{"id":700672,"date":"2024-10-08T06:49:05","date_gmt":"2024-10-08T13:49:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/?post_type=blog&#038;p=700672"},"modified":"2025-05-19T14:53:02","modified_gmt":"2025-05-19T21:53:02","slug":"tall-timbers-longleaf-pine-forest-prescribed-fire","status":"publish","type":"blog","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/blog\/tall-timbers-longleaf-pine-forest-prescribed-fire","title":{"rendered":"Tech Meets Ecology: Environmental Digital Twin Enhances Longleaf Pine Restoration"},"author":671,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"sync_status":"","episode_type":"","audio_file":"","transcript_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","castos_file_data":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[],"tags":[482772,21622,282802,165872,490622,471971],"industry":[],"esri-blog-category":[478382,478422],"esri_blog_department":[478222,478212],"class_list":["post-700672","blog","type-blog","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","tag-ai-ml","tag-digital-twin","tag-florida","tag-forests","tag-tipping-point","tag-wildfire","esri-blog-category-forestry","esri-blog-category-wildfire","esri_blog_department-conservation-and-environment","esri_blog_department-resilience"],"acf":{"video_source":"","video_start":"","video_stop":"","short_description":"More than 60 years of map-based research by Tall Timbers benefits efforts to restore longleaf pine forests.","pdf":{"host_remotely":false,"file":"","file_url":""},"flexible_content":[{"acf_fc_layout":"sidebar","layout":"standard","image_reference":null,"image_reference_figure":"","spotlight_image":null,"section_title":"","spotlight_name":"","position":"Right","content":"In the push to expand the range of longleaf pine forests and habitats, an environmental digital twin guided by scientists shows where and when to burn.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Key Takeaways<\/strong>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>Scientists at Tall Timbers wield GIS technology to understand and manage the regeneration of longleaf pine trees.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Prescribed fire is vital for maintaining the health and biodiversity of longleaf pine natural communities, as evidenced by over 60 years of research by Tall Timbers.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>The Southeast FireMap application is a valuable tool for land managers to track and plan burns, highlighting the importance of fire in natural resource management and conservation.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>","snippet":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"Longleaf pine ecosystems are important allies in the fight against climate change and biodiversity loss. With their efficient use of water and resistance to fire and insects, the US Forest Service has recognized these pines as one of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fs.usda.gov\/ccrc\/adaptation\/adaptation-examples\/watershed-response-long-leaf-pine-restoration#:~:text=In%20a%20longleaf%20pine%20stand,more%20resilient%20to%20climate%20change.\">best climate-adapted species for the Southern US<\/a>. Furthermore, the ecologically diverse grasslands with these important trees are vital habitats for more than 600 plant and wildlife species, including 29 that are endangered or threatened.\r\n\r\nDriven by the realization of longleaf pine's critical role, there has been a concerted effort to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nrcs.usda.gov\/programs-initiatives\/longleaf-pine-initiative#:~:text=Since%202010%2C%20NRCS%20has%20helped,long%20decline%20across%20the%20region.\">restore longleaf pine ecosystems<\/a> across their original range, stretching from Eastern Texas to Southern Virginia. Once spanning 90 million acres, these ecosystems have dwindled to about three percent of their original size.\r\n\r\nThis restoration effort benefits from 60 years of close study of these ecosystems at Tall Timbers in the panhandle of Florida.\r\n\r\nAt Tall Timbers, prescribed fire has been one of the key tactics in returning vigor and biodiversity to native ecosystems. Tall Timbers manages a series of research plots and more than 13,000 acres. Some plots are burned every year, others every four or five. Some have never been burned, and some are burned in different seasons.\r\n\r\nKevin Robertson, fire ecology research scientist at Tall Timbers, is part of an extended team that applies geographic information system (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/en-us\/what-is-gis\/overview\">GIS<\/a>) technology to capture details of the organization\u2019s natural resources research. They use GIS mapping and spatial analysis tools to plan fire research that links the amount of fuel (live and dead plants) in the ecosystem, weather conditions, and fire behavior. After each fire, Robertson and his team use GIS to record the impacts to wildlife and plants.\r\n\r\n\u201cWe never have a research plot without it being in GIS,\u201d Robertson said. \u201cPutting together details about the trees and fire alongside the topographic location, the soil type, the plant community, and the climate has led to important discoveries.\u201d\r\n<h3><strong>Scientific Approach to Capture Change and Causes<\/strong><\/h3>\r\nTall Timbers, located in Northern Leon County, Florida, started out as a quail hunting estate established in 1895 by wealthy New York City architect, Edward Beadel. His nephew Henry Beadel inherited the property and carried on the hunting tradition. When he saw quail populations decline by the early 1920s, he worked with other nearby landowners to sponsor a study to understand why.\r\n\r\nWhen the study emphasized the importance of fire, it led to Tall Timbers being known as the \"birthplace of fire ecology.\" When Henry Beadel died, he endowed his land at Tall Timbers as a research laboratory for further investigation into the value of prescribed fire and education about its benefits."},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":700732,"image_position":"center","orientation":"horizontal","hyperlink":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"In an old growth longleaf pine community known as the Wade Tract, Tall Timbers researchers and the project founder William Platt have mapped and studied more than 20,000 pines for more than 45 years. The trees have been mapped every few years to track the distribution, height, and health of every individual tree larger than two centimeters in diameter. After a burn, researchers use GPS units to collect location-specific data on how the fire has spread and how it is influenced by the pattern of trees.\r\n\r\nA GIS-powered <a href=\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/blog\/open-science-environmental-digital-twin\/?srsltid=AfmBOoqJUVVnUo1w6tVIQFMs-l7peRHiL9Y8CZNyxG9SVhTjzBcywzQJ\">environmental digital twin<\/a> forms the basis of this work. It\u2019s used to manage the ecosystem and dig into the details about how the forest behaves with and without fire. The twin helped Tall Timbers scientists unlock insights about how the pines regenerate and to identify the ideal fire frequency to enhance biodiversity. It\u2019s also helping to answer research questions about the distribution of soil chemicals, multiple plant species, and ecosystem carbon.\r\n\r\nSome scientists speculated that new patches of longleaf pine grew where there was the most sunlight. Others hypothesized that root competition caused new trees to grow in dense clusters. However, with the digital twin, researchers could study the data and find patterns of trees and fire spread that determined the cause and effect.\r\n\r\n\u201cWe were able to map where trees were regenerating to see that unburned patches are where regeneration was occurring,\u201d Robertson said."},{"acf_fc_layout":"gallery","gallery_images":[703632,703642,703612]},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"<h3><strong>Creating Habitat and Reducing Fire Hazards<\/strong><\/h3>\r\nIn Florida, 90 percent of fires are prescribed at intervals intended to match the natural, historical patterns of longleaf pine communities across their entire range. In the past, lightning strikes were a common cause of fires. Indigenous North American Tribes would also set fires, aware of the many benefits. Over millions of years, the landscape has grown dependent on fire.\r\n\r\nThe digital twin of longleaf pine communities has helped Tall Timbers understand the benefits of fire and pass this knowledge along to the country\u2019s wildland firefighters.\r\n\r\nNow, Tall Timbers hosts the <a href=\"https:\/\/talltimbers.org\/fire-training\/\">National Interagency Prescribed Fire Training Center<\/a>, where federal, state, local, and Tribal government agencies and other organizations share fire knowledge and receive training on how, where, and when to burn.\r\n\r\nThe understory vegetation in pine communities grows quickly, and if fire isn\u2019t used at least every three years, the fuel load may become too dense for most native plant and animal species. Without fire, land managers would need to use chainsaws to thin the forest, which is much more complicated and expensive.\r\n\r\n\u201cWe sometimes use the analogy of mowing your grass to help people understand these systems,\u201d Robertson said. \u201cThe trees survive the fire. The grass and the woody plants of the understory are mostly just top killed by fire and re-sprout.\u201d"},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":703602,"image_position":"center","orientation":"horizontal","hyperlink":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"Visitors to the training center learn from the measured and managed approach that organizations like Tall Timbers take with fire, using GIS to monitor, make plans, and execute strategies. Beneficial fire requires a landscape-level awareness that the technology provides.\r\n\r\n\u201cWe use GIS to understand the balance between the ecological need and safety, and for being aware of smoke and other impacts,\u201d said Holly Nowell, the director of the Smoke Science Program and an assistant scientist at Tall Timbers. \u201cWe have shown that we have better habitat where there is higher burn frequency.\u201d\r\n<h3><strong>Using Data to Model the Behavior of Smoke<\/strong><\/h3>\r\nTall Timbers has recently started a new department to study smoke. The environmental digital twin helps researchers understand the behavior of smoke and guide it away from vulnerable populations.\r\n\r\n\u201cWe\u2019re really in a challenge to learn how to burn in such a way that prevents the Environmental Protection Agency air quality standards from being exceeded,\u201d Robertson said. \u201cThat involves geography, knowing where the smoke is coming from and working with landowners to spread their burning out over time.\u201d\r\n\r\nWhile the environmental digital twin has been essential for smoke modeling, additional modeling is needed. Researchers want to be able to discern \u201cthe movement of heated air and how that influences the fuels in front of it.\u201d They also need to know how air is being drawn into the fire so they can predict how fire will behave.\r\n\r\nFor now, visitors to Tall Timbers can observe the environmental digital twin in action. More importantly, land managers can observe how fire helps longleaf pine ecosystems thrive and support a rich biodiversity.\r\n\r\n\u201cFire is tightly connected with biodiversity because if we don't have frequent fire in this ecosystem, we lose most of our endemic plants and animals,\u201d Robertson said.\r\n\r\n\u201cWhen you walk by these plots, the types of birds that you hear and see are completely different,\u201d Nowell said. \u201cIn overgrown plots, you won\u2019t hear any quail calls and it\u2019s difficult to see any species. When you walk into the plots we maintain regularly with fire, you\u2019ll spook the quail and see red-cockaded woodpeckers\u2014an endangered species.\u201d\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nLearn more about how <a href=\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/en-us\/industries\/wildland-fire\/overview?srsltid=AfmBOoq1_V5f4XfckJpPwRHPNoMDzLEbrycDMFh-8VkzbIv_g0YmAalU\">GIS guides wildfire planning and response<\/a>, and how <a href=\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/en-us\/industries\/conservation\/overview?srsltid=AfmBOophSRg3bVyeunxTHe3Nfx38jDim0YUyWBS3Mn72OLNWZAQ_kXSW\">GIS safeguards biodiversity<\/a>."},{"acf_fc_layout":"sidebar","layout":"standard","image_reference":null,"image_reference_figure":"","spotlight_image":null,"section_title":"","spotlight_name":"","position":"Center","content":"<h2><strong>Spreading Lessons About the Benefits of Fire Across the Southeast<\/strong><\/h2>\r\nA new application developed with the support of researchers at Tall Timbers and the US Geological Survey, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.landscapepartnership.org\/networks\/working-lands-for-wildlife\/wildland-fire\/fire-mapping\/regional-fire-mapping\/se-firemap\/se-firemap-version-1-0\">SE FireMap<\/a>, is helping grow ecological awareness and bring together a broad group of collaborators to determine when, where, and why fires happen. This solution is funded by the Working Lands for Wildlife Program at the US Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service.\r\n\r\nThe app uses yearly burned area maps derived from Landsat satellite imagery to create Fire History Metrics that show details such as how many times a particular area has burned over a period, and the last year it burned. This workflow uses artificial intelligence (AI) models to detect where fires occurred and show how vegetation responded. Many of the fires are on private lands and aren\u2019t tracked that well. Using imagery, the app fills in the missing fires.\r\n\r\nTo ensure accuracy in the application, Tall Timbers ground-truths inputs from satellite imagery and AI analysis. \u201cWe go out and do the fieldwork to train and calibrate the model and answer such questions as why some areas are burning better,\u201d said Kevin Robertson, the fuel ecology research scientist at Tall Timbers.\r\n\r\nUsing SE FireMap, landowners can observe how prescribed fire has been a beneficial practice across a broad area, and that it can be done safely.\r\n\r\nTall Timbers has been using the app to locate land properly maintained by fire. Then staff members can work with landowners to commit these acres to longleaf pine conservation. Landowners receive tax benefits when the land goes into a <a href=\"https:\/\/talltimbers.org\/land-conservation\/land-conservation-conservation-easement-process-and-costs\/\">conservation easement<\/a> that preserves natural habitats.\r\n\r\nTo date, Tall Timbers has added 29,000 acres of conserved lands in Northern Florida and Southern Georgia to spread the biodiversity benefits and climate resilience of longleaf pine forests.","snippet":""}],"references":null},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v25.9 (Yoast SEO v25.9) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Returning Longleaf Pine Forests Requires Fire<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"For more than 60 years, Tall Timbers has supported restoration efforts to return climate-resilient longleaf pine forests.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/blog\/tall-timbers-longleaf-pine-forest-prescribed-fire\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Tech Meets Ecology: Environmental Digital Twin Enhances Longleaf Pine Restoration\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"For more than 60 years, Tall Timbers has supported restoration efforts to return climate-resilient longleaf pine forests.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/blog\/tall-timbers-longleaf-pine-forest-prescribed-fire\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Esri\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/esrigis\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-05-19T21:53:02+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/app\/uploads\/2024\/09\/AdobeStock_649838714-longleaf-pine-fire-826.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Esri\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"9 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\n\t    \"@context\": \"https:\/\/schema.org\",\n\t    \"@graph\": [\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"WebPage\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/blog\/tall-timbers-longleaf-pine-forest-prescribed-fire\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/blog\/tall-timbers-longleaf-pine-forest-prescribed-fire\",\n\t            \"name\": \"Returning Longleaf Pine Forests Requires Fire\",\n\t            \"isPartOf\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/#website\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"datePublished\": \"2024-10-08T13:49:05+00:00\",\n\t            \"dateModified\": \"2025-05-19T21:53:02+00:00\",\n\t            \"description\": \"For more than 60 years, Tall Timbers has supported restoration efforts to return climate-resilient longleaf pine forests.\",\n\t            \"breadcrumb\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/blog\/tall-timbers-longleaf-pine-forest-prescribed-fire#breadcrumb\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ReadAction\",\n\t                    \"target\": [\n\t                        \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/blog\/tall-timbers-longleaf-pine-forest-prescribed-fire\"\n\t                    ]\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"BreadcrumbList\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/blog\/tall-timbers-longleaf-pine-forest-prescribed-fire#breadcrumb\",\n\t            \"itemListElement\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 1,\n\t                    \"name\": \"Home\",\n\t                    \"item\": \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\"\n\t                },\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 2,\n\t                    \"name\": \"Tech Meets Ecology: Environmental Digital Twin Enhances Longleaf Pine Restoration\"\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"WebSite\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/#website\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/\",\n\t            \"name\": \"Esri\",\n\t            \"description\": \"Esri Newsroom\",\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"SearchAction\",\n\t                    \"target\": {\n\t                        \"@type\": \"EntryPoint\",\n\t                        \"urlTemplate\": \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/?s={search_term_string}\"\n\t                    },\n\t                    \"query-input\": {\n\t                        \"@type\": \"PropertyValueSpecification\",\n\t                        \"valueRequired\": true,\n\t                        \"valueName\": \"search_term_string\"\n\t                    }\n\t                }\n\t            ],\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\"\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Person\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/#\/schema\/person\/8ad23580b2658589de4ea5107d75cb52\",\n\t            \"name\": \"Matt Ball\",\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t                \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\n\t                \"url\": \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/app\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Author-photo-2024-768x768.jpg\",\n\t                \"contentUrl\": \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/app\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Author-photo-2024-768x768.jpg\",\n\t                \"caption\": \"Matt Ball\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"description\": \"Matt Ball is the editor of the Esri Blog and writes about applications of geospatial technology for all its departments. With nearly 30 years of reporting on GIS technology, he has chased future-forward user stories and watched as wild ideas, innovative tools, and enterprise-wide geographic approaches have become common practice. Prior to Esri, he edited GeoWorld magazine, organized the GeoTec Event, founded V1 Media, and launched Sensors &amp; Systems and Informed Infrastructure magazines. He\u2019s thrilled to be closer to GIS users, and at a company that pushes what\u2019s possible.\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/author\/mball\"\n\t        }\n\t    ]\n\t}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Returning Longleaf Pine Forests Requires Fire","description":"For more than 60 years, Tall Timbers has supported restoration efforts to return climate-resilient longleaf pine forests.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/blog\/tall-timbers-longleaf-pine-forest-prescribed-fire","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Tech Meets Ecology: Environmental Digital Twin Enhances Longleaf Pine Restoration","og_description":"For more than 60 years, Tall Timbers has supported restoration efforts to return climate-resilient longleaf pine forests.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/blog\/tall-timbers-longleaf-pine-forest-prescribed-fire","og_site_name":"Esri","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/esrigis\/","article_modified_time":"2025-05-19T21:53:02+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/app\/uploads\/2024\/09\/AdobeStock_649838714-longleaf-pine-fire-826.jpg","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_site":"@Esri","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"9 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/blog\/tall-timbers-longleaf-pine-forest-prescribed-fire","url":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/blog\/tall-timbers-longleaf-pine-forest-prescribed-fire","name":"Returning Longleaf Pine Forests Requires Fire","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/#website"},"datePublished":"2024-10-08T13:49:05+00:00","dateModified":"2025-05-19T21:53:02+00:00","description":"For more than 60 years, Tall Timbers has supported restoration efforts to return climate-resilient longleaf pine forests.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/blog\/tall-timbers-longleaf-pine-forest-prescribed-fire#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/blog\/tall-timbers-longleaf-pine-forest-prescribed-fire"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/blog\/tall-timbers-longleaf-pine-forest-prescribed-fire#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Tech Meets Ecology: Environmental Digital Twin Enhances Longleaf Pine Restoration"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/","name":"Esri","description":"Esri Newsroom","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/#\/schema\/person\/8ad23580b2658589de4ea5107d75cb52","name":"Matt Ball","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/app\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Author-photo-2024-768x768.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/app\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Author-photo-2024-768x768.jpg","caption":"Matt Ball"},"description":"Matt Ball is the editor of the Esri Blog and writes about applications of geospatial technology for all its departments. With nearly 30 years of reporting on GIS technology, he has chased future-forward user stories and watched as wild ideas, innovative tools, and enterprise-wide geographic approaches have become common practice. Prior to Esri, he edited GeoWorld magazine, organized the GeoTec Event, founded V1 Media, and launched Sensors &amp; Systems and Informed Infrastructure magazines. He\u2019s thrilled to be closer to GIS users, and at a company that pushes what\u2019s possible.","url":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/author\/mball"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/blog\/700672","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/blog"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/blog"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/671"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/blog\/700672\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=700672"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=700672"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=700672"},{"taxonomy":"industry","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/industry?post=700672"},{"taxonomy":"esri-blog-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/esri-blog-category?post=700672"},{"taxonomy":"esri_blog_department","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/esri_blog_department?post=700672"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}