Historical data as an explicit component of land information systems

Abstract

A variety of geographical and land information systems is increasingly employed to manage and analyse spatial distributions and attributes. However, common to many applications are temporal as well as spatial considerations; data are time- as well as space-specific. Current spatial information systems acknowledge temporal data but neglect to make explicit use of them for historical analysis even though organizations using these systems routinely require this for a variety of procedures for decision making and for the evaluation of data quality. Historical information is examined in the context of three prototype land information systems. Though the primary focus of these systems varies, common themes and problems are discussed. In each case, managing historical information is complicated by changes in the spatial units of analysis as well as in the attributes associated with those units. Several important issues that follow from the historical aspect of land data are identified and categorized in this paper. Current research that addresses these concerns is cited.