"Vegetation Zones of Canada: a Biogeoclimatic Perspective" maps Canadian geography in relation to gradients of regional climate, as expressed by potential vegetation on zonal sites. Compared to previous similar national-scale products, "Vegetation Zones of Canada" benefits from the work of provincial and territorial ecological classification programs over the last 30+ years, incorporating this regional knowledge of ecologically significant climatic gradients into a harmonized national map. This new map, reflecting vegetation and soils adapted to climates prior to approximately 1960, can serve as a broad-scale (approximately 1:5 M to 1:10 M) geospatial reference for monitoring and modeling effects of climate changes on Canadian ecosystems. "Vegetation Zones of Canada: a Biogeoclimatic Perspective" employs a two-level hierarchical legend. Level 1 vegetation zones reflect the global-scale latitudinal gradient of annual net radiation, as well as the effects of high elevation and west to east climatic and biogeographic variation across Canada. Within the level 1 vegetation zones, level 2 zones distinguish finer scale variation in zonal vegetation, especially in response to elevational and arctic climatic gradients, climate-related floristics and physiognomic diversity in the Great Plains, and maritime climatic influences on the east and west coasts. Thirty-three level 2 vegetation zones are recognized: High Arctic Sparse Tundra Mid-Arctic Dwarf Shrub Tundra Low Arctic Shrub Tundra Subarctic Alpine Tundra Western Boreal Alpine Tundra Cordilleran Alpine Tundra Pacific Alpine Tundra Eastern Alpine Tundra Subarctic Woodland-Tundra Northern Boreal Woodland Northwestern Boreal Forest West-Central Boreal Forest Eastern Boreal Forest Atlantic Maritime Heathland Pacific Maritime Rainforest Pacific Dry Forest Pacific Montane Forest Cordilleran Subboreal Forest Cordilleran Montane Forest Cordilleran Rainforest Cordilleran Dry Forest Eastern Temperate Mixed Forest Eastern Temperate Deciduous Forest Acadian Temperate Forest Rocky Mountains Foothills Parkland Great Plains Parkland Intermontane Shrub-Steppe Rocky Mountains Foothills Fescue Grassland Great Plains Fescue Grassland Great Plains Mixedgrass Grassland Central Tallgrass Grassland Cypress Hills GlaciersPlease cite this dataset as: Baldwin, K.; Allen, L.; Basquill, S.; Chapman, K.; Downing, D.; Flynn, N.; MacKenzie, W.; Major, M.; Meades, W.; Meidinger, D.; Morneau, C.; Saucier, J-P.; Thorpe, J.; Uhlig, P. 2019. Vegetation Zones of Canada: a Biogeoclimatic Perspective. [Map] Scale 1:5,000,000. Natural Resources Canada, Canadian Forest Service. Great Lake Forestry Center, Sault Ste. Marie, ON, Canada.

Biogeoclimatic Ecosystem Classification (BEC) subzone\variant\phase boundaries with percent protected, number of overlapping protected areas and other attributes added as a result of geoprocessing in the Protected Area System Overview (PASO) application. Protected area and park representation by BEC unit provides a small scale ecosystem classification context for natural resource planning processes such as; management plans, land use zoning, environmental risk assessment, landscape analysis, habitat supply, and management of high priority species. Biogeoclimatic subzones are the basic unit of the BEC system. Subzones are grouped into biogeoclimatic zones to create more generalized units, and subdivided into biogeoclimatic variants and phases to create more specific or climatically homogeneous units. For more information on the BEC system see: http://www.for.gov.bc.ca/hre/becweb/. For important warnings about using this data for spatial analysis see the Data Quality section of the metadata

Slope/Aspect habitat type limitations (high, moderate, low) in mule deer winter range within the Cariboo Region. These limitations apply only to interior douglas fir (IDF) and bunch grass biogeoclimatic zones within mule deer winter range.

The Forest Inventory Zone(s) (FIZ) were developed to provide a broadly based ecological classification of the forest land in British Columbia. FIZ closely follow the early biogeoclimatic zones developed by Dr. Krajina. The province of British Columbia is split into 12 FIZ zones.

This polygon dataset identifies the habitat suitability rating for Flammulated Owl (FLOW) within the Cariboo Natural Resource Region. The habitat suitability rating is based on Biogeoclimatic Ecosystem Classification (BEC), forest age class, crown closure, tree species, harvest activity, silviculture activity, slope and aspect.

The current and most detailed version of the approved corporate provincial digital Biogeoclimatic Ecosystem Classification (BEC) Zone/Subzone/Variant/Phase map (version 12, September 2, 2021). Use this version when performing GIS analysis regardless of scale. This mapping is deliberately extended across the ocean, lakes, glaciers, etc to facilitate intersection with a terrestrial landcover layer of your choice

This dataset is a combination of landscape unit, biogeoclimatic zone/subzone/variants and Cariboo Chilcotin Land Use Plan leading group type (PineGroup or FirGroup) that patch size assessments are carried out on. Refer to the **Cariboo Regional Biodiversity Conservation Strategy Update Note #4: An Approach for Patch Size Assessments in the Cariboo Forest Region** (see below under "Related Links") for more information on how patch size assessment amalgamation units are derived.

####Leading Group for the Cariboo Region (pinegroup or firgroup). #### 1. IDF - Fir Group: includes all forest polygons in NDT 4 (IDF and BG biogeoclimatic zones) that meet any of the following criteria: *a) Douglas-fir ( Fd or Fdi) leading or ponderosa pine leading; *b) Lodgepole pine leading, and Douglas-fir ( Fd or Fdi) or ponderosa pine greater than 15% in any inventory layer; *c) Trembling aspen leading, and Douglas-fir ( Fd or Fdi) or Ponderosa pine greater than 15% in any inventory layer, and spruce, red-cedar, cottonwood and birch less than 6% in any inventory layer; *d) No species information in inventory data (usually NSR stands), and inventory type group for pre-harvest stand or the current stand = 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 29, or 32 These inventory type groups correspond to the following species compositions F, FC, FCy, FH, FS, FPl, Fpy, FL, FDEcid, PlF and Py. If inventory type group=0 and pre-harvest inventory type is not available, classify the polygon as Pine Group. 2. IDF-Pl Group: includes all forest polygons in NDT 4 (IDF and BG biogeoclimatic zones) that do not meet the above definition for IDF-Fir Group.

A list of the various 'regional' (zone/subzone/variant/phase) ecological units of the current biogeoclimatic ecosystem classification. At this 'regional' level, vegetation, soils and topography are used to infer the climate and to identify geographic areas that have relatively uniform climate. These geographic areas are termed biogeoclimatic units. The basic biogeoclimatic unit is the Subzone. These units are grouped into Zones and may be further subdivided into variants based on further refinements of climate (e.g., wetter, drier, snowier). The map units of the Biogeoclimatic map are mapped to the highest possible thematic resolution - subzone or variant. In some cases, where further sampling is required to define the unit climatically, polygons are labelled as an undifferentiated unit (e.g. CWH un)

Biogeoclimatic Ecosystem Classification (BEC) zone boundaries with percent protected, number of overlapping protected areas and other attributes added as a result of geoprocessing in the Protected Area System Overview (PASO) application. Protected area and park representation by BEC zone provides a zonal ecosystem context for natural resource planning processes such as; management plans, land use zoning, environmental risk assessment, landscape analysis, habitat supply, and management of high priority species. For important warnings about using this data for spatial analysis see the Data Quality section of the metadata