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===== Geographic Information System (GIS) –> WebGIS –> AlpES WebGIS =====

A **Geographic Information System** (**GIS**) is an information system, which is based on [[:wiki:spatial_data|data]] referenced by geographic coordinates (Curran, 1984)((Curran, P. (1984). Geographic Information Systems. Area, 16 , 153-158. Retrieved from [[http://www.jstor.org/stable/20002046|http://www.jstor.org/stable/20002046]])) . {{  :wiki:gis.png?nolink&600  }}It is a system consisting of hardware, software, data, people, organizations and institutional arrangements for capturing, collecting, storing, manipulating, analyzing and disseminating information about areas of the earth (Dueker & Kjerne, 1989) ((Dueker, K. J., & Kjerne, D. (1989): Multipurpose cadastre: Terms and definitions. American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing)). Analyses of geodata or spatio-temporal phenomena can be presented and visualized (Goodchild, 2009)((Goodchild, M. F. (2009): Geographic Information System. In: Encyclopedia of Database Systems, pp. 1231-1236. Springer US. DOI: 10.1007/978-0-387-39940-9_178. Retrieved from  [[http://link.springer.com/referenceworkentry/10.1007%2F978-0-387-39940-9_178|http://link.springer.com/referenceworkentry/10.1007%2F978-0-387-39940-9_178]])) .

A **WebGIS** provides access to a GIS requiring only a web browser. It is an Internet based Geographic Information System with reduced GIS functionality (Bartoschek, 2009) ((Bartoschek, T. (2009): WebGIS für die Schule – ein Überblick. Retrieved from  [[https://www.researchgate.net/publication/236340662_WebGIS_fur_die_Schule_-_ein_Uberblick|https://www.researchgate.net/publication/236340662_WebGIS_fur_die_Schule_-_ein_Uberblick]])) . The best known example of a WebGIS is probably Google Maps.

**AlpES WebGIS**

One of the main outputs in the [[:wiki:alpesbackground|AlpES project]] is the AlpES WebGIS. This WebGIS makes the spatial project data results available to the public and especially to the stakeholders. It can be used as a planning tool concerning [[:wiki:ecosystemservices|ecosystem services]].

Why do we use a WebGIS in the AlpES project?

Since it is the easiest and cheapest way to publish spatial project results to a broad audience. The AlpES WebGIS makes the [[:wiki:ecosystemservices|ecosystem services]] (ES) [[:wiki:indicators|indicators]] accessible to the stakeholders. A large number of people can use it at the same time. There is no need of having proprietary GIS software (Painho et al., 2001) ((Painho, M., Cabral, P., Peixoto, M. & Sena, R. (2001): WebGIS as a Teaching Tool. Retrieved from  [[http://www.academia.edu/2861405/WebGIS_as_a_teaching_tool|http://www.academia.edu/2861405/WebGIS_as_a_teaching_tool]])) , local storage capacity and professional knowledge. It only requires a webbrowser.

The AlpES WebGIS…

  * … is interactive and userfriendly
  * … is multilingual (DE, EN, FR, IT, SL)
  * … does not allow data download
  * … has a modern look and feel
  * … is based on open-source WebGIS architecture
  * … has pregenerated styled project result and background data
  * … is provided by [[:wiki:igf|IGF/ÖAW]].

Users of the AlpES WebGIS can…

  * … zoom in and out
  * … shift to the area of interest
  * … select layers
  * … access layer and metadata information
  * … change layer's transparency
  * … choose background data
  * … create own maps in an easy way
  * … print maps

===   ===

=== Additional Resources ===

  * [[http://www.alpes-webgis.eu|www.alpes-webgis.eu]]
  * [[:wiki:webgis_tutorials|AlpES WebGIS tutorials]]
  * [[:wiki:data_quality_requirements_documents|Data quality requirements for AlpES-WebGIS]]
~~DISCUSSION~~{{tag>"WebGIS" "ecosystem services" "AlpES_project" "indicator"}}