Alberta Historical Forest Inventory Maps from 1956-1966

1956 to 1966 aerial photography was used to create detailed forest inventory maps for commercial timber areas in Alberta, west of the 5th Meridian. The Government of Alberta produced these maps, which include species composition, stand density, heights, site class, and maturity. Volume estimates are available by cover type, species, and diameter class.

Use Cases

• Analyze historical species composition changes based on species composition data
• Model timber volume estimates based on cover type and diameter class volume tables
• Study forest stand development patterns based on stand density and maturity information
• Compare forest inventory detail between regions based on mapping scales of 1:31,680 and 1:15,840

Strengths

• Inventory covers lands with commercial timber commitments not captured by a prior broad-scale survey
• Detailed information includes species composition, stand density, heights, site class, and maturity
• Volume estimates are available by cover type, species, and diameter class

Limitations

• Maps are not available as geo-referenced rectified images or GIS-ready data
• Row count and column-level documentation are absent; field semantics must be inferred after download
• Data may reflect temporal bias inherent to the 1956-1966 collection period

Provenance

Source

Government of Alberta

Collection Method

Utilized aerial photography from 1956 to 1966 for mapping

Time Range

1956-1966

Freshness

Last updated 2026-04-17 14:38:55.869919; freshness should be verified

Geography

Alberta, west of the 5th Meridian, specifically the eastern slopes from Township 2 to Township 47