this catchment, the riparian zones have been affected by long-term intensive forestry and often consist of uniform, dense young coniferous forests.
The method used to develop the GIS-based analysis can also be applied in other areas. There is also potential to develop map tools that, among other things, show the proportion of deciduous trees in the riparian zones and the shading/canopy cover they provide to the watercourses.