Creating a Buffer Analysis in QGIS

Buffer’s are a tool used to calculate the distance from an object or set of objects in an environment. In GIS, buffers are ideal for analysis’ that involve distance constraints. Some examples of these would be the proximity of an endangered species to urban development or tracking the extent of nuclear fallout. Buffers can be very versatile and are able to provide distances with both raster and vector data (points, lines, polygons) by creating polygons around your designated input features. Additionally, you can either use a fixed width buffer, such as the endangered species example provided above, or a variable width buffer, such as the nuclear fallout example where wind conditions may affect the extent of the area over time. There are countless buffer tools and methods spread across multiple GIS platforms such as ArcGIS Pro/Desktop, QGIS, Maptitude and many more that are all useful.