Riparian Zone Variability In the Foothills of Alberta



Abstract
Introduction
Data
Methods
Results
Discussion
Sources of error
References
Data

LIDAR dataset

DEM

A digital elevation model has been generated from 1m resolution LIDAR data.  It was cleaned and re-sampled to 2m resolution for the DEM.   The elevation model was derived from the ground surface data.  The treetop layer was not available, precluding crown density studies.

Basins
 

Watershed (or basin) boundaries were provided for all 36 watersheds of the FMA.  Boundaries of sub-basins of approximately 100km2 were also defined in this shapefile.

Reaches

Highly detailed streams vector layer ranging from tiny, 1st order streams to the Athabasca River.  They are divided into stream segments, which are relatively homogeneous stretches of river. Stream segments ranged from approximately 30-100m in length.  Attributes such as Strahler order were listed for each segment.

The LIDAR-derived data was over 750GB in total.


Alberta Vegetation Index

The AVI is a highly detailed layer describing discrete vegetation community polygons.   Age, dominant species and many other attributes are provided.  They were derived from air photos (1:40 000) taken in 1996.  It was donated for this study by the Hinton Wood Products company.


Hinton Wood Products Cutblocks and Forest Fires

These layers provide an accurate 100-year disturbance history of the study area, including polygons of forest fires, logged areas and the year of disturbance.
 
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Methods