20250923 10391900 1.0 TRUE Forest Cover Layers containing polygons for all lands in the province as described in the Photo Interpretation Specifications. Includes water, forested and non-forested areas with additional identification of fresh water wetlands and coastal habitat area classifications. For currency information, please refer to the Forest Inventory Availability map (http://www.gov.ns.ca/natr/forestry/gis/pdf/ForestInventoryOrg2.pdf).Field Definitions:FORNON;Natural stand - any forested stand which has not been treated silviculturally and does not qualify under clear cut, partial cut, burn, old field , wind throw, alders, brush or dead categories. The stand must contain trees that are capable of reaching at least 3 m in height at maturity.Treated - treatment not classified, not Christmas trees- an area where silviculture activity has been identified from photos, field data not yet available.Burn - any stand that has been completely destroyed by fire leaving less than 25% crown closure. In cases of partial burn the remaining live stand is to be categorized and not classed as burn.Christmas trees - any stand being used for Christmas tree cultivation.Old field - any field that has an indication of merchantable tree species growing in with less than 25% crown closure and less than 1.0 meters in height.Wind throw - any stand where trees have been pushed over to more than 45 degrees from the vertical by wind action.Dead - any stand that contains dead trees due to any cause which contains less than 25% crown closure of live residual material and which contains evidence of dead material either standing or laying on the ground with little or no evidence of regeneration.Dead - 1 - any stand that contains dead trees due to any cause which contains 26-50% crown closure of live residual material and which contains evidence of dead material either standing or laying on the ground with little or no evidence of regeneration.Dead - 2 - any stand that contains dead trees due to any cause and which contains 51-100% crown closure of live residual material and which contains evidence of dead material either standing or laying on the ground with little or no evidence of regeneration.Research stand - stands treated in some manner primarily to provide data on growth, etc. which contain sample plots for evaluation of response rather than intended as operational treatment.Seed orchard & seed production area - any stands designated by the Department as an area reserved for seed production.Treated stand - treatment classified-an area where silviculture activity has occurred and the actual treatment has been identified primarily by field data, not including plantations, harvests, Christmas trees or sugar bush.Dead - 3 - any stand that contains 26-50% of equivalent crown closure of dead material and which contains regeneration which will be categorized in stand classification section. Equivalent crown closure being an estimate of what the crown closure would be if the dead material was alive. Dead - 4 - any stand that contains 51-75% of equivalent crown closure of dead material and which contains regeneration which will be categorized in stand classification section. Equivalent crown closure being an estimate of what the crown closure would be if the dead material was alive.Dead - 5 - any stand that contains 75+% of equivalent crown closure of dead material and which contains regeneration which will be categorized in stand classification section. Equivalent crown closure being an estimate of what the crown closure would be if the dead material was alive. The live portion of the stand is to be classified as any forest stand as per the specifications.Plantation - a group of trees artificially established by direct seeding or setting out seedlings, transplants or cuttings.Brush - any area containing less than 25% merchantable tree cover and contains non-merchantable woody plants consisting of at least 25% cover. Replaces non-forested class, December, 1998Alders less than 75% cover - any forested area containing alders that compose less than 75% crown closure. Replaces non-forested class, December 1998Clear cut - any stand that has been completely cut and any residuals make up less than 25% crown closure and with little or no indication of regeneration.Partial depletion verified - any stand that has been cut and Hardwood residuals make up 25% or more of the crown closure on the site, identified by photo Interpreters or field data.Partial depletion not verified - a temporary code given to a stand identified from satellite imagery as a partial cut. Further verification from photo interpretation or field data required for residuals.Wetlands general - any wet area, not identified as a lake, river or stream, excluding open and treed bogs, and beaver flowage. (In GIS wetland complexes may include open and treed bogs)Beaver flowage - an area that is or has been occupied by beaversOpen bogs - any area consisting primarily of ericaceous plants, sphagnum or other mosses with less than 25% live tree cover and poorly drained wet all year. Indicator plants: Bog Rosemary, Leather Leaf, Labrador Tea, Cranberry and Lambkill. Ericaceous plants being plants in or related to the heather family (ericaceae). They are typically plants of acid soils, bogs and woodlands.Treed bogs - any area consisting primarily of ericaceous plants, sphagnum or other mosses with stunted softwood or hardwood species 25% or more live tree cover.Coastal habitat areas - any area that has been defined as a wetland that lies in the oceanLake wetland - any area that has been defined as a wetland that lies within freshwater (lake or river)Cliffs, dunes, coastal rocks - that area of land between high tide mark and the forest or non-forest stand which consists of cliffs ( a high steep face of a rocky or soil mass), dunes (a ridge or hill created by windblown sand), or coastal rock (a toque shaped or lobate area of bedrock, may or may not extend into the water).Inland water - inland water bodies which may include lakes, rivers, reservoirs, canals and ponds (ID value 9003)Ocean (ID value of 9006)Brush - any area containing less than 25% merchantable tree cover and contains non-merchantable woody plants consisting of at least 25% cover. Being replaced with forested class, December, 1998Rock barren - any area covered by at least 50% exposed rock outcrop and/or boulders with less than 25% live tree cover. Boulders being rock fragment over 60cm in diameter. Barren - any area of less than 25% live tree cover containing "ericaceous" vegetation with less than 50% rock out crops and/or boulder cover and less than 50% other woody plant cover. Area dry and firm in summer. Indicator plants: Bearberry, Rhodora, Blueberry, Huckleberry and Lambkill.Agriculture - any area in hay field, pasture, tilled crops, or orchards which contains no merchantable species.Urban - any area used primarily as residential, industrial and related structures such as streets, sidewalks, parking lots, etc. Also include house lots in wooded areas outside of towns and villages which are not adjacent to agriculture land and those lots surrounded by forest. In cases of ribbon development along some roads, a strip may be delineated along the road and classed as urban. Obvious urban area within agriculture land will be delineated and coded accordingly. Categories that will be classified as urban are bunkers, golf courses, picnic parks, campgrounds, drive in theaters, auto salvage yards, power stations, water treatment areas, lagoons sewer/water, cemeteries, light houses, ball parks, etc.Alders less than 75% cover - any forested area containing alders that compose less than 75% crown closure. Dry land only. Being replaced with forested class, December, 1998Alders 75% or greater cover - any forested area containing alders that compose 75% or more crown closure. Dry land only. Being replaced with forested class, December, 1998Blueberries - areas that appear to have been or are being used for blueberry production.Miscellaneous - any area of non-forest not covered by any of the other non-forest categories, i.e. old mill site, rifle range, tower site, observation site, lake shore bottom (where unable to give forest/non-forest code), quarry, mining activity, wharf, pier, causeway, dams, unidentified objects, airstrips, etc.Sanitary land fill - areas used by municipalities for disposal of garbage by burying of the material.Beach - that area of land between normal water line and the forest or non-forest category (i.e. bog, etc.) . Area showing due to abnormally low water is not considered to be part of a beach.Gravel pit - any area either active or non-active used for the purpose of extracting gravel.Pipeline corridor - A 25 meter buffer around a defined linear feature of a gas or oil pipeline route defining limited or restricted use lands.Powerline corridor- Corridor of land with limited use due to powerlines, as defined from photography ( ID value 9002)Road corridor - Generated polygons of varying widths for paved roads, based on road classes. (ID value 9000)Rail corridor - Generated 20 meter polygons around active and abandoned rail lines (ID values 9001 & 9005) Originator: Department of Natural Resources- GIS Division Publication_Date: May 2012 Title: Forest Interpretation Cycle 1 & 2, Current Forest Data Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: vector digital data Other_Citation_Details: As per the license agreement: The USER agrees to acknowledge DNR 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. Online_Linkage: http://www.gov.ns.ca/natr/forestry/maps-and-forest-info.asp