SERM Forest Cover Data of Saskatchewan in Vector Format Summary This data set was prepared by SERM-FBIU. The data is a condensed forest cover type map of Saskatchewan at a scale of 1:1,000,000. Note that the non-text files of this data set on the BOREAS CD-ROMs have been compressed using the Gzip program. See section 8.2 for details. Table of Contents * 1 Data Set Overview * 2 Investigator(s) * 3 Theory of Measurements * 4 Equipment * 5 Data Acquisition Methods * 6 Observations * 7 Data Description * 8 Data Organization * 9 Data Manipulations * 10 Errors * 11 Notes * 12 Application of the Data Set * 13 Future Modifications and Plans * 14 Software * 15 Data Access * 16 Output Products and Availability * 17 References * 18 Glossary of Terms * 19 List of Acronyms * 20 Document Information 1. Data Set Overview 1.1 Data Set Identification SERM Forest Cover Data of Saskatchewan in Vector Format 1.2 Data Set Introduction The condensed forest cover type digital map of Saskatchewan is a product of the Saskatchewan Environment and Resource Management, Forestry Branch - Inventory Unit (SERM-FBIU). This map was generalized from SERM township maps of vegetation cover at an approximate scale of 1:63,000 (1 in. = 1 mile). The cover information was iteratively generalized until it was compiled on a 1:1,000,000 scale map base. 1.3 Objective/Purpose These data are provided as part of the BOReal Ecosystem-Atmosphere Study (BOREAS) Staff Science Geographic Information System (GIS) Data Collection Programs, which included the collection of all pertinent map data in the BOREAS area of interest in both hardcopy and digital form. This data set was acquired as a general provincial scale vegetation cover map and an alternative to the very detailed vector forest cover data available for the Southern Study Area (SSA). 1.4 Summary of Parameters There are just two items associated with each forest cover type polygon in this data set. Forest class (merchantable, nonmerchantable, other) and forest type. There are four merchantable and non-merchantable forest cover types and 10 types within the “other” forest class. 1.5 Discussion The forest cover type data set of Saskatchewan at a scale of 1:1,000,000 provided by SERM-FBIU is a generalized cover map of the forested region of the province. Little is known about this data set. It has not been documented by SERM personnel, and they have since informed BOREAS staff of a data set that has been produced more recently that should have a higher level of accuracy and precision. Contact SERM directly regarding the updated product (Section 2.3). 1.6 Related Data Sets SERM Forest Cover Data Layers of the SSA in Vector Format BOREAS Forest Cover Data Layers over the SSA in Raster Format BOREAS Forest Cover Data Layers of the NSA in Raster Format Prince Albert National Park Forest Cover Data in Vector Form 2. Investigator(s) 2.1 Investigator(s) Name and Title BOREAS Staff 2.2 Title of Investigation BOREAS Staff Science GIS Data Collection Program 2.3 Contact Information Contact 1 ---------- Fern Gruszka Saskatchewan Environment and Resource Management Prince Albert, SK CANADA (306)953-2360 gruszka@larix.derm.gov.sk.ca Contact 2 ---------- Jaime Nickeson NASA/GSFC Greenbelt, MD (301) 286-3373 (301) 286-0239 (fax) Jaime.Nickeson@gsfc.nasa.gov 3. Theory of Measurements SERM-FBIU maintains in its inventory unit a GIS of forest inventory information for Saskatchewan forested lands. This inventory is maintained primarily for use by forest managers for silvicultural purposes and it contains a wealth of information that can be of use in Earth resources analyses and ecosystem modeling. This map was produced as a generalization of this inventory. 4. Equipment 4.1 Sensor/Instrument Description No information is known about the original digitizing equipment or procedures and criteria used in the digitizing process, other than what is provided above. 4.1.1 Collection Environment Unknown. 4.1.2 Source/Platform Unknown. 4.1.3 Source/Platform Mission Objectives Unknown. 4.1.4 Key Variables Forest Cover Type 4.1.5 Principles of Operation Unknown. 4.1.6 Sensor/Instrument Measurement Geometry Unknown. 4.1.7 Manufacturer of Sensor/Instrument Unknown. 4.2 Calibration 4.2.1 Specifications Unknown. 4.2.1.1 Tolerance Unknown. 4.2.2 Frequency of Calibration Unknown. 4.2.3 Other Calibration Information None. 5. Data Acquisition Methods The forest cover type data set of Saskatchewan at a scale of 1:1,000,000 provided by SERM-FBIU is a generalized cover map of the forested region of the province. The map was generalized from SERM township maps of vegetation cover at an approximate scale of 1:63,000 (1 in = 1 mile) in the Lambert Polyconic projection. The information was iteratively generalized until it was compiled on a 1:1,000,000 scale map base, of unknown projection. Little detail is known about this data ,set and SERM has stated “[we] cannot overstate how dated and imprecise this product is.” Nevertheless, the data set is being made available because within BOREAS there are needs for coarse scale information. 6. Observations Not applicable. 6.1 Data Notes Unknown. 6.2 Field Notes Unknown. 7. Data Description 7.1 Spatial Characteristics 7.1.1 Spatial Coverage This data set covers the forested portion of the province of Saskatchewan. In ARC/INFO when you DESCRIBE the coverage, this is what you will get: COVERAGE BOUNDARY Xmin = 7.479 Xmax = 30.013 Ymin = 5.105 Ymax = 27.117 BOREAS Information System (BORIS) staff does not know what these units are, but guesses that they might be inches from the digitizing table and that real-world coordinates were never entered for this data set. On the hardcopy map of the data, it is apparent that the borders on the east and west are the Saskatchewan provincial boundaries. The nothern and southern boundaries are 57 and 52 degrees latitude, respectively. The corners are given below; the LR corner coordinate is approximated. Longitude Latitude (degrees) (degrees) Northwest 110 57 Northwest 102 57 Southwest 110 52 Southwest 101.6 52 7.1.2 Spatial Coverage Map Not available. 7.1.3 Spatial Resolution This is a very coarse and imprecise data set with limited available information associated with it. At a scale of 1:1,000,000, gridding the data to a raster cell size of 1,000m x ,1000 m would seem appropriate. 7.1.4 Projection The actual projection is unknown. A best guess would be that it is Lambert Conformal Conic under the North American Datum 1927 (NAD27). If one wishes to PROJECTDEFINE this coverage in ARC/INFO, the following information would be useful; NAD27 CNT 1st standard parallel: 50 degrees 50 minutes 2nd standard parallel: 58 degrees 10 minutes Central Meridian: 115 degrees Latitude of projection's origin: 0 0 0 False Easting (meters): 0.0 False Northing (meters): 0.0 Our sources at SERM indicate that one could rubber sheet it to almost any projection and it would not be significantly less accurate. 7.1.5 Grid Description Not applicable. 7.2 Temporal Characteristics 7.2.1 Temporal Coverage Most of the data used for this product were acquired by BORIS in 1993. The forest cover type data set of Saskatchewan at a scale of 1:1,000,000 provided by SERM-FBIU is a generalized cover map of the forested region of the province. This data set has not been documented by SERM, and little detail is known about it, including creation date, other than the comment that it was created “many years ago.” SERM has informed BOREAS staff of a data set that has been produced more recently that should have a higher level of accuracy and precision. Contact SERM directly regarding the acquisition of an updated forest cover type product (Section 2.3). 7.2.2 Temporal Coverage Map Not available. 7.2.3 Temporal Resolution The original maps (1:12,500) are completely reinventoried by SERM personnel on a 10- to 20-year cycle, except for disturbed areas, which are updated annually. The date of the maps this data set was generated from is unknown. BOREAS staff's best guess is that it was generated from forest cover maps made in the mid-1980s. One could possibly try to determine the approximate year by the evidence or lack thereof for significant known fires. 7.3 Data Characteristics 7.3.1 Parameter/Variable Polygon features with attributes. Each polygon has a CLASS and TYPE item associated with it in addition to relative spatial information. 7.3.2 Variable Description/Definition See file 1 (Section 8.2.1) for a table containing combinations of forest cover class and type attributes including: forest cover class - described as either merchantable, unmerchantable, or other forest cover type - for merchantable and unmerchantable the type is one of the following: softwood jackpine softwood spruce hardwood mixedwood 7.3.3 Unit of Measurement None. 7.3.4 Data Source The original data were acquired as ARC/INFO coverages or export files from: Saskatchewan Environment and Resource Management Forestry Branch - Inventory Unit 800 Central Ave. Prince Albert, Saskatchewan Canada S6V 6G1 7.3.5 Data Range Not applicable. 7.4 Sample Data Record Not applicable. 8. Data Organization 8.1 Data Granularity The smallest amount of obtainable data is the complete data set. 8.2 Data Format(s) 8.2.1 Uncompressed Data Files The product consists of three files on tape. Each of the files contains 80-byte American Standard Code for Information Interchange (ASCII) text records blocked to a multiple of 80. The files were written with the dd commands: dd if=README.1ST of=/dev/tape_device ibs=80 obs=80 cbs=80 conv=block dd if=PAT.DOC of=/dev/tape_device ibs=80 obs=800 cbs=80 conv=block dd if=fcov_1M.e00 of=/dev/tape_device ibs=80 obs=8000 cbs=80 conv=block The files can easily be retrieved using dd in a similar manner: dd if=/dev/tape_device of=readme ibs=80 obs=80 cbs=80 conv=unblock dd if=/dev/tape_device of=PAT.doc ibs=800 obs=80 cbs=80 conv=unblock dd if=/dev/tape_device of=fcov_1M.e00 ibs=8000 obs=80 cbs=80 conv=unblock File 1 is an ASCII text file describing the data attributes. File 2 is an ASCII text file which contains a snapshot of data contained in the Polygon Attribute Table (PAT) file associated with the polygon coverages. It contains 313 records ranging in size from 560 to 800 bytes. Each record larger than 80 bytes contains sets of 80 byte logical records blocked together. File 3 is the ARC/INFO export file. It contains 1,078 records ranging in size from 1,280 to 8,000 bytes. Each record larger than 80 bytes contains sets of 80- byte records blocked together. 8.2.2 Compressed CD-ROM Files On the BOREAS CD-ROMs, files 1 and 2 are stored as ASCII text. File 3 has been compressed with the Gzip compression program (file name *.gz). These data have been compressed using gzip version 1.2.4 and the high compression (-9) option (Copyright (C) 1992-1993 Jean-loup Gailly). Gzip (GNU zip) uses the Lempel-Ziv algorithm (Welch, 1994) used in the zip and PKZIP programs. The compressed files may be uncompressed using gzip (-d option) or gunzip. Gzip is available from many websites (for example, ftp site prep.ai.mit.edu/pub/gnu/gzip-*.*) for a variety of operating systems in both executable and source code form. Versions of the decompression software for various systems are included on the CD-ROMs. 9. Data Manipulations 9.1 Formulae None. 9.1.1 Derivation Techniques and Algorithms None. 9.2 Data Processing Sequence 9.2.1 Processing Steps 1) Copy and compress the non-text files for release on CD-ROM. 9.2.2 Processing Changes None. 9.3 Calculations 9.3.1 Special Corrections/Adjustments Unknown. 9.3.2 Calculated Variables None. 9.4 Graphs and Plots None. 10. Errors 10.1 Sources of Error This data set is old and of questionable accuracy, as stated in Section 5. SERM wants to make sure that all who use this data set are well aware of this fact. 10.2 Quality Assessment 10.2.1 Data Validation by Source Unknown. 10.2.2 Confidence Level/Accuracy Judgment This data set is old and of questionable accuracy, as stated in section 5. SERM wants to make sure that all who use this data set are well aware of this fact. 10.2.3 Measurement Error for Parameters Both spatial and forest type information can be considered of questionable accuracy. 10.2.4 Additional Quality Assessments None. 10.2.5 Data Verification by Data Center BORIS staff displayed the data and no anomolies were noticed. 11. Notes 11.1 Limitations of the Data This data set is old and of questionable accuracy, as stated in Section 5. SERM wants to make sure that all who use this data set are well aware of this fact. Both spatial and forest type information can be considered of questionable accuracy. 11.2 Known Problems with the Data None. 11.3 Usage Guidance Saskatchewan Parks and Renewable Resources does not accept any liability for decisions/action taken on the basis of these data. This data set is old and of questionable accuracy, as stated in Section 5. SERM wants to make sure that all who use this data set are well aware of this fact. Before uncompressing the Gzip files on CD-ROM, be sure that you have enough disk space to hold the uncompressed data files. Then use the appropriate decompression program provided on the CD-ROM for your specific system. 11.4 Other Relevant Information SERM-FBIU has informed BOREAS staff of a data set that has been produced more recently that should have a higher level of accuracy and precision. Contact SERM directly regarding the updated product (Section 2.3). 12. Application of the Data Set This data set could provide reference information at a rough scale for assessing Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR)-Leaf Area Coverage (LAC) or Global Area Coverage (GAC) classifications over the area and serve as an initial baseline data set for analyzing land cover and vegetation change. 13. Future Modifications and Plans 14. Software 14.1 Software Description The Envirnmental Systems Research Institute, Inc. (ESRI) ARC/INFO GIS package was used to produce the data set. Questions about the software should be directed to: Environmental Systems Research Institute, Inc. 380 New York Street Redlands, CA 92373-8100 Gzip (GNU zip) uses the Lempel-Ziv algorithm (Welch, 1994) used in the zip and PKZIP commands. 14.2 Software Access ARC/INFO is a commercial package; contact ESRI for details. Gzip is available from many websites across the net (for example) ftp site prep.ai.mit.edu/pub/gnu/gzip-*.*) for a variety of operating systems in both executable and source code form. Versions of the decompression software for various systems are included on the CD-ROMs. 15. Data Access 15.1 Contact for Data Center/Data Access Information These BOREAS data are available from the Earth Observing System Data and Information System (EOS-DIS) Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) Distributed Active Archive Center (DAAC). The BOREAS contact at ORNL is: ORNL DAAC User Services Oak Ridge National Laboratory (865) 241-3952 ornldaac@ornl.gov ornl@eos.nasa.gov 15.2 Procedures for Obtaining Data BOREAS data may be obtained through the ORNL DAAC World Wide Web site at http://www-eosdis.ornl.gov/ or users may place requests for data by telephone, electronic mail, or fax. 15.3 Output Products and Availability Requested data can be provided electronically on the ORNL DAAC's anonymous FTP site or on various media including, CD-ROMs, 8-MM tapes, or diskettes. The complete set of BOREAS data CD-ROMs, entitled "Collected Data of the Boreal Ecosystem-Atmosphere Study", edited by Newcomer, J., et al., NASA, 1999, are also available. 16. Output Products and Availability 16.1 Tape Products The data can be made available on 8-mm, DAT, or 9-track tapes at 6250 or 1600 BPI. 16.2 Film Products None available from BORIS. See Other Relevant Information, Section 11.4. 16.3 Other Products These data are available on the BOREAS CD-ROM series. 17. References None. 17.1 Platform/Sensor/Instrument/Data Processing Documentation Welch, T.A. 1984, A Technique for High Performance Data Compression, IEEE Computer, Vol. 17, No. 6, pp. 8 - 19. 17.2 Journal Articles and Study Reports Sellers, P., and F. Hall. 1994. Boreal Ecosystem-Atmosphere Study: Experiment Plan. Version 1994-3.0, NASA BOREAS Report (EXPLAN 94). Sellers, P., and F. Hall. 1996. Boreal Ecosystem-Atmosphere Study: Experiment Plan. Version 1996-2.0, NASA BOREAS Report (EXPLAN 96). Sellers, P., F. Hall, and K. F. Huemmrich. 1996. Boreal Ecosystem-Atmosphere Study: 1994 Operations. NASA BOREAS Report (OPS DOC 94). Sellers, P., F. Hall, and K. F. Huemmrich. 1997. Boreal Ecosystem-Atmosphere Study: 1996 Operations. NASA BOREAS Report (OPS DOC 96). Sellers, P., F. Hall, H. Margolis, B. Kelly, D. Baldocchi, G. den Hartog, J. Cihlar, M. G. Ryan, B. Goodison, P. Crill, K. J. Ranson, D. Lettenmaier, and D. E. Wickland. 1995. The boreal ecosystem-atmosphere study (BOREAS): an overview and early results from the 1994 field year. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society. 76(9):1549-1577. Sellers, P.J., F.G. Hall, R.D. Kelly, A. Black, D. Baldocchi, J. Berry, M. Ryan, K.J. Ranson, P.M. Crill, D.P. Lettenmaier, H. Margolis, J. Cihlar, J. Newcomer, D. Fitzjarrald, P.G. Jarvis, S.T. Gower, D. Halliwell, D. Williams, B. Goodison, D.E. Wickland, and F.E. Guertin. 1997. BOREAS in 1997: Experiment overview, scientific results, and future directions. Journal of Geophysical Research 102(D24):28,731-28,769. 17.3 Archive/DBMS Usage Documentation None. 18. Glossary of Terms None. 19. List of Acronyms AVHRR - Avanced Very High Resolution Radiometer BOREAS - BOReal Ecosystem-Atmosphere Study BORIS - BOREAS Information System DAAC - Distributed Active Archive Center EOS - Earth Observing System EOSDIS - EOS Data and Information System GAC - Global Area Coverage GSFC - Goddard Space Flight Center GIS - Geographic Information System LAC - Local Area Coverage NAD27 - North American Datum 1927 NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration NSA - Northern Study Area ORNL - Oak Ridge National Laboratory PANP - Prince Albert National Park PAT - Polygon Attribute Table SERM - Saskatchewan Environment and Resource Management SSA - Southern Study Area URL - Uniform Resource Locator 20. Document Information 20.1 Document Revision Dates Written: 01-Aug-1994 Last Updated: 06-Feb-1998 20.2 Document Review Dates BORIS Review: 15-May-1997 Science Review: 20.3 Document ID 20.4 Citation This data set was provided by SERM-FBIU. 20.5 Document Curator 20.6 Document URL Keywords Forest Cover Forestry Forest Inventory GIS Sask_For_Cov_1M_Vector.doc 04/17/98