Forest Stand Maps of Southern Québec at 1/20,000 Scale

Digitized and georeferenced black-and-white forest maps from Québec's first inventory, covering areas south of the 52nd parallel at a scale of 1/20,000. Each file covers approximately 250 km2 and illustrates forest stands based on photo-interpretation of 1/15,000 scale aerial photos. The maps were published by the Government and Municipalities of Québec and are licensed under CC-BY-4.0.

Use Cases

• Analyze historical forest stand composition based on vegetation type (species, density, height, stage of development, origin)
• Map disturbances and land changes over time based on the disturbance and land nature components
• Study the relationship between topography and forest distribution based on level curves
• Model historical hydrological features based on hydrography (lakes, rivers, streams, swamps)
• Assess the historical transport network's impact on forest landscapes based on transport network and bridges data

Strengths

• Maps are digitized and georeferenced, enabling spatial analysis
• Each file covers a standardized area of approximately 250 km2
• Contains multiple thematic components including vegetation type, disturbances, hydrography, and topography

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download
• Units of measurement shown on the maps are from the English imperial system, which may require conversion
• The description metadata is limited; actual data quality requires manual inspection after download

Provenance

Source

Government and Municipalities of Québec | Gouvernement et municipalités du Québec

Collection Method

Prepared from photo-interpretation of aerial photos on a scale of 1/15,000, then digitized and georeferenced.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-04-01 20:44:02.340455; freshness should be verified

Geography

Covers almost all of the territory south of the 52nd parallel in Québec.