B.C. Conservation Data Centre: Ecology Home

Ecology Contents

About CDC Ecology Conservation Status Ranking Element Occurrence Ranking Element Occurrence Ranks Element Occurrence Ranking Factors Element Occurrence Specifications Spatial Patterns Ecosystem Mapping

What's New

See the CDC What's New page for ecology updates (most recent item: April, 2012).

About CDC Ecology

This site describes the standard methodology the CDC uses (as it applies to ecological communities) and provides access to information on the conservation status of ecological communities in B.C.

Ecological communities have been documented in British Columbia through a variety of sources:

• The Ministry of Forests Biogeoclimatic Ecosystem Classification (BEC) is the primary source of forested, grassland and wetland ecological communities (plant associations of the BEC system).
• Ministry of Environment Ecological Reserves Program files and documents.
• Ministry of Environment Terrestrial Ecosystem Mapping Ecosystem Units.
• Ministry of Environment, Conservation Data Centre field inventory data (e.g., Sensitive Ecosystems Inventory).
• A variety of theses and both published and unpublished vegetation studies throughout the province.
• Canadian National Vegetation Classification (CNVC)
  The CNVC system facilitates comparisons among provincial ecosystem classifications that are needed for developing national status ranking of ecosystems in Canada, and among international ecosystem classifications. (See also the NatureServe Canada CNVC page.)

The CDC compiles this information, using a standardized system of information storage and retrieval (NatureServe). As ecologists gain new knowledge of ecological communities in British Columbia, this work is reflected in the CDC ecological community list. The CDC invites all interested persons to submit documentation of ecological communities that have not been previously described.

Instructions for finding mapped potential locations using existing ecosystem mapping, and mapping methods can be found on the Ecosystem Mapping page.

The range area of ecological communities is generally based on the range of the biogeoclimatic unit(s) on which they are known or expected to occur. Currently, ranges correspond to Version 6 of the Ministry of Forests and Range BEC map.