Native Prairie Vegetation Inventory Polygons for Southern Alberta

Quarter section-based vegetation inventory covers the southern part of Alberta, extending beyond the Grasslands Natural Region to include adjacent areas like the Cypress Hills. The dataset defines native prairie as unbroken grassland or parkland dominated by non-introduced species, or previously broken land reverted to natural vegetation over 30 to 60 years. It is provided by the Government of Alberta and was last updated in March 2026.

Use Cases

• Classify vegetation types using quarter-section polygon boundaries and natural region attributes.
• Analyze land reversion to native prairie by tracking polygons defined as previously broken grassland.
• Map the extent of native prairie ecosystems across multiple Natural Subregions like Foothills Parkland and Dry Mixedwood Boreal.
• Assess conservation priorities by overlaying NPVI polygon data with other regional land-use datasets.

Strengths

• Inventory covers multiple Natural Subregions including Grassland, Foothills Parkland, and Montane.
• Data is structured as quarter-section-based polygons, a standardized geospatial unit.

Limitations

• Specific row counts, column details, and total spatial coverage area are unknown.
• Sample data and detailed attribute columns are unavailable for inspection.
• Geographic coverage is limited to southern Alberta, which may introduce regional bias.

Provenance

Source

Government of Alberta

Collection Method

Quarter section-based vegetation inventory.

Freshness

Last updated March 2026.

Geography

Southern Alberta, including the Grasslands Natural Region and adjacent areas like the Cypress Hills.