Phase I - Classification and Description of Vegetation Associations in Arctic Regions
Project Reference Number: 2009-13
Project Status: Complete
Led by: Adrian de Groot, Drosera Ecological Consulting, Smithers
Funder: Environment Yukon, Government of Yukon
This is an International Polar Year (IPY) project, funded by the IPY Federal Program office. The project lead is Environment Yukon, Government of Yukon; project partner is the Canadian Forestry Service, Natural Resources Canada. The Canadian National Vegetation Classification (CNVC) Technical Committee will provide further technical expertise.
The objective of this project is to extend the CNVC to include the vegetation associations of the arctic. A standardized arctic vegetation classification will provide a benchmark for monitoring climate change, species at risk, biodiversity, permafrost and wildlife habitat, and will support land use planning and conservation areas management.
The CNVC is being developed by a multi-agency partnership, including federal, provincial and territorial governments as well as non-governmental organizations. The goal of the CNVC is to develop a nationally standardized classification of natural vegetation conditions for Canada. The CNVC is a data-driven classification system using existing ecological plot data as its foundation. The IPY project will expand the CNVC to include arctic vegetation associations, by acquiring vegetation consistent with CNVC standards.
When harmonized with similar systems in other arctic regions, this classification will be part of a standardized taxonomy of circumpolar arctic plant communities and contribute to a common international nomenclature for arctic vegetation.
The scope of Phase 1 is to identify and acquire, wherever feasible, all existing sources of arctic vegetation and related ecological data, digital and non-digital, published and unpublished, and to enter them into a database compatible with the CNVC data standards. Development of the database will involve taking widely disparate data in multiple formats and entering them into a data structure that will make them accessible for analysis using CNVC standards.
Related Reports
| Publication Date | Report Title | Authors |
|---|---|---|
| December 22, 2011 | Location of plots in the Arctic and sub-Arctic database | |
| December 22, 2011 | Classification and Description of Vegetation Associations in Arctic Regions. Phase 3: Sub-Arctic Database Completion and Arctic Vegetation Classification Association Descriptions | Adrian de Groot MSc. RPBio., Will MacKenzie BSc. RPBio., Russell Klassen, Irene Ronalds BA, RPBio. & Karen McKenna |
| December 21, 2010 | Plot Location by Floristic Province | |
| December 21, 2010 | Plot Location by Arctic Bioclimate Zone or Terrestrial Ecozone | |
| December 20, 2010 | Classification and Description of Vegetation Associations in Arctic Regions. Phase 2: Data Analysis and Classification | Adrian de Groot MSc. RPBio., Will MacKenzie BSc. RPBio., Russell Klassen & Irene Ronalds BA, RPBio |
