Canada's Intact Forest Landscapes

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Metadata:

Identification_Information:
Citation:
Citation_Information:
Originator: Global Forest Watch Canada
Publication_Date: 2010
Title: Canada's Intact Forest Landscapes
Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: vector digital data
Online_Linkage: <http://datawarehouse.globalforestwatch.ca/>
Description:
Abstract:
An intact forest landscape is defined by Global Forest Watch Canada as a contiguous mosaic of naturally occurring ecosystems, including forest, bog, water, tundra, and rock outcrops, that is within a forest ecozone, and that is essentially undisturbed by significant human influence visible on Landsat satellite images. Intact forest landscape fragments are the best remaining pieces of our once-intact forest landscapes and they are therefore critical to the restoration of ecosystem functioning in areas affected by human development.
By mapping the remaining intact forest landscapes within Canada’s forest ecozones, we aim provide better information for balancing industry needs and values with the need for recognition of non-market values, many of which are associated with relatively undisturbed forests. Mapping forest fragments provides a baseline from which future assessments of changes to Canada’s remaining forest fragments can be made and from which further analysis can be performed to assist forest conservation planning and decision-making.
Intact forest landscape fragments were mapped by excluding the following types of disturbances and associated buffer exclusion zone from potential intact forest landscapes:
1. Settlements (500m exclusion zone); 2. Infrastructure used for communication between settlements and industrial sites; or for industrial exploitation of natural resources (including roads, railways, navigable waterways, pipelines, trunk power transmission lines and other linear disturbances) (1000m exlusion zone for all major roads/highways and 500m exclusion zones for all other linear disturbances); 3. Agricultural lands (500m exclusion zone); 4. Territories disturbed by economic activities during the last 30-70 years (logging, major reservoirs, mining operation sites, abandoned agricultural lands, etc.) (500m exclusion zone); 5. Artificially restored forests, or tree plantations, if their existence can be detected on Landsat satellite imagery (500m exclusion zone);
In addition to the disturbances listed above, large waterbodies (>400,000 ha) and waterbodies which represented more than half of a remaining intact forest landscape fragment were also eliminated from the dataset.
It should be noted that some human impacts are invisible from space, such as small forest roads and paths. Other smaller-scale impacts (including some selective logging) that occurred more than 30-70 years ago often become invisible on satellite imagery and indistinguishable from the natural dynamics of the forest. The maps of Canada’s intact forests in Section 2 are based primarily on the visual interpretation of 1988-2002 Landsat images, and some imagery from the 2003-2006 period. Therefore, only more recent human impacts are recorded, which means that there is some overestimation of intact forest landscape areas despite the buffer exclusion zones applied to the disturbance layers that were used to create the intact forest landscape data.
Purpose:
This dataset was created as part of Global Forest Watch Canada's project entitled "What is the Best of What's Left". The purpose was to map all of Canada's remaining intact forest landscape fragments larger than 5,000 hectares for the Boreal/Taiga ecozones and larger than 1,000 hectares for the temperate ecozones.
Supplemental_Information:
This dataset is a revision/update of a previous dataset created from Global Forest Watch Canada's project, Canada's "Forest Landscape Fragments: A First Approximation". The methodological steps used here are the same as those described in the report found at www.globalforestwatch.ca/FLFs/download.htm
Study area boundary adapted from: Geography Division, Statistics Canada, 2006 Boundary Files, 92-160-XWE/F.* and; Government of Canada, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Ecological Stratification Working Group. 2002. Ecozones, Ecoprovinces, Ecoregions, and Ecodistricts, Canada. Available online at: <http://sis.agr.gc.ca/cansis/nsdb/ecostrat/intro.html> (07/09/2009)
*The incorporation of data sourced from Statistics Canada within this product shall not be construed as constituting an endorsement by Statistics Canada of such product.
Time_Period_of_Content:
Time_Period_Information:
Range_of_Dates/Times:
Beginning_Date: 1999
Ending_Date: 2006
Currentness_Reference: Satellite Image Date
Status:
Progress: Complete
Maintenance_and_Update_Frequency: None planned
Spatial_Domain:
Bounding_Coordinates:
West_Bounding_Coordinate: -141.018073
East_Bounding_Coordinate: -52.657736
North_Bounding_Coordinate: 69.555896
South_Bounding_Coordinate: 43.389662
Keywords:
Theme:
Theme_Keyword_Thesaurus: None
Theme_Keyword: Forest
Theme_Keyword: Intact
Theme_Keyword: Fragments
Theme_Keyword: Landscapes
Place:
Place_Keyword_Thesaurus: None
Place_Keyword: Canada
Access_Constraints:
This data is provided "AS IS" and the accuracy or reliability of the data is not guaranteed or warranted in any way. The Providers disclaim liability of any kind whatsoever, including, without limitation, liability for quality, performance, merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose arising out of the use, or inability to use the data.
Use_Constraints: See Access Constraints
Point_of_Contact:
Contact_Information:
Contact_Organization_Primary:
Contact_Organization: Global Forest Watch Canada
Contact_Person: Matt Hanneman
Contact_Position: Director of GIS and Remote Sensing
Contact_Address:
Address_Type: mailing address
Address: 10337 146st
City: Edmonton
State_or_Province: AB
Postal_Code: T5N 3A3
Country: Canada
Contact_Voice_Telephone: 780-422-5989
Contact_Facsimile_Telephone: 780-454-5521
Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address: matt@globalforestwatch.ca
Data_Set_Credit:
Global Forest Watch Canada. 2010. Canada's Intact Forest Landscapes.
Native_Data_Set_Environment:
Microsoft Windows Vista Version 6.1 (Build 7600) ; ESRI ArcCatalog 9.3.1.1850
Cross_Reference:
Citation_Information:
Originator: Global Forest Watch Canada
Publication_Date: 2006
Title:
Lee P, JD Gysbers, and Stanojevic Z. 2006. Canada’s Forest Landscape Fragments: A First Approximation (A Global Forest Watch Canada Report). Edmonton, Alberta: Global Forest Watch Canada. 97 pp.
Series_Information:
Issue_Identification: ISBN: 0-9734210-9-6
Online_Linkage: <http://www.globalforestwatch.ca/FLFs/download.htm>
Data_Quality_Information:
Lineage:
Process_Step:
Process_Step:
Process_Description: Dataset copied.
Source_Used_Citation_Abbreviation:
Process_Date: 20100812
Process_Time: 16091400
Spatial_Data_Organization_Information:
Direct_Spatial_Reference_Method: Vector
Point_and_Vector_Object_Information:
SDTS_Terms_Description:
SDTS_Point_and_Vector_Object_Type: G-polygon
Point_and_Vector_Object_Count: 9042
Spatial_Reference_Information:
Horizontal_Coordinate_System_Definition:
Geographic:
Latitude_Resolution: 0.000000
Longitude_Resolution: 0.000000
Geographic_Coordinate_Units: Decimal degrees
Geodetic_Model:
Horizontal_Datum_Name: North American Datum of 1983
Ellipsoid_Name: Geodetic Reference System 80
Semi-major_Axis: 6378137.000000
Denominator_of_Flattening_Ratio: 298.257222
Entity_and_Attribute_Information:
Detailed_Description:
Entity_Type:
Entity_Type_Label: Canada's Intact Forest Landscapes
Attribute:
Attribute_Label: FID
Attribute_Definition: Internal feature number.
Attribute_Definition_Source: ESRI
Attribute_Domain_Values:
Unrepresentable_Domain:
Sequential unique whole numbers that are automatically generated.
Attribute:
Attribute_Label: Shape
Attribute_Definition: Feature geometry.
Attribute_Definition_Source: ESRI
Attribute_Domain_Values:
Unrepresentable_Domain: Coordinates defining the features.
Attribute:
Attribute_Label: IFL_ID
Attribute_Definition: Unique Identifier.
Attribute:
Attribute_Label: IFL_TYPE
Attribute_Definition:
Classification of intact forest landscapes based on size and/or location.
Attribute_Domain_Values:
Enumerated_Domain:
Enumerated_Domain_Value: Small Islands
Enumerated_Domain_Value_Definition:
Intact islands smaller than 5,000 ha within Boreal/Taiga ecozones and smaller than 1,000 ha in temperate ecozones.
Enumerated_Domain:
Enumerated_Domain_Value: Large IFLs (>50,000 ha)
Enumerated_Domain_Value_Definition:
Intact forest landscapes greater than 50,000 ha in size located within all forest ecozones.
Enumerated_Domain:
Enumerated_Domain_Value: IFL Fragments
Enumerated_Domain_Value_Definition:
Intact forest landscapes between 5,000 and 50,000 ha in size located within all forest ecozones.
Enumerated_Domain:
Enumerated_Domain_Value: Temperate IFLs (1,000-5,000 ha)
Enumerated_Domain_Value_Definition:
Intact forest landscapes between 1,000 and 5,000 ha in size located within temperate ecozones.
Attribute:
Attribute_Label: Size_Class
Attribute_Definition:
Classification of intact forest landscapes into specified size classes.
Attribute:
Attribute_Label: IFL_HA
Attribute_Definition: Area of intact forest landscape expressed in hectares.
Distribution_Information:
Resource_Description: Downloadable Data
Standard_Order_Process:
Digital_Form:
Digital_Transfer_Information:
Transfer_Size: 42.719
Metadata_Reference_Information:
Metadata_Date: 20100813
Metadata_Contact:
Contact_Information:
Contact_Organization_Primary:
Contact_Organization: Global Forest Watch Canada
Contact_Person: Matt Hanneman
Contact_Position: GIS and Remote Sensing Specialist
Contact_Address:
Address_Type: mailing address
Address: 10337 146 street
City: Edmonton
State_or_Province: Alberta
Postal_Code: T5N3A3
Country: Canada
Contact_Voice_Telephone: 780-422-5989
Contact_Facsimile_Telephone: 780-454-5521
Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address: matt@globalforestwatch.ca
Metadata_Standard_Name: FGDC Content Standards for Digital Geospatial Metadata
Metadata_Standard_Version: FGDC-STD-001-1998
Metadata_Time_Convention: local time
Metadata_Extensions:
Online_Linkage: <http://www.esri.com/metadata/esriprof80.html>
Profile_Name: ESRI Metadata Profile
Generated by mp version 2.9.6 on Fri Aug 13 09:26:25 2010