Inventory and data collection are the most fundamental component of any long-term natural resources management, conservation, planning or restoration activity and decision making process. In southern Ontario's dynamic social and natural environment, these processes require baseline information that can be readily used and adapted to different spatial and temporal scales.
Inventory and Monitoring of Vegetation Communities
Vegetation Sampling Protocol (VSP): VSP is a quantitative, integrative and adaptable method for sampling different vegetation types in the field. The protocol can be used to sample a variety of habitat types including forests, wetlands, and grasslands, for either site-specific or landscape-level applications. Baseline VSP data can support a number of research and practical applications, as well as important initiatives in southern Ontario. For example, VSP data can be used as input for predictive vegetation modeling and mapping, which in turn creates landscape-scale mapping that can be used as input for Natural Heritage System (NHS) Planning or species at risk (SAR) protection/recovery planning.
VSP can be used to support the following research:
- Quality & Diversity of Urban Natural Areas
- Urban Forest Structure & Composition
- Forest Cover Change Over Time
- Forest Vulnerability to Climate Change
- Landscape & Forest Resilience
- Spatial Restoration Planning
- Ecological Goods & Services
- Integrated Landscape & Conservation Planning
- Species at Risk (SAR) Distribution Modeling
- Invasive Species Management
- Capturing Common Species
- Gap Analysis
Inventory & Monitoring of Single & Community Trees
Neighbourwoods©: Neighbourwoods© is a tree inventory, monitoring and stewardship program andapproach. Neighbourwoods© is designed and envisioned to help community groups and volunteers conduct an inventory of their urban forest, and further use that knowledge to inform urban forest stewardship, management and conservation in their communities and neighbourhoods. Since its inception in 1995, Neighbourwoods© has been used and applied by many communities across Ontario and wider.