Ontario Forest Resource Inventory. Ontario Ecological Land Classification.

Transcription

1 NRMT 2270, Photogrammetry/Remote Sensing Lecture 8 Ontario Forest Resource Inventory. Ontario Ecological Land Classification. Tomislav Sapic GIS Technologist Faculty of Natural Resources Management Lakehead University

2 Ontario Forest Resource Inventory

3 FRI Delineation on Hard Copy Frame Stereo Aerial Photographs Analog, hard copy method, rapidly replaced by socalled soft copy, done through computer software, on digital images, in a stereo environment. Effective Area (no overlap) x CPP x PP 3 x CPP x CPP x x x 2 x x 2 PP CPP CPP PP CPP

4 Ontario Forest Resource Inventory FRI Definition (Forest Information Manual): The Forest Resources Inventory (FRI) is a spatial product that provides description of all areas within a forest management unit and provides a snapshot in time of the characteristics of water and land base geography. (OMNR, 2009) FRI is intended to support forest management planning at various scales: individual forest stands, forest management unit, landscape extents. An FRI represents the area within a forest management unit, classified, based on its geographic features and characteristics, into homogeneous water and land types called polygons. Polygons contain spatial (geographic location) and tabular (natural and geographic characteristics) attributes. The FRI program is currently transitioning from a year production rotation cycle to a 10 year cycle, and from a periodic inventory to a continuous inventory that is ecologically based. The FRI program will cover all lands within the Area of Undertaking, not just those involved in forest management planning under Forest Management Planning Manual and Forest Information Manual. Source: OMNR (2009).

5 Ontario Forest Resource Inventory The MNRF is responsible for creating the forest resources inventory (FRI) and providing it to Licensees. The MNRF will retain the overall stewardship role, policy responsibility, scheduling, priority setting, standard setting, quality control and information management of the FRI. The Licensee is responsible for checking the FRI for completeness as well as for maintaining and updating the FRI for their own purposes throughout its ten year life cycle. In 2006 North West Group from Calgary was awarded a 5 year digital imagery contract for the OMNRF, to collect base imagery during 2006 to 2010, with a maximum contract value of $25M, for an FRI area covering aprx. 500,000 sqkm (~$50/sq.km), using at first ADS 40 and then ADS 80 aerial camera system technology.

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7 ADS 40/80 Products Digital Storage 1 TB of storage per every 1000 sqkm required for Level 1 & 2 ADS 40 imagery and DSM products % extra data needs to be added for pyramiding. Only a portion of L1 nadir NRGB images for one flight line (no pyramids present!).

8 FRI Field Program Objectives: Monitor change Enhance interpretation Assess accuracy of FRI Enrich data collection Source: OMNR (2010).

9 FRI Field Program Three-tiered approach: FRI Calibration Plot Permanent Forest Inventory Ground Plot FRI Assessment Plots Source: OMNR (2010).

10 FRI Ground Plot Network Permanent Forest Inventory Ground and Photo Plots Linkages to Growth and Yield Program FRI Calibration Plots FRI Cruise Lines 200m 1 plot per 5 sq km on SFL s/ 1 plot per 8 sq km in provincial parks Geared to enhancing photo interpreter s knowledge FRI Assessment Plots (in development) Based on forest unit Randomly placed within target area Geared to assess inventory accuracy Source: OMNR (2010).

11 Permanent Forest Inventory Photo Plots Permanent Forest Inventory Photo Plot 2 km x 2 km located on a 20km province wide grid. Source: OMNR (2010). Permanent Forest Inventory Ground Plot 11.28m radius

12 Field Sampling Calibration Plots Calibration Plot 200 m, 10 stations Forest Polygon Intended to calibrate photointerpretation of photo interpreters by providing ground truth data. Provide data on species composition, age, height, site information (soil type, mositure regime, soil depth), stand structure. Help in identifying two-tier and complex canopy structures. Source: OMNR (2010).

13 FRI Interpretation Process Calibration plot surveying and FRI photointerpretation is done through contractors, mostly small companies. Photo interpreters must pass a mandatory ELC/FRI training course and a species identification test. Supplemental data in photointerpreting a forest management unit: o Calibration Plot data o Natural disturbances, such as forest fire, blow-down, insect damage. o Soils, landforms (Northern Ontario Engineering Geology Terrain Study NOEGTS) o Harvest data o Silvicultural treatments Water classified through a semi-automated approach manual component includes stereo editing of, e.g., true islands vs. floating vegetation, cleaning up shorelines due to shadows, etc. Source: OMNR (2010).

14 FRI Audit Process MNRF runs FRI audit. First, quality assurance routine is run to ensure compliant with the Forest Information Manual (FIM) attribute content and structure. Errors found are returned to contractor for correction. Once the FIM check is passed, 10% of the polygons 9% forested and 1% non-forested are randomly chosen for the interpretation audit. Source: OMNR (2010).

15 Stand (Polygon) Delineation Polygons (stands) are delineated based on the following criteria: a) Ecosite classification (soil texture and depth, moisture, vegetation cover, etc.). b) Forest management functionality (species composition, age/height, crown closure).

16 Ecosites of Ontario There has been a need in Ontario for standardized and consistent ways to identify, describe, name and map ecosystems at different scales, to, among other things, allow for clear communication between different levels of government and diverse nongovernment organizations. The goal of the provincial Ecological Land Classification (ELC )is to meet this need by creating a standardized classification at varying scales for all areas on the landscape no holes in map. Broad Scale The ecosite level in the ELC hierarchy has been developed specifically to meet the needs of meso scale (i.e. 1:8,000 to 1:50,000) forestry and planning applications. Fine Scale Ecozones (10,000 1,000,000 km 2 ) Ecoregions ( ,000 km 2 ) Ecodistricts (100 10,000 km 2 ) Ecosections ( ,000 ha) Ecosites ( ha) Vegetation Types and Substrate Types Source: OMNR (2009a).

17 Ontario Ecozones, Ecoregions and Ecodistricts

18 Ecosites of Ontario Definition: Ecosites are landscape areas consisting of typical, recurring associations of vegetation types (v-type) and substrate types (s-type) combinations (v-type x s-type = ecoelement). Ecosites have been developed as an operational classification to identify and delineate the patterns we observe on aerial imagery (photos). Ecosites are above all based on the stable features of the physical landscape (substrate depth, texture, landform and nutrient regimes). Ecosite polygons are primarily delineated using those physical features so called ecological drivers which most affect the distribution and character of the vegetation. Finally, polygon is delineated based on the varying character of the vegetation, which is responding to not only the physical environment, but disturbance and succession as well. Source: OMNR (2009a).

19 A province wide approach to ecosite classification posses some unique challenges when it comes to ecosites found, e.g. in the north and the south of the province. To address differences due to climatic and bio-physical context, along with the plant species associations typical of such physical conditions, four main geographic ranges have been established: Sub-arctic, Boreal, Great Lakes-St. Lawrence, and Southern. Geographic ranges boundaries follow a combination of ecozones, ecoregions and ecodistricts boundaries Source: OMNR (2009a). Ecosites of Ontario

20 Ecosites of Ontario Hierarchy of Influence Some ecological factors take precedence over others in understanding the distribution, organization and expression of ecosystems. Climate Permanent Flooding High Energy/Anthropogenic Freezing/Saline Seasonal Flooding Shallow Substrate Gradients of Substrate Texture, Moisture Regime, Nutrients

21 Resources: OMNR Forest Information Manual Forest Resources Inventory Technical Specifications. OMNR. 2009a. Forest Ecosystem Classification Guide. Chapter 2 Ecosites of Ontario. OMNR Presentation delivered by Ian Sinclair, OMNR. North West Group