Old Forest Scoring
Type File Geodatabase Feature Class
Summary
The Old Forest Scoring layer contains the spatial location and scoring attributes of forest stands scored by the Dept. of Lands and Forestry. This layer is intended to store data to help guide forest management and land-use decisions. This version was created in April 2021 and contains a limited dataset of recently scored stands. The intention is to further populate this layer with old forest scoring data, previously collected on paper tally sheets and include these data in future versions.
Description
Background:
In the past, old forest scoring has been completed by the Dept. of Lands and Forestry on paper tally sheets or excel spreadsheets. These data were non-spatial and not located in a central location.
Through 2018-2020, a tool was created by Lands and Forestry staff to convert excel spreadsheets, containing old forest scoring data, into a spatial database for use in ArcGIS. This version was created in April 2021 and contains a limited dataset of recently scored stands. The intention is to further populate this database with old forest scoring data, previously collected on paper tally sheets and include these data in future versions.
Use and Interpretation:
This is not a complete dataset of scored stands. Stands not appearing in this database may have been previously scored but will not appear until their data is entered. This dataset is not limited to stands that are old forest. Some stands were too young or did not otherwise meet the current definition of old forest and were not added to the old forest policy layer. Scoring for stands in this database was completed on the unit of “MAPSTAND” from the current forest inventory layer which is available for download. Generally, stands over 3ha in size that did not include 3 scoring points were excluded from the database. Users should understand that scoring was completed at random plot locations, and therefore ages and other old forest attributes may vary throughout the stand.
The “CurrentAge” field represents the age as of 2021, based on the age measured (average of all plots) in the year of scoring, plus any time that has elapsed. Ages were collected using current old forest scoring protocols (Old_Forest_Scoring_Procedures_2020.pdf (novascotia.ca)). Any changes to old forest scoring protocols or old forest policy (Old-Forest-Policy-2012.pdf (novascotia.ca)) will affect whether these stands are considered old forest. All fields including “Score” in the name are related to scores from the current old forest scoring sheet and are averages from all the plots in the stand.
Fields:
MAPSTAND: Stand number corresponding to Nova Scotia’s forest inventory at the time of survey. These numbers are subject to change with future interpretations and updates to the forest inventory.
AgeScore: Score based on the age top 30% of basal area in the stand.
Age (years)
Score
60 - 80
5
81 - 100
10
101-125
20
126-175
30
> 175
40
DBHScore: Diameter score based on the following criteria:
Criteria
Score
> 50 trees/ha with >= 40cm
3
> 70 trees/ha with >= 40cm
5
> 100 trees/ha with >= 40cm
9
> 20 trees/ha with >= 50cm
12
> 5 trees/ha with >= 60cm
15
DWDScore: Dead woody debris (bole length of snags and downed woody debris combined) score based on the following criteria:
Criteria
Score
400m/ha with diameter >= 20cm
3
200m/ha with diameter >= 30cm
5
200m/ha with diameter >= 40cm
10
200m/ha with diameter >= 50cm
15
CCScore: Overstory crown closure score based on the following criteria:
Criteria
Score
Uniform closure with little light penetration
2
Small canopy openings (hardwood)
5
Mosaic of different densities (softwood)
5
SSScore: Stand structure score based on the following criteria:
Criteria
Score
One understory
2
Multiple layers in the understory
5
PVScore: Primal value score based on the following criteria:
Criteria
Score
Past Logging Evident
0
Suspected or Light Human Disturbance
10
Past Logging Unlikely
20
TotScore: Average total score of all plots in each stand, obtained by adding together all the scores described above.
CurrentAge: Average of all ages taken in each stand plus time that has elapsed (in years).
ClimaxPer:Percentage of climax species in plots in the stand.
Credits
Nova Scotia Department of Lands and Forestry, Forestry Division
Use limitations
There are no access and use limitations for this item.The USER agrees to acknowledge LAF as the source of the DATA, if using or distributing it in its original form, whether in whole or in part, or as part of a value added product.
Extent
| West | -65.821643 | East | -60.499855 |
| North | 46.302380 | South | 43.859038 |
Scale Range
| Maximum (zoomed in) | 1:5,000 |
| Minimum (zoomed out) | 1:5,000,000 |