Historical Forest Inventory Maps for Alberta, 1949-1956

The Phase 1 (Broad Scale) Forest Inventory was initiated in 1949 and completed by 1956. It covered all publicly owned forested lands in Alberta except Indian lands, national parks, and the Rocky Mountains Forest Reserve. The inventory was conducted through aerial photo interpretation to classify land productivity and tree cover types.

Use Cases

• Analyzing historical land suitability for agriculture based on productivity classifications.
• Studying historical timber harvest planning based on forest cover type data.
• Mapping historical forest protection zones based on land classification boundaries.
• Researching industrial development patterns based on identified productive forest lands.
• Comparing historical and contemporary forest cover based on crown density and species classifications.

Strengths

• Inventory spans a defined historical period from 1949 to 1956.
• Coverage includes all publicly owned forested lands in Alberta, suggesting a broad spatial scope.
• Classification system includes productive, potentially productive, and non-productive land categories.

Limitations

• Polygons lack associated ages or site classes.
• Minimum polygon size is 65 hectares, which may limit fine-grained analysis.
• Maps are not available as geo-referenced rectified images or GIS-ready data, limiting modern analytical use.

Provenance

Source

Government of Alberta

Collection Method

Aerial photo interpretation

Time Range

1949-1956

Freshness

Last updated 2026-04-17 14:51:03.705461; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Alberta, Canada (excluding Indian lands, national parks, and Rocky Mountains Forest Reserve)