SPATIAL ATTRIBUTES
OpenSiIMPPLLE contains an ArcGIS toolbox. It needs to be added to the toolboxes in ArcMap
(and ArcCatalog) after installing OpenSIMPPLLE by right clicking in the toolbox space to open up
a dialog box with the option Add Toolbox (Figure 5). In the resulting dialog window, enter the
pathway and file name to where the OpenSIMPPLLE toolbox is located under the installed
directory (Figure 6). This file can be found on the OpenSIMPPLLE website.
The following spatial relationships are used in OpenSIMPPLLE.
For vegetation, we identify the set of adjacent neighbors for each vegetation unit. If using
irregular polygons it is any unit that shares a boundary. If polygons are uniform, the system can
identify a maximum of eight neighbors. Each neighbor is identified as being Above, Below, or
Next To by comparing the elevation of the center of the plant community. The elevation has to
come from either an elevation field in the cover for the vegetation or a digital elevation model.
The neighbors that are Downwind are identified by providing a dominant wind direction for the
landscape. The distance to the nearest aquatic unit and distance to nearest road unit is
calculated in OpenSIMPPLLE (in EVU.java).
For aquatics, the upstream predecessor and the successor aquatic unit in the network is
identified. We identify what vegetation units are adjacent to each aquatic unit.
For constructed features of roads and trails, the predecessor and successor in the network is
identified.
For land units, we identify the adjacent neighboring land units (similar to vegetation) and the
vegetation units that coincide with it.