Since the late 1960s, the Ministère des Ressources naturelles et de la Faune du Québec (MRNFQ) has periodically carried out forest mapping activities at a scale of 1: 20,000 in Québec’s forest areas south of 51º 30’ north latitude, the territory under forest management. It integrates permanent environment and vegetation variables including potential vegetation.
It is produced on a computer screen in 3D aerial photos and is updated annually with regard to forest work and disturbances such as forest fires (Robert and Robitaille 2009 and Robert and Robitaille 2009). In the early 2000s, new needs emerged for information about forest resources in a data-poor area located between 51º 30’ and 53º north latitude and covering 240,000 km². To perform the work, the MRNFQ decided to explore new automated mapping approaches (Robitaille et al. 2008). Such approaches had to deliver high-quality products, be relatively inexpensive and be well adapted to remote or hard-to-reach areas. This paper presents the mapping method, software used and results obtained to date. The mapping program began in 2005 and will end in 2009. Aerial photos have been used to map physical environmental variables (surficial deposits, drainage) and satellite imagery to map vegetation variables. Read More
