For most recent Ecological Land Classification data, see: https://data.novascotia.ca/d/q6zd-39t3 The Ecological Land Classification (ELC) for Nova Scotia provides a hierarchical mapping of the province's forest ecosystems into ecosections, ecodistricts and ecoregions. It includes interpretation of the dominant natural disturbance regimes and potential climax forests at the ecosection level.

The Quebec Ecological Reference Framework (CERQ) is a tool for mapping and ecological classification of Quebec territory. It apprehends the territory from the general to the particular, in a hierarchical system of interlocking levels of perception. This layer of information was produced as part of the ecological knowledge project of the Ministry of Sustainable Development, Environment and the Fight against Climate Change (MDDELCC). **This third party metadata element was translated using an automated translation tool (Amazon Translate).**

The Ministry of Natural Resources defines ecological units on the basis of bedrock, climate (temperature, precipitation), physiography (soils, slope, aspect) and corresponding vegetation. This enhances their compatibility with national and continental classification systems. The ecological land classification (ELC) of Ontario is used for descriptive, planning, and resource management purposes. The upper levels in its hierarchy may be relevant for provincial and municipal land-use planning initiatives. The lower (finer-scale) levels of the hierarchy are most useful for detailed resource management prescriptions and other local and site planning applications. This packaged dataset is classified into 3 hierarchical categories: * Ecozone: used for national and coarse-scale provincial reporting such as analyses of climate, demographics and watersheds * Ecoregion: used for determining the significance or status of wetland classes and certain other natural heritage features (e.g., old growth forest), setting targets for Wilderness Class Provincial parks, State of the Forest reporting and studying natural disturbance regimes * Ecodistrict used for assessing biodiversity levels, defining seed zones, mapping ecosystem types and setting targets for the identification of natural heritage systems [Introduction to ecological land classification](https://www.ontario.ca/page/introduction- ecological-land-classification-systems)

Ecoregion - Seven New Brunswick Ecoregions delineate areas that are different with regard to climate (precipitation and temperature), based principally on elevation above sea level and marine influences.Ecodistrict - Ecodistricts are nested subdivisions of Ecoregions based on geomorphologic and lithologic differences. The correct way to quote an ecodistrict number is to quote both its ecoregion and ecodistrict numbers, separated by a dash, e.g.: 2-1 denotes the Upsalquitch Ecodistrict in the Northern Uplands Ecoregion.Ecosection - Ecosections are nested subdivisions of Ecoregions based on topographic and relief differences. The correct way to quote an ecosection number is to quote its ecoregion, ecodistrict, and ecosection numbers, each separated by a dash, e.g.: 2-1-3 denotes Ecosection 3 of the Upsalquitch Ecodistrict in the Northern Uplands Ecoregion.Ecosite - Ecosites capture individual landforms that in theory outline a single forest ecosystem type at the 1:50,000 mapping scale. They are more-or-less uniform with regard soil moisture regime, soil nutrient regime, and topoclimate. Within ecoregions, each ecosite may be presumed to have similar vegetation potential in terms of native species composition, forest cover type, and timber growth rate (although the situation on the ground often deviates from what is mapped due to mapping imprecision and/or vegetation disturbance). To most narrowly describe an ecosite’s landscape context, the correct way to label it is to quote its ecoregion, ecodistrict, ecosection, and ecosite numbers, each separated by a dash, e.g.: 2-1-3-7 denotes Ecosite 7 in Ecosection 3 of the Upsalquitch Ecodistrict (1) in the Northern Uplands Ecoregion (2).For more information, see Department of Natural Resources 2007. Our landscape heritage [electronic resource] : the story of ecological land classification in New Brunswick. General editor: Vincent F. Zelazny. -- 2nd ed.

The Ecological Land Classification (ELC version 2015) for Nova Scotia provides a hierarchical mapping of the province's forest ecosystems into ecosections, ecodistricts and ecoregions. It includes interpretation of the dominant natural disturbance regimes and potential climax forests at the ecosection level.

The ecological classification of Quebec territory consists of mapping and describing ecological units in a system with nine levels of perception between the continental and landscape scales. It presents the diversity of terrestrial ecosystems in all of Quebec taking into account both the characteristics of the vegetation (physiognomy, structure and composition) and the physical environment (relief, geology, geomorphology, hydrography). The nine levels that compose it are: the vegetation zone and sub-zone at the continental scale (1,000,000 km2), the bioclimatic domain and sub-domain at the national level (100,000 km2), the ecological region and subregion at the regional scale (10,000 km2) and the regional landscape unit, the ecological district and the vegetation stage at the landscape scale (10,000 km2) and the regional landscape unit, the ecological district and the vegetation stage at the landscape scale (100 to 1,000 km2).**This third party metadata element was translated using an automated translation tool (Amazon Translate).**

BiologicEcologic ISO Feature Dataset symbolization and publication. September 5, 2017.

The National Ecological Framework for Canada's "Land Cover by Ecoregion” dataset provides land cover information within the ecoregion framework polygon. It provides landcover codes and their English and French language description as well as information about the percentage of the polygon that the component occupies.

The National Ecological Framework for Canada's "Total Land and Water Area by Ecodistrict” dataset provides land and water area values for ecodistrict framework polygons, in hectares. It includes attributes for a polygon’s total area, land-only area and large water body area.

In 2009, DFO defined 12 marine bioregions across the three oceans bordering Canada to support its marine planning efforts, such as the establishment of networks of marine protected areas. However, these bioregions cover vast areas and exhibit significant ecological heterogeneity, especially along the coasts. Yet, this heterogeneity in coastal ecosystems often needs to be considered at the local scale, particularly for management and conservation purposes.The objective of this exercise is to subdivide the Estuary and Gulf of St. Lawrence (EGSL) bioregion for the province of Quebec into coastal sub-bioregions to better reflect local and regional coastal characteristics. The coastal classification presented in this report is based on the integration of four existing classification systems for the EGSL, which were not specifically designed for classifying coastal ecosystems. Integrating these classification systems into a single approach allowed us to define 13 coastal sub-bioregions for the EGSL. Data presented here are the limit of the 13 ecoregions made from this work. A technical report is available for more details. See supporting documents:Gendreau, Y., Narancic, B. et Bourassa, M-N. 2025. Classification écologique du territoire côtier de l’estuaire et du golfe du Saint-Laurent au Québec. Rapp. tech. can. sci. halieut. aquat. 0000 :v + 22p.