Historical Forest Inventory Maps for Alberta's Commercial Timber Lands

Phase 2 Detailed Forest Inventory maps cover lands in Alberta with commercial timber commitments not inventoried in the earlier broad-scale survey. The inventory utilized aerial photography from 1956 to 1966 to map species composition, stand density, heights, site class, and maturity at a minimum stand size of 16.2 hectares. These maps were produced by the Government of Alberta and are available as non-georeferenced images in PDF, HTML, and XML formats.

Use Cases

• Analyzing historical species composition patterns based on detailed species composition data
• Estimating timber volume potential based on cover type volume tables (CTVT) developed for different regions
• Studying forest stand maturity and establishment year trends across the inventory area
• Mapping forest density and height characteristics for lands with commercial timber commitments

Strengths

• Inventory covers a specific geographic area (the eastern slopes from Township 2 to Township 47) at a detailed scale of 1:15,840
• Data includes detailed attributes such as species composition, stand density, heights, site class, and maturity
• A minimum stand size of 16.2 hectares (40 acres) was used, providing a consistent mapping threshold

Limitations

• Maps are not available as geo-referenced rectified images or GIS-ready data, limiting digital analysis
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment

Provenance

Source

Government of Alberta | Gouvernement de l'Alberta

Collection Method

Utilized aerial photography from 1956 to 1966 to capture forest attribution.

Time Range

Aerial photography captured from 1956 to 1966; inventory conducted after Phase 1 (1949-1956).

Freshness

Last updated 2026-04-17 14:40:43.841577; freshness should be verified

Geography

Province of Alberta, specifically lands with commercial timber commitments and the eastern slopes from Township 2 to Township 47.