Southern Quebec Land Cover Change Maps from 1990s to 2010s

Southern Quebec land accounts provide geospatial data on land cover change south of the 51st parallel. The Institut de la Statistique du Québec compiled three 50-meter resolution maps for the 1990s, 2000s, and 2010s, structured around nine standardized land cover classes. Comparing these periods yields two maps quantifying transitions between land cover types.

Use Cases

• Analyze transitions between the nine land cover classes, such as from agricultural lands to artificial surfaces, to quantify urbanization.
• Model spatial patterns of change for specific classes like coniferous forests with closed canopies or herbaceous wetlands across three decades.
• Calculate area change for inland waterways and bodies or forest wetlands between the 1990s, 2000s, and 2010s reference periods.
• Assess regional conservation status by tracking the stability of forests with open canopies against conversion to other classes.

Strengths

• Provides temporal analysis across three distinct decades: the 1990s, 2000s, and 2010s.
• Data is structured using a standardized framework of nine specific land cover classes from the System of Economic and Environmental Accounting.
• Geospatial files have a defined spatial resolution of 50 meters.

Limitations

• Sample data and specific row/column counts are unavailable, limiting preview of data structure.
• Geographic scope is restricted to territory south of the 51st parallel, excluding northern Quebec.
• Primary file formats include PDF and HTML, which may require GIS tools for full spatial analysis of the GEOTIF files.

Provenance

Source

Institut de la Statistique du Québec (ISQ).

Collection Method

Compiled using the Vector grid system for a Quebec spatial data infrastructure, based on standardization of the System of Economic and Environmental Accounting.

Time Range

1990s, 2000s, and 2010s.

Freshness

2024 edition, with metadata last updated in 2026.

Geography

Quebec territory located south of the 51st parallel.