Publications

Ecological sites and successional plant community types of the Peace River parkland subregion. Second approximation

Description

The Peace River Parkland Natural Subregion accounts for only 0.5 per cent of the province and is characterized by gently rolling cultivated plains and steep south-facing grassy and forested slopes... More ≫

Description

The Peace River Parkland Natural Subregion accounts for only 0.5 per cent of the province and is characterized by gently rolling cultivated plains and steep south-facing grassy and forested slopes along the Peace River and its tributaries. Vegetation is a mosaic and dominated by forests of aspen and white spruce, wetlands and small remnant grasslands on the uplands, and dry grasslands and aspen forests on valley slopes. This guide represents the analysis of 378 plots described in the Peace River Parkland subregion. These 378 plots represent 73 observed and described plant community types. An analysis of successional changes in the presence and absence of grazing disturbance for the grasslands (Appendix 1) and aspen (Appendix 2) dominated community types for the Peace region is also outlined in Appendices 1 and 2. Included in this approximation is a crosswalk table to the Alberta Wetland Classification System (AWCS) and a list of ecological sustainable stocking rates for each plant...

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Ecological sites of the Dry Mixedwood subregion. Third approximation

Description

The Dry and Central Mixedwood subregions cover nearly 40 per cent of the province and are dominated by aspen, with jack pine on coarse textured soils, and black spruce, willows, and sedges in the... More ≫

Description

The Dry and Central Mixedwood subregions cover nearly 40 per cent of the province and are dominated by aspen, with jack pine on coarse textured soils, and black spruce, willows, and sedges in the poorly drained areas. The vegetative communities in these subregions are important because they provide summer range for livestock, prime habitat for many species of wildlife, productive watersheds, recreational areas and timber production. As a result guides like this were developed to provide a framework that will easily group the vegetative community types. It is hoped these classification systems can be used by resource managers to assess the ecology of the sites and develop integrated management plans within each region. This guide represents the analysis of 1110 plots described within the Dry Mixedwood subregion. The dominant plant species, canopy cover, soils and environmental conditions are outlined for each type. Included in this approximation is a crosswalk table to the Alberta...

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Ecological sites of the Foothills Parkland subregion. First approximation

Description

This guide is the first effort to classify and describe the ecological sites in the Foothills Parkland Natural Subregion. This guide represents the analysis of 453 plots and represents 74 grass,... More ≫

Description

This guide is the first effort to classify and describe the ecological sites in the Foothills Parkland Natural Subregion. This guide represents the analysis of 453 plots and represents 74 grass, shrubland, conifer and deciduous community types within 8 ecological sites. The dominant plant species, canopy cover, soil, and environmental conditions are outlined for each type. Included in this approximation is a crosswalk table to the Alberta Wetland Classification System and new soil type descriptions from over 280 described soil profiles.

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Ecological sites of the Upper Boreal Highlands subregion. Second approximation

Description

The second approximation of this guide represents the preliminary analysis of 147 plots described in the Upper Boreal Highlands Natural Subregion. The 147 plots represent 39 community types. The... More ≫

Description

The second approximation of this guide represents the preliminary analysis of 147 plots described in the Upper Boreal Highlands Natural Subregion. The 147 plots represent 39 community types. The dominant plant species, canopy cover, soil and environmental conditions are outlined for each type. Included in this approximation is a crosswalk table to the Alberta Wetland Classification System and new soil type descriptions.

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Ecological sites of the Subalpine subregion. Second approximation

Description

The Subalpine Natural Subregion is a Rocky Mountain altitudinal vegetation zone extending from an elevation of 1575 m to 2175 m at its southernmost occurrence and 1365 m to 2000 m near Grande... More ≫

Description

The Subalpine Natural Subregion is a Rocky Mountain altitudinal vegetation zone extending from an elevation of 1575 m to 2175 m at its southernmost occurrence and 1365 m to 2000 m near Grande Cache. This approximation of the guide represents the analysis of over 3400 plots described in the Subalpine subregion. In this subregion it was found there were distinct differences between the community types and ecological sites between the Central and Northern Foothills and Mountains (west of Sundre, Hinton, Grande Cache and Jasper national park), and the Southern Rocky Mountains (south and west of Calgary and Banff national park). As a result the Subalpine plant communities are identified into two ecosections (south and north). The dominant plant species, canopy cover, environmental conditions and response to grazing, are outlined for each plant community type for each ecosection.

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Ecological sites and successional plant community types of the Peace River Parkland subregion. First approximation

Description

The Peace River Parkland Natural Subregion accounts for only 0.5 percent of the province and is characterised by gently rolling cultivated plains and steep south-facing grassy and forested slopes... More ≫

Description

The Peace River Parkland Natural Subregion accounts for only 0.5 percent of the province and is characterised by gently rolling cultivated plains and steep south-facing grassy and forested slopes along the Peace River and its tributaries. Vegetation is a mosaic and dominated by forests of aspen and white spruce, wetlands and small remnant grasslands on the uplands, and dry grasslands and aspen forests on valley slopes. This guide represents the analysis of 345 plots described in the Peace River Parkland subregion. These 345 plots represent 70 observed and described plant community types. An analysis of successional changes in the presence and absence of grazing disturbance for the grasslands (Appendix 1) and aspen (Appendix 2) dominated community types for the Peace region is also outlined in Appendices 1 and 2.

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Ecological sites of the Dry Mixedwood subregion. 2nd approximation

Description

The purpose of this guide was to develop a framework that would easily group the ecological sites and vegetative community types in the Dry Mixedwood Natural Subregion of the province. Ecological... More ≫

Description

The purpose of this guide was to develop a framework that would easily group the ecological sites and vegetative community types in the Dry Mixedwood Natural Subregion of the province. Ecological site classification helps to organize our current understanding about ecosystem function. This organization is achieved by grouping research plots into similar and functional units that respond to disturbance in a similar and predictable manner.The ecological site classification system outlined in this document organizes ecological information into a format that facilitates understanding and provides a structure for ecologically based management. The system has been developed primarily as a field tool to complement the user's knowledge about ecological site classification, soil description, and plant identification.

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Soil inventory project procedures manual

Description

This manual was initially intended as a procedures manual for the compilation teams conducting the Canada-Alberta Environmentally Sustainable Agriculture Soil Inventory Project (1993 to 1998), and... More ≫

Description

This manual was initially intended as a procedures manual for the compilation teams conducting the Canada-Alberta Environmentally Sustainable Agriculture Soil Inventory Project (1993 to 1998), and was updated and revised in 1998 to accompany the digital soils information compiled during the project. The manual describes the procedures used and the attribute data captured during the project. It also provides users of the database some background information on the mapping systems used during the compilation of the soils database.

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