occurred. Not all forest cover loss
means there is deforestation (meaning
permanent change of forests to new,
non-forest land uses).
Only by distinguishing between
natural- and human-caused change,
understanding the nature of the
disturbance observed, and knowing
forest recovery rates can analysts
make reasonable assessments of
deforestation rates in any region.
It is through such assessments, for
example, that analysts know that
Canada’s annual deforestation rates
have been declining for the past two
decades. Today, less than 0.02% of
Canada’s forest lands are deforested
each year.
Better data are enabling
better-informed and more
effective policy-making
At the global level, satellite data are
helping forest analysts more accurately
characterize changes in forest cover,
assess how forest cover changes are
affecting ecosystem services (such as
water filtering), and quantify rates of
deforestation and afforestation. For
example, such data are being used
across Canada to:
Monitor wildfire occurrence
and spread:
R eal-time tracking of daily fire
activity is being used in wildfire
management programs, plans, and
prediction software in support of fire
suppression decision making.
•
etailed mapping of burned areas is
• Dbeing
used to analyze fire impacts.
Monitor forest cover type and
forest cover extent:
Forest cover data from the National
Forest Inventory are being combined
with satellite data to produce
•
detailed national maps of forest
attributes such as volume, species,
and height.
nformation is being used to study
• Ithe
effects of climate change on
forests and to develop predictions.
Canadian scientists are also
collaborating with others around the
world to develop new data products
(such as mapping programs and
interpretive applications) to help
monitor forests globally. At the same
time, researchers in Canada are
developing approaches specific to
the study of forests in this country. For
instance, international scientific teams
are developing global maps of forest
cover change. Canadian scientists are
developing more detailed maps and
using these to study why the changes
obser ved by global monitoring
programs have occurred.
The view ah