Open Data

Aerial Overview Surveys 2011 - Current

Description

Aerial overview surveys are carried out by observers in fixed-wing aircraft flying at appropriate safe heights above ground level over the forest canopy. Surveys cover extensive areas to detect as... More ≫

Description

Aerial overview surveys are carried out by observers in fixed-wing aircraft flying at appropriate safe heights above ground level over the forest canopy. Surveys cover extensive areas to detect as many new FHDA-caused disturbances as possible. Surveyors record locations, extent, severity, possible causative agent and host tree species involved in the disturbances. Aerial surveys are cost-effective means of obtaining forest health damaging agent (FHDA) caused disturbance data at the landscape level. These surveys help to manage forests by providing early detection of FHDAs and once detected, by monitoring their trends. Aerial surveys are carried out to record locations, extent and severity of new, FHDA-caused disturbances. changes to known FHDA disturbances for historical and evaluation purposes. background information needed for planning management actions. and, forest health data at the forest area, regional and provincial levels for reporting and inventory update. This dataset...

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Mountain Pine Beetle Inventory 2011 - Current

Description

The mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae Hopkins, MPB) is native to western Canada. It attacks all pine including lodgepole, limber, whitebark and jack pine. Over the past 40 years the... More ≫

Description

The mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae Hopkins, MPB) is native to western Canada. It attacks all pine including lodgepole, limber, whitebark and jack pine. Over the past 40 years the range of mountain pine beetle has expanded, possibly due to changes in the area of climatically suitable habitat. Known Limitations: The areas surveyed each year can be different and therefore year over year comparisons may be difficult. the surveyors do not do ground truthing for all disturbances identified, therefore it is not guaranteed that all of the disturbances are caused by MPB. the surveyors do not necessarily map tree patches less than three red trees and therefore the dataset may not include all MPB killed trees. 'grey' attacked trees are not captured. the surveyors attempt to distinguish between 'new' faders and 'old' faders but the accuracy of this distinction is not guaranteed and therefore the data may reflect several years and several generations of MPB attack. Beetle year is...

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Mountain Pine Beetle Inventory 1975 - 2010

Description

The mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae Hopkins, MPB) is native to western Canada. It attacks all pine including lodgepole, limber, whitebark and jack pine. Over the past 40 years the... More ≫

Description

The mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae Hopkins, MPB) is native to western Canada. It attacks all pine including lodgepole, limber, whitebark and jack pine. Over the past 40 years the range of mountain pine beetle has expanded, possibly due to changes in the area of climatically suitable habitat. Known Limitations: The areas surveyed each year can be different and therefore year over year comparisons may be difficult. the surveyors do not do ground truthing for all disturbances identified, therefore it is not guaranteed that all of the disturbances are caused by MPB. the surveyors do not necessarily map tree patches less than three red trees and therefore the dataset may not include all MPB killed trees. 'grey' attacked trees are not captured. the surveyors attempt to distinguish between 'new' faders and 'old' faders but the accuracy of this distinction is not guaranteed and therefore the data may reflect several years and several generations of MPB attack. Beetle year is...

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Aerial Overview Surveys 1998 - 2010

Description

Aerial overview surveys are carried out by observers in fixed-wing aircraft flying at appropriate safe heights above ground level over the forest canopy. Surveys cover extensive areas to detect as... More ≫

Description

Aerial overview surveys are carried out by observers in fixed-wing aircraft flying at appropriate safe heights above ground level over the forest canopy. Surveys cover extensive areas to detect as many new FHDA-caused disturbances as possible. Surveyors record locations, extent, severity, possible causative agent and host tree species involved in the disturbances. Aerial surveys are cost-effective means of obtaining forest health damaging agent (FHDA) caused disturbance data at the landscape level. These surveys help to manage forests by providing early detection of FHDAs and once detected, by monitoring their trends. Aerial surveys are carried out to record locations, extent and severity of new, FHDA-caused disturbances. changes to known FHDA disturbances for historical and evaluation purposes. background information needed for planning management actions. and, forest health data at the forest area, regional and provincial levels for reporting and inventory update. This dataset...

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Alberta Vegetation Inventory (AVI) Crown Post-Inventory Harvest Areas

Description

The purpose of this dataset is to identify areas harvested after the date of the inventory. The Forest Stewardship and Trade Branch is responsible for the creation and maintenance of these... More ≫

Description

The purpose of this dataset is to identify areas harvested after the date of the inventory. The Forest Stewardship and Trade Branch is responsible for the creation and maintenance of these boundaries for Crown-managed Forest Management Units. This dataset is produced for the Government of Alberta and is available to the general public.

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Derived Ecosite Phase v2.0

Description

Derived Ecosite Phase (DEP) v2.0 is a digital and spatial representation of ecological sites and phases in those areas of Alberta where both Alberta Vegetation Inventory (AVI) and lidar are... More ≫

Description

Derived Ecosite Phase (DEP) v2.0 is a digital and spatial representation of ecological sites and phases in those areas of Alberta where both Alberta Vegetation Inventory (AVI) and lidar are available. The AVI is an imagery-based digital inventory developed to identify the type, extent and conditions of vegetation, where it exists and what changes are occurring. The most up-to-date ecological site phases can be found in the Ecological Site Guides. Guides are broken into individual Natural Subregions. See the Cross Reference Section for additional information. This dataset is produced for the Government of Alberta and is available to the general public. Please consult the Distribution Information of this metadata for the appropriate contact to acquire this dataset.This dataset covers the areas of Alberta where there is both AVI and lidar coverage (mainly in the Green Area). AVIE and lidar-derived slope position were created by the Forest Stewardship and Trade Branch, Forestry...

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Wind Erosion Risk

Description

This map displays the risk of soil degradation by wind in the agricultural region of Alberta. Wind erosion is a concern because it reduces soil quality by removing soil nutrients, smaller soil... More ≫

Description

This map displays the risk of soil degradation by wind in the agricultural region of Alberta. Wind erosion is a concern because it reduces soil quality by removing soil nutrients, smaller soil particles and organic matter. Wind erosion can reduce air quality during extreme erosion events and also reduce water quality if eroded particles drift into streams and lakes. The map uses five classes to describe the wind erosion risk on bare, unprotected mineral soil: negligible, low, moderate, high and severe. This resource was created using ArcGIS. It was originally published as a print map in 1989.

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Aquifer Vulnerability Index

Description

The Aquifer Vulnerability Index (AVI) is a method of assessing the vulnerability of aquifers to surface contaminants in Alberta. An aquifer is a geological formation that is permeable enough to... More ≫

Description

The Aquifer Vulnerability Index (AVI) is a method of assessing the vulnerability of aquifers to surface contaminants in Alberta. An aquifer is a geological formation that is permeable enough to transmit sufficient quantities of water to possible to support the development of water wells. In the assessment of aquifer vulnerability to potential contamination, the depth to the aquifer and the types of geological materials above them are considered. For example, aquifers closer to the surface overlain with pervious surface materials are more vulnerable to contaminants, as compared to aquifers found deeper and covered with a thick layer of impervious material. The AVI ratings indicate the potential of surficial materials to transmit water withy contaminants to the aquifer over a period of time. This data was created in 2002 using ArcGIS.

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Frost Free Period 1971-2000

Description

The data represents the frost-free period in Alberta over the 30-year period from 1971 to 2000. A 30-year period is used to describe the present climate since it is enough time to filter out... More ≫

Description

The data represents the frost-free period in Alberta over the 30-year period from 1971 to 2000. A 30-year period is used to describe the present climate since it is enough time to filter out short-term fluctuations but is not dominated by any long-term trend in the climate. The frost-free period is the number of days between the last date of 00C in the spring and the first date of 00C in the fall. Frost free periods in Alberta vary from 125 days in the south to less than 85 days in higher elevation, non-agricultural areas.The frost-free period is presented as days above 0&deg.C in the following classes: less than 85, 85 to 95, 95 to 105, 105 to 115, 115 to 125 and greater than 125. This resource was created using ArcGIS.

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Chemical Expense Index 2001

Description

The data represents the relative expense of farm chemicals (herbicides, insecticides and fungicides) in the agricultural area of Alberta. It is an estimate of the degree to which crop production... More ≫

Description

The data represents the relative expense of farm chemicals (herbicides, insecticides and fungicides) in the agricultural area of Alberta. It is an estimate of the degree to which crop production agriculture may contribute to surface or groundwater contamination.Agriculture production that makes greater use of herbicides, insecticides and pesticides in generally considered more intensive. Presenting the relative farm chemical expenses by SLC polygons reveals where the most intensive agricultural production in the province occurs. Chemical use is part of an equation to determine a measure of surface water quality risk. If an area is known to have certain risk factors that would affect not only surface, but groundwater quality as well, a higher chemical expense index ranking in that same area may be of concern. Where risks of surface or groundwater contamination exist, environmental farm planning can help to minimize them.

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