Quebec Coastal Eelgrass Mapping from 2022 Geodatabase

4200 kilometers of Quebec's estuarine and maritime coastline were mapped for eelgrass distribution using polygons from the 2022 Coastal Ecosystems Cartography geodatabase. The dataset, created by Fisheries and Oceans Canada and the University of Quebec at Rimouski, includes attributes on vegetation cover, seagrass bed composition, and associated ecosystem names. It integrates field data from over 7300 sampling stations to validate photo-interpretation results.

Use Cases

• Analyze the relationship between vegetation cover attributes and associated ecosystem names across coastal polygons.
• Map the distribution and composition of seagrass beds using polygon data validated by field sampling.
• Identify sectors with field data presence to assess uncertainty in photo-interpreted eelgrass coverage.
• Use the unique sequence number attribute to join polygons with additional attribute values from the source geodatabase.

Strengths

• Based on a coastal corridor mapping project covering 4200 kilometers of shoreline.
• Incorporates validation from 7349 field sampling stations (4390 mediolittoral and 2959 infralittoral).
• Uses very high resolution multispectral photographs acquired between 2015 and 2020.

Limitations

• Excludes certain geographic sectors, including most of the Lower North Shore and Anticosti Island.
• Data is derived from semi-automated segmentation and photo-interpretation, which may contain inherent classification uncertainty.
• The specific number of data rows (polygons) and columns (attributes) is not provided in the input.

Provenance

Source

Fisheries and Oceans Canada and the Laboratory for Dynamics and Integrated Management of Coastal Zones (UQAR).

Collection Method

Semi-automated segmentation and photo-interpretation of very high resolution multispectral imagery, validated by helicopter photography and field sampling.

Time Range

Imagery acquired between 2015 and 2020; geodatabase published in 2022.

Freshness

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Geography

Estuarine and maritime coasts of Quebec, excluding most of the Lower North Shore and Anticosti Island.