This week marks National Forest Week in Canada, a celebration where Canadians are invited to learn more about Canada’s forest heritage and to raise awareness about this valuable and renewable resource. This year’s theme is “Forest Pathways: Innovation and Sustainability”. Join us for a series of articles highlighting the contributions of Canada’s Model Forests to our economy, culture, traditions and history – and to our future. Communities, families and individuals depend on forests for their livelihood and way of life.
Did you know what started in 2021 as a small-scale forest inventory of private land across two counties in the Ontario Model Forest has grown to become Ontario’s first province-wide forest inventory of private lands since 1979?
Photo provided by the Ontario Model Forest and Ontario Woodlot Association
The Ontario Model Forest first conducted a private lands forest inventory pilot in 2021 across the Eastern Ontario counties of Prescott and Russell.
The Ontario Model Forest and Ontario Woodlot Association (OWA) were able to build on the success of this pilot using seed money from Natural Resources Canada, Environment and Climate Change Canada, Ontario’s Ministry of Natural Resources, and from private companies. This achievement allowed the Model Forest to develop the Private Land Advanced Forest Resource Inventory (PLAFRI) tool, which is now in the final stages of testing.
A LiDAR image showing the distance between the ground and the canopy. Photo provided by the Ontario Model Forest and the OWA
The PLAFRI tool uses aerial Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR), or laser scanning, to capture the three-dimensional structure of forests. Laser pulses from an aerial sensor penetrate the canopy and return from the ground, stems, understory, and foliage, creating a detailed vertical profile of forest composition.
LiDAR provides complete, wall-to-wall coverage of the forest landscape, giving landowners and professionals a consistent, comprehensive view of their resources.
To date, the Ontario Model Forest and OWA team have inventoried more than 1.5 million hectares of forest cover on more than 9 million hectares of private land in Ontario, Canada. In addition to computer analysis and modelling, field crews have completed more than 650 LiDAR calibration plots that have informed the algorithms used in said modelling.
Fixed-area sample plots are the link between LiDAR and real forest conditions. A two-step process ensures PLAFRI results are reliable for management and planning.
First, measurements from these plots are used to calibrate the LiDAR models, aligning the data with actual inventory attributes such as height and basal area. Later, new plots are established to verify that the mapped attributes remain accurate.
Data continues to be added to the interactive web tool and will be made available to forest landowners and forest service providers in the coming months.
Learn more:
- IMFN Article: Measuring to Sustainably Manage: Eastern Ontario Model Forest’s State-of-the-Art Forest Inventory
- Model Forest Profile: Ontario Model Forest
- Ontario Woodlot Association: www.ontariowoodlot.com
