Interior Region, Central BC Brian Bancroft

Landsat

MSS and TM Suites have been proven effective in the past for forest analysis in forest regions within Eastern BC, Oregon, Brazil and other regions.

 Landsat

MSS and TM Suites have been proven effective in the past for forest analysis in forest regions within Eastern BC, Oregon, Brazil and other regions. Modern GIS is also used as a tool to better understand foresting and social phenomenon

 Landsat

MSS and TM Suites have been proven effective in the past for forest analysis in forest regions within Eastern BC, Oregon, Brazil and other regions. Modern GIS is also used as a tool to better understand foresting and social phenomenon The continuity of Landsat sensors allows for a continuous record of data which can monitor and track forestry techniques used and effectiveness in forest harvesting in regrowth

 This

project seeks to use Landsat sensors to chart the rate of harvesting, and to show that over the last 40 years, while being roughly accurate to official numbers.

 This

project seeks to use Landsat sensors to chart the rate of harvesting, and to show that over the last 40 years, while being roughly accurate to official numbers. This project also seeks to show that the harvest rate in British Columbia has generally increased in the past decade.

The following traits were desired in choosing a location:

Minimal variation of vegetation type - Little to no development - Similarity to most Crown Forestry Land
-

 All

images used are freely available in the Global Land Survey, provided by the USGS

Image taken from Landsat 1, using MSS (1972) with 60m Resolution 3 Images taken from other Landsat platforms using TM/ETM sensors with 30m Resolution All images taken within Late Summer Early Autumn No imagery was available for the 1980s

 Created

polygons representing regions which were harvested Used a Geodatabase for storage, allowing for ARCGIS Topology rules to ensure that no polygons overlap.

11 October 1972

10

20 Kilometers

Forested Regions by Year

1972, October

11 October 1972

10

20 Kilometers

Forested Regions by Year

1972, October

15 August 1992

10

20 Kilometers

Forested Regions by Year

1972, October 1992, August

15 August 1992

10

20 Kilometers

Forested Regions by Year

1972, October 1992, August

12 September 1999

10

20 Kilometers

Forested Regions by Year

1972, October 1992, August 1999, September

12 September 1999

10

20 Kilometers

Forested Regions by Year

1972, October 1992, August 1999, September

10 September 2007

10

20 Kilometers

Forested Regions by Year

1972, October 1992, August 1999, September 2007, September

10 September 2007

10

20 Kilometers

Forested Regions by Year

1972, October 1992, August 1999, September 2007, September

10

20 Kilometers

 In

all, 1266 Polygons were drawn!

 While

the last map indicates a large region has been harvested over four decades, forests do grow back.

The Rate of Harvesting: - Assuming that the rate of forest harvesting remains uniform between when images were taken, the rate of harvesting has been higher between 1999 and 2007 than it was between 1972 and 1992.
Year of Image Area Harvested (m2) Area (km2) Rate of harvesting between measurements (km2 a-1) N/A 17.7 3.0 44.4

1972 1992 1999 2007

184449625.1 354230087.9 20810568.51 355460726.4

184.4 354.2 20.8 355.5

Forest Harvesting in 1972 is mostly concentrated in large clear-cuts close to the Fraser River with some smaller harvests to the west

 Between

1972 and 1992, the large clearcut was expanded, as was series of the clearing of small disconnected regions in the rest of the Sample Area

Forested Regions by Year

1972, October 1992, August

 Between

1992 and 1999, no new regions were logged except for small extensions of regions already harvested

Forested Regions by Year

1972, October 1992, August 1999, September

 Between

1999 and 2007 the rate of harvesting increased, with most harvesting done adjacent to previous harvests.

Forested Regions by Year

1972, October 1992, August 1999, September 2007, September

Potential issues: 1. Development did it appear at any point, and does it effect this survey?
N - A settlement by the name of Punchaw was settled between 1972 and 1992. Consists of 9 buildings and a small region of farm - While the land will not return to forest, it can count as harvested for the purposes of this evaluation.

Other questions: 1. Development 2. Parkland Does a nearby provincial park effect this survey?
Fraser River Park

Other questions: 1. Development 2. Parkland 3. Is this pattern representative of the Interior of BC?

Is this pattern representative of the Interior of BC?

Year of Image 1972 1992 1999 2007

Rate of harvesting between measurements (km2 a-1) N/A 17.7 3.0 44.4

Detecting Landscape Cahnges in the Interior of British Columbia from 1975 to 1992 using Satellite Imagery. 1998. (DL Sachs et al.) Estimating the Age and Structure of Forests in a Multi-Ownership Landscape of Western Oregon, USA.1995. (W.B. Cohen et al.) Remote Sensing and GIS at a Farm Property Level: Demography and Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon. 1999. (S.D. McCracken et al.) Surveying Mountain Pine Beetle Damage of Forests: A Review of Remote Sensing Opportunities. 2006. (Micheal A Wuder et Al) Remote Sensing for Sustainable Forest Management. 2001. (S.E. Franklin) The State of British Columbias Forests, 3rd Edition. 2010. (BC Ministry of Forests)