Forest Disturbance Map of Southern Quebec: Insect, Windfall, and Ice Damage

Southern Quebec's commercial forest territory is mapped for insect epidemics, windfalls, and ice damage, with disturbances ranging from slight (25-75% dead trees) to severe (over 75% dead trees). The dataset provides a portrait for evaluating damage intensity and extent, maintained through ecoforestry inventories. Disturbance records date from the early 2000s to the present.

Use Cases

• Analyze the spatial extent and severity of spruce budworm (TBE) mortality using defoliation layers and a five-year succession rule.
• Model forest cover loss from windfall and ice disturbances by classifying damage into slight or severe categories based on dead tree percentage.
• Track temporal patterns of forest disturbances by integrating data from decennial forest inventories, LANDSAT imagery, and archival documents.

Strengths

• Covers the commercial forest territory of public and private lands in southern Quebec.
• Disturbances are mapped with a minimum area of 0.1 hectares for detailed spatial analysis.
• Integrates multiple data sources including forest inventories, defoliation layers, LANDSAT imagery, and archival documents.

Limitations

• Specific data volume metrics (row count, column count, file size) are unavailable, hindering technical assessment.
• Relies on automated translation for metadata, which may introduce inaccuracies in field descriptions.
• Sample data and column schema are not provided, complicating initial data exploration and modeling.

Provenance

Source

Government and Municipalities of Québec, via collaboration between the Directorate of Forest Protection and the Directorate of Forest Inventories.

Collection Method

Mapping derived from forest inventories (decennial) and ecoforestry inventories, with mortality dated using defoliation layers, LANDSAT imagery, sample plots, and archival documents.

Time Range

Early 2000s to present.

Freshness

Updated as of March 2026, with records spanning from the early 2000s to present.

Geography

Commercial forest territory of southern Quebec, covering public and private forests.