100 Class - Canadian Ecological Domain Classification from Satellite Data. Satellite derived data including 1) topography, 2) landscape productivity based on photosynthetic activity, and 3) land cover were used as inputs to create an environmental regionalization of the over 10 million km2 of Canada’s terrestrial land base. The outcomes of this clustering consists of three main outputs. An initial clustering of 100 classes was generated using a two-stage multivariate classification process. Next, an agglomerative hierarchy using a log-likelihood distance measure was applied to create a 40 and then a 14 class regionalization, aimed to meaningfully group ecologically similar components of Canada's terrestrial landscape. For more information (including a graphical illustration of the cluster hierarchy) and to cite this data please use: Coops, N.C., Wulder, M.A., Iwanicka, D. 2009. An environmental domain classification of Canada using earth observation data for biodiversity assessment. Ecological Informatics, Vol. 4, No. 1, Pp. 8-22, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoinf.2008.09.005. ( Coops et al. 2009).

Pelagic Marine Ecounits are intended to describe the sea surface and water column. Two variables were selected to derive pelagic ecounits:1. Salinity and 2. Stratification. The British Columbia Marine Ecological Classification (BCMEC) is a hierarchical classification that delineates Provincial marine areas into Ecozones, Ecoprovinces, Ecoregions and Ecosections. The classification was developed from previous Federal and Provincial marine ecological classifications which were based on 1:2,000,000 scale information. The BCMEC has been developed for marine and coastal planning, resource management and a Provincial marine protected areas strategy. A new, smaller level of classification termed ecounits developed using 1:250,000 scale depth, current, exposure, subsurface relief and substrate was created to verify the larger ecosections, and to delineate their boundaries. CRIMS is a legacy dataset of BC coastal resource data that was acquired in a systematic and synoptic manner from 1979 and was intermittently updated throughout the years. Resource information was collected in nine study areas using a peer-reviewed provincial Resource Information Standards Committee consisting of DFO Fishery Officers, First Nations, and other subject matter experts. There are currently no plans to update this legacy data.

Specific ecological planning areas of the revised land use and development plan of the City of Laval**This third party metadata element was translated using an automated translation tool (Amazon Translate).**

Parks Canada’s National Program for Ecological Corridors was initiated to strengthen the network of protected areas across Canada through the creation of ecological corridors. To achieve this goal, Parks Canada sought out to develop tools for a common approach on the scientific and governance aspects of corridor creation and management. The National Priority Areas for Ecological Corridors (NPAECs) were developed using a scientific framework for national-scale prioritization of where ecological corridors are most urgently needed. Improving or maintaining ecological connectivity in these areas will greatly benefit biodiversity conservation and climate change adaptation. The NPAECs were identified based on a methodology that is multivariate, data driven, national in scale, and spatially explicit at a coarse resolution. The Criteria for Ecological Corridors in Canada provide a common approach to ensure ecological corridors are managed and stewarded to maintain or restore effective ecological connectivity, while upholding Indigenous stewardship values. They are derived from the internationally recognized International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Guidelines on Connectivity and adapted to the Canadian context. The NPAECs geographic data layer, the list of datasets used to identify them, the Criteria and their accompanying guidance can be found below. More details and context about both program elements are available on the Program’s webpage (https://parks.canada.ca/nature/science/conservation/corridors-ecologiques-ecological-corridors).

Ecological Reserves are part of a network of Designated Areas. The goal of the network is to create and maintain a comprehensive, dynamic and accessible data set (digital map) that accurately defines land areas in Saskatchewan that have various levelUnique ecological reserves that are designed to protect representative areas of natural landscapes and to conserve biological diversity.

Description:Biophysical Units: Under the Pacific Marine Ecological Classification System (PMECS; DFO 2016; Rubidge et al. 2016), biophysical units are areas of distinct physiographic and oceanographic conditions and processes that shape species composition at spatial extents of 1000s of km. Geomorphic units:Geomorphic units or geozones are discrete geomorphological structures at the scale of 100s of km that are assumed to have distinctive biological assemblages (e.g., plateaus, ridges, seamounts, canyons). Although the spatial scale of geomorphic units is nested within biophysical units, a single geomorphic unit such as a trough may span more than one biophysical unit. The following 5 layers are included in this geodatabase:1. Biophysical_Units_L4A - Predicted PMECS Biophysical Units (Level 4A) output from the random forest analysis2. Biophysical_Units_L4B - Predicted PMECS Biophysical Units (Level 4B) output from the random forest analysis3. Biophysical_Units_ProbAssign_L4AB - Layer showing the probability that a grid cell was assigned to a given biophysical unit in the final random forest predictive modelling step4. Cluster_L4AB - Layer showing the output of species assemblage cluster analysis5. Geomorphic_Units - Geomorphic units for the BC coast that combines geomorphic units produced by Rubidge et al. 2016) and Proudfoot and Robb (2022).Methods:Biophysical Units:Rubidge et al. (2016) used a two-step process to identify biophysical units in British Columbia. First, a cluster analysis based on the similarity of species composition was used to group sites with similar species into distinct biological assemblages. Second, a random forest analysis was used to identify environmental correlates of the biological assemblages identified by the cluster analysis and to predict and assign the biological assemblage present in areas with too few biological data. Two different similarity thresholds were used to identify two levels (4A, 4B) of biophysical units; see Rubidge et al. (2016) for details. Indicator species for each assemblage (biophysical unit) were also identified.Geomorphic units:Rubidge et al. (2016) used the benthic terrain modeller (BTM) tool with broad and fine-scale benthic positioning index (BPI) parameters to define geomorphic units on the continental shelf in the Northern Shelf Bioregion and the continental slope in both the Northern Shelf Bioregion and Southern Shelf Bioregion. In 2022, geomorphic units were produced for the Strait of Georgia and Southern Shelf Bioregions following the same methods as Rubidge et al. (2016) (Proudfoot and Robb 2022). The geomorphic units produced as part of the PMECS process were merged with the geomorphic units produced for the Strait of Georgia and Southern Shelf bioregions to produce a continuous spatial data product representing geomorphic units for the Canadian Pacific continental shelf and slope. After merging, the geomorphic units produced in 2016 were unchanged (i.e., they are consistent with the original geomorphic units described in Rubidge et al. 2016).Data Sources:From Rubidge et al. (2016): Species data was taken from Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) standardized fisheries-independent research surveys: groundfish trawl and long-line (2003-2013), Tanner Crab trawl and trap (2000–2006), and Dungeness Crab trap (2000–2014). Environmental data came from NASA, the Canadian Hydrographic Service, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Bio-ORACLE, and elsewhere (details in Rubidge et al. 2016). From Proudfoot and Robb (2022): bathymetry data came from Natural Resources Canada (details in Proudfoot and Robb 2022).Uncertainties:The data is intended for use at the bioregional scale, and caution should be used for finer-scale analyses.

The Ecological Land Mass (ELM) classification was established through the 2020 National Interest Land Mass (NILM) Update. ELM lands describe ecological corridors that have inherent natural values and that protect Species at Risk (SAR) and their habitats. The classification identifies lands to protect in perpetuity through planning and partnership efforts. ELM was derived from two separate analyses - the Ontario side from the AECOM natural linkages analysis (2012) and the Quebec side from Del Degan, Masse (DDM) ecological corridors analysis (2012). Adjustments were made as appropriate.

The Representative Area Ecological Reserves Regulations are part of the Protected Lands of Saskatchewan.The Representative Area Ecological Reserves Regulations are part of the Protected Lands System of Saskatchewan. Selected to represent specific enduring features (specific soil attribute combinations based on soil development, parent material, surface form, slope derived from the Soil Landscapes of Canada, Saskatchewan database, Version 2.1). Areas set to protect ecologically representative areas of Saskatchewan's ecoregions.

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).**

Index outlining historical floodplain mapping areas. Contains links to Floodplain Mapping Reports stored in Ecological Reports Catalogue (EcoCat)