The advantages of incorporating historical geographic information systems (H-GIS) into modern coastal management planning

As the terrestrial and marine effects of climate change continue
to intensify, the value of natural habitats as a form of protection
against a variety of ecological issues is becoming clear. Coastal
wetlands, for example, provide protection against incoming storm
surges and extreme weather, serve to improve water quality through
the sequestration of various pollutants, and offer serious potential
as a new source of biofuel. Unfortunately, many of the areas that
have been affected by coastal habitat loss still suffer from the same
problems that caused those ecosystems to change in the first place.
Cities continue to release effluence into estuaries; hydrological engineering
projects continue to redirect waterways that change flow
and sediment patterns; and increasing populations in coastal areas
all assert significant pressures on intertidal ecosystems. This
ongoing changing of the landscape-and the length of time that anthropogenic
factors have been influencing these habitats-has made
modern-day environmental planning and management important
yet complicated pursuits. As a result, planners and managers must
constantly look for new tools to better understand their environment.
Incorporating historically derived environmental data into
geographic information systems (GIS) can enhance the quality of
ecological models, which subsequently offers environmental planners
andmanagers with a more robust understanding of the ecosystems
encompassed within their project areas.