Forest Age Map of Canada at 30-Meter Resolution for 2022

A 30-meter resolution satellite-derived map of forest age across Canada's forested ecozones for 2022. It was developed within Canada's National Terrestrial Ecosystem Monitoring System (NTEMS) by Natural Resources Canada, using Landsat and MODIS data. The map employs three approaches, with the allometric method applied to 86.6% of the area where no recent disturbance is evident.

Use Cases

• Modeling forest carbon stocks and sequestration based on age distribution.
• Analyzing forest recovery patterns following disturbances based on the recovery approach.
• Assessing long-term forest structure and biodiversity using the 'old tree' category for trees over 150 years.
• Calibrating and validating growth and yield models using the allometric age estimates.

Strengths

• Provides wall-to-wall coverage of Canada's forested ecozones at a high 30-meter spatial resolution.
• Employs a multi-method framework, with the most accurate disturbance approach used where possible.
• Includes a specific category for old-growth forests, grouping trees older than 150 years.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• The allometric modeling approach, required for 86.6% of the area, is noted as less accurate than the direct disturbance method.

Provenance

Source

Natural Resources Canada

Collection Method

Developed using Landsat (disturbances, reflectance, structure) and MODIS (Gross Primary Production) satellite data within the NTEMS framework.

Time Range

2022

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-16 16:03:19.874133; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Canada's forested ecozones