Great Lakes Shoreline Ecosystem Project · Great Lakes Shoreline Ecosystems Project Team 4 ......

Great Lakes Shoreline Ecosystems Project Mapping the Coastal Habitats of the Great Lakes

Katie Howard, Ecosystem Biologist Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry

Science and Research Branch, Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry

Ontario’s Commitment • Canada-Ontario Agreement on Great

Lakes Water Quality and Ecosystem Health • Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement

Develop a framework….for the collection of baseline information to guide sustainable landscape conservation, conservation of

biodiversity and to measure future progress towards a target of net habitat gain

consistent with binational efforts.

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MNRF Mandated Responsibilities • Natural heritage planning and policy • Biodiversity assessments and monitoring • Natural resource inventories • State of resource reporting • Fish and wildlife habitat • Wetland conservation

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Challenge: Currently, there is no comprehensive inventory of shoreline

ecosystems around Ontario’s Great Lakes for planning purposes

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Great Lakes Shoreline Ecosystems Project Team

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• Science and Research Branch • Harold Lee (BAMS), Project Co-lead, Science Lead • Joel Mostoway (NRIS), Lead, Remote Sensing and Mapping • Adam Hogg (NRIS), Advisor, Standards and Wetlands • Katie Howard (BAMS), Ecosystem Biologist • Sarah Bennett (BAMS), Intern • Erin Banton (NRIS), Forest Resource Inventory Specialist

• Natural Resources Conservation Policy Branch • Julie Simard (WRS), Project Co-lead, Policy Lead Great Lakes • Regina (Gina) Varrin (NHS), Advisor, Wetland Policy

• Mapping and Information Resources Branch • Dennis Fraser (PMU), Advisor, Wetland Data


Great Lakes Shoreline Ecosystems Project • Delineate and classify ecosystems of the

Great Lakes shoreline using the latest tools and science

• Create resources for shoreline planning, management and conservation

• Ground verification of Great Lakes shoreline ecosystems

• Align with binational initiatives pertaining to habitat inventory and monitoring

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Great Lakes Shoreline Ecosystems Project Integrate information from variety of sources

• Will not duplicate existing mapping / inventory efforts • Will emphasise collaboration (MNRF and partners)

Create a definitive resource using common standards

• Create products suitable for a variety of users • Improve existing tools and classification systems

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Project Scope

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2 km inland of Ontario’s Great Lakes shorelines


GLSE Project Tools

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Photo Interpretation

Ecological Land Classification



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GLSE Photo Interpretation Hybrid Approach: - Photo interpreters are interpreting every polygon that occurs within that 2 km boundary

Satellite Imagery interpretations – SOLRIS

Thematic Layers • soils, physiography • other mapping (CWS, CA’s)

Photo interpretation • Forest Resource Inventory spec’s • 1:10,000 Ecosite polygons • 0.5 ha Min. Mapping Unit

Field Data collation + verification • ELC, OWES, CA, NGO


SOLRIS: Southern Ontario Land Resource Information System

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• Top-down imagery and thematic layer interpretation

• Get as far as technology will allow – open, shrub, treed

• Implement Community Class and Series concepts in ELC: deciduous forest, conifer swamp, treed dune

• Compilation of data from many sources

• Excellent candidate for broad-scale monitoring tool – track changes over time


GLSE Photo Interpretation

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GLSE Project Tools

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A framework used to describe and classify ecosystems based on:

• Soil Type (S-Type)



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• Soil Type (S-Type) • Vegetation Type (V-Type)



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• Soil Type (S-Type) • Vegetation Type (V-Type)

Ecosite



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Ecosite: an area of land with consistent soils and vegetation across a distinct prevailing condition

Coastal Calcareous Rock Open Active Shoreline

Great Lakes Coastal Mineral Meadow Marsh


DRAFT


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Coastal Organic Emergent Marsh

Science and Research Branch, Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry 20

• Interactive access to field collected data to allow use of the field collected data intuitively and easily


GLSE Project Deliverables

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1) Mapping Product - Attributes will include ecosite details

- Photos, prism sweep and soils data - Product will be available in Land Information Ontario (LIO)


GLSE Products

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1) Mapping Product - Attributes will include ecosite details

- Photos, prism sweep and soils data - Product will be available in Land Information Ontario (LIO)

2) Refinement of Great Lakes Shoreline Ecosystem Classification - GLSE specific ecosite keys and tables - Ecosite and V-type factsheets for coastal concepts - Providing information to State of the Resource report

Science and Research Branch, Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry 23

Mapping Progress to Date

• Stage 1: Lake Erie • Mapping completed. • QAQC in progress.

• Stage 2: Lake Ontario

• Mapping in progress.

• Stage 3: Lake Huron • Mapping to commence

after Lake Ontario completion.

• Stage 4: Northern

Georgian Bay and Lake Superior • Planning in progress.


Thank You!

Contact Information: Katie Howard (Holman)

[email protected]

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Great Lakes Shoreline Ecosystem Project · Great Lakes Shoreline Ecosystems Project Team 4 ......

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