The USDA Forest Service Santee Experimental Forest was established in 1937 as a 2,468-ha site for silvicultural research involving hydrology, soils, and vegetation. Over the years, Forest Service (FS) scientists and others have compiled a long-term database that can now be accessed via this web portal. Our data fall into three major categories: hydrology, climate, and land resource data.
GIS Data
Access data »GIS data depict wells, streams, or watershed boundary locations, and soil and vegetation type maps. Each data contains attributes that identify and describe each feature. A map of the SEF with the most used shapefiles can be accessed through an icon on the shapefile table.
Aerial Photographs
Access data »Aerial photographs of the SEF have been obtained from the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (SCDNR) and the United States Geologic Survey (USGS). The geographic coordinates for each pixel within the photographs has been determined. These aerial photographs can be used in ArcGIS in conjunction with SEF shapefiles. The SCDNR photographs from 1994, 1999, and 2006, as well as the USGS photographs from 2006 can be downloaded from the above link.
Geo-Referenced Maps
Access data »Maps of the SEF have been scanned and geo-referenced, meaning the map features have been spatially located and the geographic coordinates have been determined. These maps are digital images that can be used in ArcGIS in conjunction with SEF shapefiles.
LiDar Data
Access data »LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) is a method for determining distance using light and its wavelengths to an object from downward-looking LIDAR instruments fitted to aircraft and satellites. The data collected is used to determine the elevation of objects with respect to mean sea level (MSL). Bare Earth and First Return LiDAR data of the SEF was created in 2007 by Photo Science, Inc. The data contains a number of text files with X, Y, and Z geographic coordinates. (Bare Earth and First Return digital image files were created from this LiDAR data and can be downloaded from the downloadable shapefiles link.)
DEM Data
Access data »Digital Elevation Model (DEM) data files consist of a sampled array of elevations for a number of ground positions at regularly spaced intervals. These digital cartographic/geographic data files are produced by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). The 10 meter DEM data was published in 2003 and the 30 meter DEM data was published in 2001. The DEM data was converted to 10 meter and 30 meter digital image files that can be used in ArcGIS in conjunction with SEF shapefiles.