Mapping the land cover of the forested area of Canada with Landsat data

A priority of the Canadian Forest Service and Canadian Space Agency joint project Earth Observation for Sustainable Development of Forests (EOSD) is the production of a land cover map of the forested area of Canada. The land cover map of the forested area of Canada will be based upon Landsat data. The land cover will be produced through a partnership of federal and provincial governments, universities, and industry. The short term goal of EOSD is to produce a land cover map of the forested area of Canada representing circa 2000 conditions. The satellite land cover of the forested area of Canada is to be completed in early 2006. Over the longer term, EOSD will aim to produce land cover products to capture the conditions present for 1990, and important reporting years occurring after 2000. Many provincial and territorial mapping agencies have on-going land cover mapping programs. EOSD will work in partnership with the provincial agencies to produce a complete satellite mapped coverage of the forested area of Canada. The forested area of Canada represents approximately half of Canada´s land mass, requiring over 450 scenes for complete coverage (with overlap minimised). The combined output of EOSD and provincial/territorial land cover mapping programs will produce maps of the forested area of Canada which can be combined with maps developed by other sectors and agencies (such as agriculture) to produce a full coverage of Canada.