Historical Forest Inventory Maps of Alberta, 1949-1956

Phase 1 (Broad Scale) Forest Inventory maps were created between 1949 and 1956 for publicly owned forested lands in Alberta. The inventory classified land as productive, potentially productive, or non-productive based on aerial photo interpretation, focusing on cover types like crown density, height, and species. These maps were used to define agricultural suitability, determine timber harvest levels, and plan forest protection and industrial development.

Use Cases

• Analyze historical land suitability for agriculture based on the productive/non-productive land classification.
• Study mid-20th century timber harvest planning based on the inventory's stated purpose.
• Map historical forest cover types and disturbances based on the described classification of crown density, height, species, burns, and harvests.
• Compare historical forest productivity boundaries with modern data based on the polygon-based land classification.

Strengths

• Provides a historical baseline for forested lands in Alberta from a specific period (1949-1956).
• Land classification system is explicitly described, including productive, potentially productive, and non-productive categories.
• Cover types within productive land are defined by concrete features: crown density, height, and tree species.

Limitations

• Polygons lack associated ages or site classes, limiting temporal and quality analysis.
• The minimum polygon size is 65 hectares, which may obscure finer-scale features.
• Maps are not available as geo-referenced rectified images or GIS-ready data, hindering modern spatial analysis.

Provenance

Source

Government of Alberta

Collection Method

Aerial photo interpretation

Time Range

1949-1956

Freshness

Last updated 2026-04-17 14:46:38.927498; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Publicly owned forested lands in Alberta, excluding Indian lands, national parks, and the Rocky Mountains Forest Reserve.