2026-01-26 – Weekly GIS News : GIS and climate action

Last week, our community discussions covered a variety of compelling topics, from practical GIS applications to innovative solutions in the field. Members explored the challenges of balancing precision agriculture technology with real-world results, as well as the technical intricacies of designing cost-efficient skid trails. The conversation also delved into the intersection of GIS with climate action, reflecting a growing trend in leveraging spatial data for environmental impact.


This Week’s Hot Topics

RTK hiccup vs. straight corn rows
This thread dives into the nuances of using RTK technology in agriculture, specifically dealing with the occasional discrepancies between tech and reality. It’s a great example of technology meeting practical challenges.
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Cost distance for skid trail design
Members are discussing strategies for optimizing skid trail layouts using cost distance analysis. This is particularly relevant for those involved in forest management and resource logistics.
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Vector tile basemaps for zoning viewer
Explore the benefits and challenges of implementing vector tile basemaps in zoning applications. This discussion is crucial for urban planners and GIS developers aiming to enhance user experience.
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Turning GIS into climate action
A thought-provoking discussion on how GIS can be a powerful tool for climate action initiatives. It’s an inspiring look at the role of technology in addressing global challenges.
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Speeding up weekly ILI maps
This topic focuses on improving the efficiency of creating ILI maps, which is essential for timely data analysis and decision-making.
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GeoParquet pipeline patterns that actually scale
A deep dive into scalable solutions using GeoParquet formats for large datasets. Perfect for those looking to enhance data processing capabilities.
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I was the schema lock all along
A humorous yet insightful discussion about common pitfalls in managing schema locks. It’s a reminder of how easily overlooked details can impact workflows.
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Accidentally moved HQ to Antarctica
This light-hearted thread discusses a GIS mishap that led to an unexpected relocation of a company’s headquarters. It’s both entertaining and educational on data accuracy.
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Thank you for staying engaged with our community. We hope these discussions spark new ideas and solutions in your work.

For cost-efficient skid trails, r.cost + least-cost paths in QGIS cut our hauling time about 15%; still ground-truth: r.cost - GRASS GIS manual.

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Quick example: for “balancing precision agriculture technology with real-world results,” I stopped chasing single-date NDVI and used a 3-year median Sentinel-2 stack in Google Earth Engine (10 m) to build stable management zones, then enforced a 1 ha minimum polygon in QGIS; that cut prescriptions we couldn’t apply and nudged N-use efficiency by about 6%. Small caveat: if rotations vary, switch to per-crop seasonal medians and sanity-check with one pass of soil EC before locking zones. https://earthengine.google.com.

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