Spatial Data Initiatives
Last Review/Updated: February 21, 2006
The ability to quickly view, analyze, and use spatial data in a decision making process is becoming increasingly important for Forest Managers and the Forest Industry as a whole. Alberta Sustainable Resource Development collects and stores several types of spatial data, and uses it in a variety of ways, such as analysis for future management planning decisions and sharing forest health information with other government departments and interested parties.
Below is a list of several forest health spatial data initiatives in Alberta that Alberta Sustainable Resource Development has either developed independently or cooperatively. A brief description is given for each one.
ARIS (Alberta Regeneration Information System)
ARIS is an Oracle database system that is used to collect and audit regeneration information from forest companies. Regeneration standards assess forest regeneration against measurable minimum criteria within defined periods after harvest, to define minimum levels of re-growth.
In Alberta, these levels of re-growth are intended to ensure that there is prompt reforestation following harvest, and that the performance of regenerated stands emulates that of natural stands.
Recently a forest health module has been added to allow companies to record forest health information collected during any surveys of a stand. If these historical records are kept, the forest health information may allow companies to better manage the health of their stands. This will also enable us to track the distribution of pests and their population trends.
FIRES (Fire Information Resource System)
FIRES is an Oracle database system that is used to store provincial forest health ground survey point data. Each year the survey data is entered into the FIRES system, which performs calculations and generates reports based on the species type and needs of the user. These ground survey reports can be downloaded from this website.
Mountain Pine Beetle Hazard Rating System
The Mountain Pine Beetle Hazard Rating System is a hazard assessment tool that was originally created to run in ESRI Arc/Info GIS, and has been recreated to run with ESRI ArcView GIS, using ESRI ArcView Spatial Analyst, on a Citrix server. It is used to identify stands that are most susceptible and/or would incur the most significant damage resulting from a mountain pine beetle infestation. It uses a combination of Alberta Vegetation Inventory (AVI) data, latitudinal and longitudinal data, and elevation to determine a stand's susceptibility.
The Mountain Pine Beetle Hazard Rating System allows the user to predict the relative susceptibility to mountain pine beetle attacks for the present year or any number of years in the future, in any increment chosen by the user. For example, the susceptibility for a selected area can be determined for the next ten tears in increments of one year.
Pheromone plot data, infestation points, and hypothetical infestations can be incorporated into the system. This will allow for a more accurate representation of stand susceptibility in relation to where mountain pine beetle populations are present or for hypothetical pine beetle infestations.
Mountain Pine Beetle: Modelling the Eastern Spread
This model is currently being developed by Natural Resources Canada, Canadian Forest Service, Victoria, British Columbia.
Click here for more details. (pdf, 1.7 Mb)
Spruce Budworm Decision Support System
The Spruce Budworm Decision Support System (SBWDSS) was developed by the Canadian Forest Service, Atlantic Forestry Centre in Fredericton, New Brunswick and has been modified for Alberta.
It incorporates forest management with pest management. This assists the forest managers with decision making by quantifying the volume benefit of protecting timber during spruce budworm outbreaks.
"The Spruce Budworm Decision Support System (SBW DSS) quantifies the marginal timber supply (m³/ha) benefits of protecting stands against spruce budworm (Choristoneura fumiferana (Clem.)) defoliation. It allows the user to quantify the volume benefit of protecting alternative areas and determine effects on forest development and annual allowable cut."
MacLean, D.A., T.A. Erdle, W.E. MacKinnon, K.B. Porter, K.P. Beaton,
G. Cormier, S. Morehouse, and M. Budd.
2001.
"The Spruce Budworm Decision Support System: forest protection planning to sustain long-term wood supply". Canadian Journal of Forest Research. V. 31(10): 1742-1757.
