6 QGIS plug-ins no UK ecologist should be without
Introduction
QGIS plug-ins are great. They expand the capabilities of QGIS, offer unique new features, and can make your workflows super efficient. Only one plug-in on this list has been specifically designed for ecologists, but they are all super-useful for ecologists working in the UK. I use them all daily basis, incorporate them to my training courses, and get great feedback when I recommend them. But if you were hoping this article would focus on solving ecological questions like calculating vegetation health from satellite images using NDVI, you’ll have to wait for a future article!
I have been using GIS software for over 20 years now. I started out with ArcGIS at the Joint Nature Conservation Committee, migrated to MapInfo at London Wildlife Trust, and to QGIS when I set up Maplango 8 years ago. I distinctly remember the frustration of transition, when I was so familiar working in one system and had to learn another. But it’s things like Plug-ins that make QGIS the joy it is. Being open-source, QGIS really facilitates the development of these additional tools, plus gives a real sense of community. It’s a pleasure to share these with you.
Find and install QGIS plug-ins
Plug-ins and how you plugins are developed independently of QGIS, by the QGIS community or third-party developers. They are software components that can be installed in QGIS to extend the functionality and provide additional tools and features. To get started, you can browse the full repository (c.2000) online but it is more commonly accessed via the menu within QGIS (Plug-ins > manage and install). Here you can search the full list, and filter by those (not) already installed on your copy of QGIS. Once you’ve reviewed the description and decided to give it a go, you simply click Install. Behind the scenes, this will result in a few files being added to the program folder and, depending on the specific plug-in, a new toolbar or menu item in QGIS.
6 plug-ins for Ecologists
Now you know what Plug-ins are and where to find them, without further ado, let’s look at the 6 showcased here.
1. Quick Map Services
This remarkable plugin acts as a gateway to a catalogue of base-maps and imagery. And unlike similar plug-ins, with QMS you won’t get problems with visualisation and printing. It allows you to set your data in context in seconds. So whether you are looking at habitat fragmentation, species distributions, or landscape connectivity this is a good place to start.
It works just like using Google maps on your phone; as you zoom and pan to navigate around the map, the ‘web-mapping service’ loads the tiles required to display the map at your current area. Once installed, you will see QMS appear on the Web menu. ‘Google Satellite’ and ‘OSM (OpenStreetMap) Standard’ are a good place to start but you can add many new services by pressing the ‘Get contributed pack’ button in ‘Settings > More services’.
A couple of things to be aware of:
The base maps are in web-macerator projection, which isn’t the most accurate.
The data layers usually have a copyright / licence. So it is worth checking they are a. appropriate for your use case and b. you use the correct statement on any derived maps. Open Street map terms are here and Google’s are here.
2. Zoom to Postcode
This plug-in does exactly what it says on the tin. It zooms the map to a UK postcode. In doing so, it allows you to quickly and easily find a site. It which should save you a lot of time preparing for field visit or searching for a project location to begin you data capture (digitising).
Once installed, a new toolbar will appear. Simply enter your postcode, and the map will update and display that location, with whatever map layers you have loaded. Note that on first use a list of postcodes are downloaded.
3. Go2streetview
Having found your site, using Zoom to Postcode or otherwise, The Go2streetview helps you to get additional context. It enables you to view Google Street View or Bing Bird's Eye in a panel, directly in QGIS.
Once installed, a new toolbar is installed, which opens a panel to view the imagery. To get started, you will need to set up a Google API key (see here). Enter this to the plug-in, and you’re all set. I suggest you dock & tab the panel to maximise the size of the map view / Streetview panel. Nice features include being able to view the direction of view on the map cursor, and being able to move the pin to a new location.
4. TomBio tools
The only plug-in on this list specifically designed and made for ecologists (and biological recorders) in the UK. Created by the Field Studies Council, it has various functions, all of which are well documented. Let’s have a look at 2 of the key tools:
The OSGR tool allows you to work with grid references. Familiar to the Scouts and Guides amongst us, Biological Recorders / LERCs also often use grid refs (psst.. the Ordnance Survey have created a handy guide for the uninitiated). However, until now, grid-refs have not been supported in GIS. The OSGR tool changes that. You can generate grid polygons, from 1m to 10Km, aligned to the British National Grid. These can be based on a site boundary or a user defined area; perfect for designing surveys or heat-maps maps of species distribution.
The Biological Records Tool allows you to take a spreadsheet of biological records as grid-refs and map them in QGIS, either as points for individual records, or by aggregating records by OS grid squares. The aggregating feature can also be used on an existing point layer rather than a spreadsheet of records. Plus, you can automate the production of dozens of species distributions with a few clicks. Some very impressive and useful tools, designed specifically for you.
5. Another DXF Importer
With Biodiversity Net Gain assessments becoming commonplace, there is now a real need for ecologists to be able to work with CAD drawings in QGIS. This is because (Landscape) Architects tend to design in CAD software and so will typically provide the Post development designs as DWG or DXF files. These need to be imported to QGIS, and interpreted to create a UK habitat-classified layer.
While QGIS can load / display DXF-Files using standard functions (Add vector layer) the symbology is very basic, making them hard to interpret. Plus a DXF layer limits greatly how you can work with the data. Once installed, this plug-in adds a function to the Vector menu. It allows you to convert the DXF to Geopackage or Shapefile (so you can then edit the data) and it also maintains the symbols, text, colours from the DXF, so that it’s much more like the (landscape) architect intended, making it easier to interpret.
6. NN join
Sure, you can use QGIS to display background layers and use them to for context as you digitise habitat and other features. For many ecologists, that might be pretty much all they need from QGIS. However, there is so much more, and this plugin is an easy yet powerful way to get started with spatial analysis. NN stands for Nearest Neighbour and, as the name suggests, it facilitates proximity analysis. So you might, for instance, use it in a desk study context to calculate how far protected areas are from your site boundary. Or, in a habitat connectivity analysis, to find isolated or well connected habitat parcels.
Once installed, a new function is added to the vector menu which allows you to join two vector layers, where a feature from the input layer is joined to the nearest feature in the join layer. All geometry type combinations are supported, so you can join lines to points, or points to polygons; whatever you need. The distance is calculated to the boundary not centroid of the joined feature. And you can even perform self joins, where each feature in the layer is joined to its nearest neighbour within the same layer. Such a flexible tool!
Conclusion
I hope you enjoyed that little tour of QGIS plug-ins. For the QGIS newbies, I hope the article gives you the confidence to try plug-ins, and suggest these are a good place to start. For more regular QGIS users, I expect some on this list were already familiar to you, but hope some were fresh, and that the article inspires you to further explore the Plug-in repository. There are so many useful plug-ins, my advice would be to keep them under review and if you find yourself thinking ‘there must be an easier way of doing this’ there probably is, and with a bit of luck, someone has created a plug in for that very purpose!
Maplango regularly work with Ecological clients to create organisational ‘QGIS Roadmaps’. We help appraise and evolve workflows; providing the strategic guidance and technical advice to make sure your processes are modern, efficient and effective. By working in partnership and engaging staff at all levels, we build capacity with clients and ensure solutions last for years.
If you would like to chat about how plug-ins can improve your workflows, or anything else QGIS, give us a shout: https://www.maplango.com/contact.