Grassland Vegetation Inventory Update:
Needs Assessment
Prairie Conservation Forum Invites You To Share Your Alberta Grassland Story
A complete human land use & biophysical land cover inventory extending beyond Alberta’s Grassland Natural Region.
Background
The GVI is a result of efforts initiated by Alberta’s Prairie Conservation Action Plan (PCAP) to evaluate changes in the native vegetation characteristics of Alberta’s prairie landscape. The current version of GVI is a compilation of digitized and manually interpreted inventory data, using digital color infrared photography, which was acquired by Alberta Sustainable Resource Development starting in 2006/07.
GVI Classification System
GVI mapping involved creating a hierarchical classification system, where the functional land management unit is termed SITE TYPE, but also known as a range site for the twenty-four (24) natural site types:
- fourteen (14) upland (such as loamy, limy, sandy etc.),
- ten (10) wetland/riparian (such as temporary lentic wetland); and
- eight (8) anthropogenic land uses, such as:
- four (4) agricultural,
- two (2) industrial and
- two (2) urban/rural classes.
Site Type Modifiers
Some site types may be modified, using modifiers such as salinity extent in agricultural lands, gravel pits, quarries, processing plants, confined feeding operations or even green spaces in urban/rural areas.
Site Type Attributes
Site type vegetation attributes include: percent cover of tree, shrub, and herbaceous vegetation, as well as woody plant height, density and distribution pattern. Line and point topological layers have also been introduced to delineate features such as shelterbelts, which are important features for many native and rare wildlife species.
GVI User Contributions
GVI Interpretation Guides and Examples
- GVI Mixedgrass Examples
- GVI Northern Fescue Examples
- GVI Foothills Parkland Examples
- GVI Foothills Fescue Examples
- GVI Dry-Mixedgrass Examples 2
- GVI Dry-Mixedgrass Examples 1
- GVI Interpretation Guide for Northern Fescue
- GVI Interpretation Guide for Mixedgrass
- GVI Interpretation Guide for Foothills Parkland
- GVI Interpretation Guide for Foothills Fescue
- GVI Interpretation Guide for Dry-Mixedgrass
GVI Update Needs Questionnaire
The recent State of the Prairie report highlights the growing pressures on Alberta’s grasslands. To keep an updated range/site type and land use inventory of these grasslands, Alberta’s Prairie Conservation Forum is actively seeking input from Alberta grassland stakeholders. They want to know how stakeholders use grassland mapping tools, what features they like, and what can be improved.
Many organizations, including PCF, have relied on the GVI classification system and inventory, which is based on information that is nearly twenty years old. Since then, the variety of users and projects has increased. In response to this demand, PCF is gathering feedback from anyone who lives in, works in, plays in, drives through, or flies over Alberta’s majestic grasslands to assess the need for updates.
There are three (3) survey pathways, based on your past experience with GVI or grassland mapping information: New, Working-knowledge and Specialist.
- The New User survey has five (5) questions and will take ~two (2) minutes.
- The Working User survey will take ~ten (10) minutes.
- The Specialist User survey will take ~twenty (20) minutes.
You have the option to skip all questions EXCEPT the Survey Pathway Selection, just scroll down to the bottom of the page and click ‘Next’. With all three survey pathways, you can skip to the last question and share your story in your own words.
This survey is anonymous, unless you provide us with your e-mail address for future participation in this project. The survey will open in a new browser tab. Feel free to contact us below if you have any questions about the survey.
Survey input deadline is February 20, 2025 (midnight MST)!