Click to view Metadata Functional Natural Heritage System (FNHS) is a series of overlays of valued natural system components. Many of these components have been derived from CLOCA's Ecological Land Classification (ELC) mapping.Developing the Natural Heritage SystemFNHS components:a) Core Habitat Areas and Corridors:Core Habitat Areas: Although virtually all vegetated areas provide some habitat for wildlife, there are some habitats that can be considered “core” because they are able to provide for a large suite of wildlife or support sensitive wildlife species. Deciding which habitats should be considered core habitats is a somewhat subjective exercise depending on the species being considered, but for the purposes of defining a FNHS, the designation of core habitat areas has been made using the following criteria:• Size - the physical size of the habitat being measured. Larger sized habitats are preferable to smaller sized habitats. • Shape - refers to the geometric shape of the habitat being measured. Compact habitat patches (e.g. square or circular) are preferable to linear (e.g. rectangular) patches as they have fewer edges. • Juxtaposition - the position of the habitat on the landscape relative to other features such as settled areas or natural areas. Natural areas adjacent to other natural areas are preferred over natural areas adjacent to urban development. • Representation - the range of a specific habitat type in the watershed. A high diversity of well-distributed habitat types is preferable. • Multiple Function - the ability of a habitat to provide more than one function for local wildlife communities. • Species at Risk - refers to the ability of a habitat patch to support species at risk as identified by the Committee on the Status of Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) and the Committee on the Status of Species at Risk in Ontario (COSSARO).Habitat size and shape are important factors for any habitat, however in forests, size and shape are particularly important because they determine the amount of forest interior (100 m from forest edge) and deep forest interior (200 m from forest edge) that may be present. Forest interior is a prerequisite for many breeding birds as it provides increased protection from wind, light, nest parasitism and predation.As human development approaches and in some cases surrounds wildlife habitats, the effects of noise, light, disturbance from recreation or pets, and other stressors are increased. Consequently, species that are sensitive to disturbance are less likely to occupy these habitats even if they meet their needs for food or cover, and the result is a loss in overall biodiversity. Habitat size, shape and juxtaposition were evaluated using the LAM.Representation and multiple function have been assessed using ELC. Because wildlife have varying needs, and some have very specific needs, a wide variety of habitats must exist within a watershed to support biodiversity. Representation is not limited to broad habitats such as forests and wetlands; it includes types of forests as well as types of wetlands.The evaluation of habitats for species at risk within the CLOCA jurisdiction is done using information from the Natural Heritage Information Centre (NHIC), from data collected through field work, external documents, or Environmental Impact Studies, and from data reported to the Authority by the public.Corridors:Animals are not stationary. Species have a tendency to move between habitats to fulfill dietary or lifecycle needs, seek refuge, and escape predation, so connectivity between habitat patches is important for maintaining wildlife populations. At a broader scale, connectivity enables animal migration, which is integral to maintaining genetic diversity and facilitating the repopulation of habitats after local extinction events.Because corridors serve a number of functions and operate at varying scales, they can be categorized in the following manner: • Regional CorridorsThese are major movement corridors which connect a number of watersheds at a large landscape scale. Regional corridors are often comprised of upland areas since they exist across watershed divides and they are connected via large habitat patches. Examples of Regional Corridors include the Oak Ridges Moraine and Lake Iroquois Shoreline.• Landscape CorridorsThese are major movement routes within the watersheds that connect core areas and/or are robust enough to be sustainable as habitat units themselves. They typically follow linear features such as creeks and valleys, and can be composed of a series of independent habitats that allow wildlife to “hopscotch” across the landscape. Landscape corridors should be at least 100 metres in width. (Environment Canada, 2004)• Local CorridorsThese are minor movement routes within the watershed that help to connect habitat patches into a continuous series. They are often associated with creek valleys and typically function at a sub-watershed scale. They function with landscape corridors to connect the smaller habitats to the larger ones. Local corridors are 60 metres in width.b) Riparian Corridors:In order to protect/enhance the thermal regime of the watercourses in the CLOCA jurisdiction a minimum 30-metre buffer from the wetted width of either side of a watercourse is required. Watercourses can be permanent, intermittent and ephemeral. The 30-metre buffer requirement is well documented in and supports the goals, objectives and recommendations of the Central Lake Ontario Fisheries Management Plan.c) Species At Risk (SAR) Riparian Corridors:SAR riparian corridors are required to protect the reaches of watercourses that provide habitat for the provincially endangered Redside Dace. Currently within the CLOCA jurisdiction Redside Dace occurs only in reaches of the Lynde Creek Watershed, however ongoing watershed monitoring occurs across the jurisdiction for this species. In keeping with the recovery strategy in development for Redside Dace, a buffer of the meander belt plus 30-metres on either side of the wetted width of the watercourse is required. Buffers are applied to reaches of permanent and intermittent watercourses where habitat for Redside Dace occurs or has been known to occur historically.d) Wetlands >/= 0.5ha:Existing wetlands in CLOCA watersheds occasionally fall short of the 10%/watershed target suggested in Environment Canada's “How Much Habitat is Enough?” AOC Guidelines of 10%/watershed. The guidelines also recommend restoration of wetland habitat to mirror historical percentages. As such, it has been determined that all wetlands are valued and should be considered in the development of the FNHS. Since ELC at the Community Series level of detail identifies 0.5ha polygons as the smallest units mappable, 0.5ha is the smallest wetland considered for incorporation into the FNHS.e) Woodlands >/= 0.5ha:Existing woodlands in CLOCA watersheds generally fall short of targets suggested in Environment Canada's “How Much Habitat is Enough?” AOC Guidelines of 30%/watershed. As such, it has been determined that all woodlands are valued and should be considered in the development of the FNHS. Since ELC at the Community Series level of detail identifies 0.5ha polygons as the smallest units mappable, 0.5ha is the smallest woodland considered for incorporation into the FNHS.f) Provincially Significant Wetlands (PSWs):PSWs have been designated by the Ministry of Natural Resources and are protected features under provincial policies including the Provincial Policy Statement, The Oak Ridges Moranine Conservation Plan and the Greenbelt Plan. While already protected by policy, PSWs are also important biological features and therefore warrant inclusion into the FNHS mapping.g) Areas of Natural and Scientific Interest (ANSIs):ANSIs have been designated by the Ministry of Natural Resources and are protected features under provincial policies including the Provincial Policy Statement, The Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation Plan and the Greenbelt Plan. While already protected by policy, ANSIs are also important biological and physiographical features and therefore warrant inclusion into the FNHS mapping.

This dataset shows the boundaries of systems of natural heritage features and areas, lands and waters that support connectivity and have significant ecological value. It includes areas defined in provincial plans such as the: * Greenbelt Plan * Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation Plan * Niagara Escarpment Plan * Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe This dataset does not include modifications to systems made by municipal governments as part of their official plans.

Click to view Metadata CLOCA's Ecological Land Classification (ELC) mapping is a provincial standard in classifying and mapping natural communities and was developed by the Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) in 1998. CLOCA's ELC mapping has been completed to the Community Series level of detail, which is defined as the smallest ecological unit of mapping (0.5ha) that can be interpreted from aerial photography at a scale of 1:10,000. For the purposes of ELC mapping and subsequently the development of a Natural Heritage System, polygons under 0.5ha have not been mapped unless they have been ground-truthed and have been included as a rare community type (i.e. Old Growth Forest, Fen).

This map shows the City’s Natural Heritage Features and Areas, including Valleylands/Watercourse Corridors, Woodlands, Lakes and Ponds, and Wetlands, along with Policy based areas such as Provincially Significant Wetlands, Special Policy Areas, Environmentally Sensitive/Significant Areas, Provincial Greenbelt/Protected Countryside, Areas of Natural and Scientific Interest.

The Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry defines ecological units on the basis of bedrock, climate (temperature, precipitation), physiography (soils, slope, aspect) and corresponding vegetation.

This enhances their compatibility with national and continental classification systems. The ELC of Ontario is used for descriptive, planning, and resource management purposes.

The upper levels in its hierarchy may be relevant for provincial and municipal land-use planning initiatives. The lower (finer-scale) levels of the hierarchy are most useful for detailed resource management prescriptions and other local and site planning applications.

This packaged dataset is classified into 3 hierarchical categories:

Ecozone: used for national and coarse-scale provincial reporting such as analyses of climate, demographics and watersheds Ecoregion: used for determining the significance or status of wetland classes and certain other natural heritage features (e.g., old growth forest), setting targets for Wilderness Class Provincial parks, State of the Forest reporting and studying natural disturbance regimes Ecodistrict used for assessing biodiversity levels, defining seed zones, mapping ecosystem types and setting targets for the identification of natural heritage systems

Additional Documentation

Introduction to ecological land classification Report on: The ecosystems of Ontario Part 1: ecozones and ecoregions

Status

Completed: Production of the data has been completed

Maintenance and Update Frequency

As needed: Data is updated as deemed necessary

Contact

Adam Hogg, Spatial Data Acquisition, adam.hogg@ontario.ca

SOLRIS is based on MNRF's Ecological Land Classification (ELC) for southern Ontario (Lee et al, 1998). It is a land use inventory that supports a number of key provincial initiatives including: State of Natural Resources Reporting (Forestry, Biodiversity), Natural Heritage Features Reporting (wetlands, woodlands), Climate Change Reporting and Land Use Planning. Maintained on a consistent update cycle, SOLRIS provides a standardized geospatial information layer that allows for reporting on changes in natural and anthropogenic features, such as wetland extent, forest afforestation/deforestation, habitat connectivity and built-up areas (impervious/pervious). The data covers the date ranges from 2000-2015 in Ecoregions 7E, 6E and 5E (Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe Study Area and an Eastern Ontario extension to the Forest Resources Inventory boundary).

Additional Documentation

Southern Ontario Land Resource Information System Version 3.0 - Frequently Asked Questions (PDF)

Southern Ontario Land Resource Information System Version 3.0 - Data Specification (PDF)

Status

On going: Data is continually being updated

Maintenance and Update Frequency

As needed: Data is updated as deemed necessary

Contact

Joel Mostoway, Forest Resources Inventory Program, Science and Research Branch, joel.mostoway@ontario.ca

The Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry defines ecological units on the basis of bedrock, climate (temperature, precipitation), physiography(soils, slope, aspect) and corresponding vegetation. This enhances their compatibility with national and continental classification systems. The ELC of Ontario is used for descriptive, planning, and resource management purposes. The upper levels in its hierarchy may be relevant for provincial and municipal land-use planning initiatives. The lower (finer-scale) levels of the hierarchy are most useful for detailed resource management prescriptions and other local and site planning applications. This packaged dataset is classified into 3 hierarchical categories: * Ecozone: used for national and coarse-scale provincial reporting such as analyses of climate, demographics and watersheds * Ecoregion: used for determining the significance or status of wetland classes and certain other natural heritage features (e.g., old growth forest), setting targets for Wilderness Class Provincial parks, State of the Forest reporting and studying natural disturbance regimes * Ecodistrict used for assessing biodiversity levels, defining seed zones, mapping ecosystem types and setting targets for the identification of natural heritage systems Introduction to ecological land classification *[ELC]: Ecological land classification

These are the supplementary materials for the article "MapColorAI: Designing Contextually Relevant Choropleth Map Color Schemes Using a Large Language Model".GeoJSON data samples: Administrative Divisions of the People's Republic of China.jsonmapping data examples (The specific values in the following data are randomly generated and solely intended for system testing.):mapping data example1 Forest Coverage Rate by Province in China.jsonmapping data example2 Internet penetration rate by province.jsonmapping data example3 National Intangible Cultural Heritage Items.jsonmapping data example4 Seventh National Population Census in China .jsondemonstration video: Demonstration video.mp4system usage documentation: System usage documentation.html

The Crown Land Trails dataset is a collection of linear features representing the location of trails on Crown land administered under the Public Lands Act, Provincial Parks Act, Wilderness Areas, Ecological Reserves, Natural Areas, Heritage Rangelands Act and Willmore Wilderness Parks Act in Alberta. Please note that this dataset supersedes the Glenbow Ranch Provincial Park Trails and Fish Creek Trails datasets. The dataset also includes provincial trails designated under the Trails Act and established as provincial trails under the Public Lands Act, through Ministerial Order. These provincial trails include the trail tread (the surface on which people travel) as well as a boundary which is minimum 10m either side of the centerline of the trail tread. The boundary is defined in the Trail Designation: Ministerial Order. This boundary is to ensure associated structures are captured within the trail boundary, such as signs, parking areas, and warming shelters and ensure the safety of people using the trail system. If any discrepancy occurs between the Alberta Public Land Use Zone (PLUZ) maps and data the maps shall take precedence. For provincial trails, Public Land Use Zone maps have not been updated to reflect provincial trails. Users must adhere to the signs and notices for the applicable trail.

Contained within the Atlas of Canada's Reference Map Series, 1961 to 2010, is a map of Canada. The map was the first to use the Vertical Near-Side Perspective Projection (which enables the map to be of a larger scale than would otherwise have been possible). The map shows provincial and territorial boundaries, including the provisional boundary of the Nunavut (which came into existence in 1999). Also shown is Canada's 200 mile offshore limit. Populated places are classified in six size categories. Roads are grouped into three categories. Railways and ferry routes are also shown. The map shows all of the national parks and World Heritage sites created in Canada. The map contains a distance table for 29 places. It also has four urban-area inset maps which give extensive detail on the four largest metropolitan areas. These maps are Montreal, and Ottawa--Hull, both at 1:700 000; and Toronto, and Vancouver, both at 1:1 000 000. Data is mainly as of 1997, but populated places are shown using 1991 Census data.

Contained within the Atlas of Canada's Reference Map Series, 1961 to 2010, is a bilingual map of Canada. This map is an update of the 2000 Edition of MCR 100. The main change included in the 2004 map is the change of Newfoundland's name to Newfoundland and Labrador (which occurred in 2001). This map shows provincial and territorial boundaries. Also shown is Canada's 200 mile offshore limit. Populated places are classified in six size categories. Roads are grouped into three categories (expressways, major roads and other roads). Railways and ferry routes are also shown. The map shows all of Canada's national parks, and all of Canada's World Heritage sites. Bathymetric contours are used for all saltwater areas. Because this map does not have urban insets, a much larger coverage area is given for the United States. Data is mainly as of 2000-2004, with the 2001 Census being used as the data source for populated places.

Contained within the Atlas of Canada's Reference Map Series, 1961 to 2010, is a special edition of the Canada map for the 100th Anniversary of the Atlas of Canada. It uses the Vertical Near-Side Perspective Projection. This map is an update of the 2004 Edition of MCR 102. The main change included in the 2004 map is the change of Newfoundland's name to Newfoundland and Labrador (which occurred in 2001). This map shows provincial and territorial boundaries. Also shown is Canada's 200 mile offshore limit. Populated places are classified in six size categories. Roads are grouped into three categories (expressways, major roads and other roads). Railways and ferry routes are also shown. The map shows all of Canada's national parks, and all of Canada's World Heritage sites. Bathymetric contours are used for all saltwater areas.

This dataset provides a geographical location (in decimal degrees to the nearest second) for all officially named geographical features within the Province of Manitoba. The purpose of this dataset is to provide a geographical location (in decimal degrees to the nearest second) for all officially named geographical features within the Province of Manitoba, as per the Manitoba Geographical Names Program. The program’s mission is to: “embrace the active preservation of the province’s culture through its toponymy, and provides a naming authority for the enhancement, maintenance, dissemination, and protection of Manitoba’s geographical nomenclature recognizing the integral role geographical names play in our daily lives including their essential value to our scientific, commercial, and economic world.” As part of the program, staff administer and maintain all nomenclature records, an automated names information system, a resource library and archives, supplementary name location maps, a bibliography of name studies, and a commemorative names project. The Manitoba’s Geographical Names database contains more than 24, 000 official and heritage place names found throughout Manitoba. For each place name, the data set contains geographic coordinates, the type of feature, the name’s approval data, its location reference, plus any heritage information recorded about the name. Fields included (Alias (Field Name): Field description.) OBJECTID (OBJECTID): Sequential unique whole numbers that are automatically generated. Shape (Shape): Coordinates defining the features. Geographical Name (Geographical_Name): Current official name. Unique National Identifier (Field Unique_National_Identifier): Unique national identificatier applied to each toponym by the Geographical Names Board of Canada member for Manitoba. Feature Code (Feature_Code): Numeric code used to classify toponyms based on the nature of the related geographical feature. NTS 250,000 Map Sheet (NTS_250_000_Map_Sheet): Map number of the National Topographic System (NTS) 1:250 000 map sheet that contains the centroid of the toponym. NTS 50,000 Submap Sheet (NTS_50_000_Submap_Sheet): Map number of the National Topographic System (NTS) 1:50 000 map sheet that contains the centroid of the toponym. Latitude (Latitude): Latitude in Decimal Degrees. Longitude (Longitude): Longitude in Decimal Degrees. Casualty Hometown (Casualty_Hometown): Hometown that was provided by the casualty of war at time of enlistment. Casualty Regimental Number (Casualty_Regimental_Number): Regimental number of the casualty of war at the time of their death. Casualty Rank (Casualty_Rank): Rank of the casualty of war at the time of their death. Casualty Surname (Casualty_Surname): Surname of the casualty of war at the time of their death. Casualty Given Name(s) (Casualty_Given_Name_s_): Given name(s) of the casualty of war at the time of their death. Casualty Date of Death (Casualty_Date_of_Death): Date of death for the casualty of war. Casualty Regiment (Casualty_Regiment): Military affiliation of the casualty of war at the time of their death. Casualty Place of Burial (Casualty_Place_of_Burial): Place of burial of the casualty when the geographical feature is named in honour of a casualty of war. Feature Type (Feature_Type): Type of geographical feature, e.g. lake, island, bay, town, city. Feature Type Description (Feature_Type_Description): Description of the geographical feature.