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A national framework for monitoring and reporting on environmental sustainability in Canada

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Abstract

In 1991, a collaborative project to revise the terrestrial component of a national ecological framework was undertaken with a wide range of stakeholders. This spatial framework consists of multiple, nested levels of ecological generalization with linkages to existing federal and provincial scientific databases. The broadest level of generalization is the ecozone. Macroclimate, major vegetation types and subcontinental scale physiographic formations constitute the definitive components of these major ecosystems. Ecozones are subdivided into approximately 200 ecoregions which are based on properties like regional physiography, surficial geology, climate, vegetation, soil, water and fauna. The ecozone and ecoregion levels of the framework have been depicted on a national map coverage at 1:7 500 000 scale. Ecoregions have been subdivided into ecodistricts based primarily on landform, parent material, topography, soils, waterbodies and vegetation at a scale (1:2 000 000) useful for environmental resource management, monitoring and modelling activities. Nested within the ecodistricts are the polygons that make up the Soil Landscapes of Canada series of 1:1 000 000 scale soil maps. The framework is supported by an ARC-INFO GIS at Agriculture Canada. The data model allows linkage to associated databases on climate, land use and socio-economic attributes.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State of Environment Directorate, Environment canada, 351 St. Joseph Blvd., K1A 0H3, Hull, Quebec, Canada

    Ian B. Marshall

  2. Centre for Land and Biological Resources Research, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Box 2703, Y1A 2C6, Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, Canada

    C. A. Scott Smith

  3. Centre for Land and Biological Resources Research, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, 6660 N.W. Marine Dr., V6T 1X2, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

    Corrine J. Selby

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  1. Ian B. Marshall
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  2. C. A. Scott Smith
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Marshall, I.B., Scott Smith, C.A. & Selby, C.J. A national framework for monitoring and reporting on environmental sustainability in Canada. Environ Monit Assess 39, 25–38 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00396133

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