Mississauga’s Woodland Report Card: an Online Map and Database Tool for Woodland Management Plan-It Geo, Arvada, Colorado & City of Mississauga, Ontario
Web URL: https://pg-cloud.com/Mississauga/
Woodland Management Database Tool Overview
Scoring Matrix
The City of Mississauga manages 300 woodlands that provide many social and environmental benefits. Plan-It Geo designed and developed a framework for organizing, managing and displaying woodland data through an interactive online map and database. Sources of information included Conservation Ontario, Credit Valley Conservation, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, the Committee on Status of Endangered Wildlife, Natural Area Surveys and other data. Ten (10) criteria were identified to score and grade each woodland to produce an interactive “woodland report card”.
This project designed and developed a framework for organizing, managing and displaying woodland data through an interactive online map and database. Ten (10) criteria were identified through the project’s process which are used to score and grade each woodland to produce an interactive “woodland report card”. Grades of A through F are calculated based on values for each criterion for each woodland. Each criterion receives a point value based on its value. The sum of those values is then used to determine the final grade.
Criteria and Scoring 1) Forest Interior 2) Mean Coefficient of Conservatism 3) Downed Woody Debris 4) Standing Snags 5) Native Breeding Bird Species Richness 6) Spring Ephemeral Plant Species 7) Floristic Quality Index (FQI) 8) Threatened and Endangered Species 9) Human Impacts 10) Connectivity
Purpose and Data Collection The purpose of the Woodland Report Card Tool will be to assist with: • Developing and implementing Conservation Management Plans for City-owned woodlands including targeted invasive species, plant management, tree planting and even tree maintenance work. • Monitoring, tracking and reporting on the state of woodlands. • Educating and informing staff, residents, partner groups and politicians on the state of the woodlands in Mississauga.
Some data will be collected and updated from the City’s Natural Area Survey and imported into the tool via the Data Updater
Overall Woodland Conditions Forest Interior
Mean Coefficient of Conservatism (mCC)1
> 0.5 ha
> 4.5
0.1 ha - 0.5 ha
0 ha
3.3-4.5
< 3.3
-
Downed Woody Debris
Standing Snags
> 35.8 m3/ha
> 11% standing trees are snags AND > 8 snags/ha with DBH > 25cm
Native Breeding Spring Ephemeral Floristic Quality Bird Species Plant Species Index (FQI) 2 Richness
< 11% standing trees are snags & > 8 snags/ha with DBH > 25cm OR > 20.5-35.8 m3/ha 11% standing trees are snags & < 8 snags/ha with DBH > 25cm
< 20.5 m3/ha
< 11% standing trees are snags AND < 8 snags/ha with DBH > 25cm
>20
11-20
1-10
> 29%
8 - 29%
< 8%
Adapted from Conservation Ontario (CO) Adapted from Credit Valley Conservation (CVC) Derived by City of Mississauga Combined scoring system for grades
> 60
40-60
< 40
Species at Risk/ Endangered Species
Human Impacts
Connectivity
yes
TBD
TBD
n/a
no
TBD
TBD
TBD
TBD
Point Score
Grade
Final Points
Final Grade
5
Good
41-50
A
31-40
B
21-30
C
11-20
D
0-10
F
3
1
Fair
Poor
Pictured above: Scoring matrix for the application. Pictured bottom left: an example of a woodland within Mississauga. Definitions for all criteria can be found in the About panel within the application.
About the Natural Area Survey (NAS)
1. Mean Coefficient of Conservatism (mCC) – All native plant species in Southern Ontario have been assigned an mCC score of 0 (widespread, common) to 10 (found in specialized habitats). High mCC values indicate more pristine environments with less disturbance. 2. Floristic Quality Index (FQI) – FQI is linked to the Coefficient of Conservatism and provides an indication of the quality of vegetation found at a site. Sites with high FQI are often large, have little disturbance and tend to be identified as significant natural areas.
User Roles, App Info and Use MS clipart
The app is browser based, requires no installation and is accessible by desktop, tablet and mobile devices. Users are broken up into three groups: • Administrators – City administrators are able to view and edit all non-upload data as well as oversee the bulk imports of data updates. • Users – Administrators are able to set up sub-users who can see all information and edit non-upload information but cannot import data. • Guests/Public – Guests are able to access the tool in read-only mode. They will be restricted from editing or importing data and will not see sensitive information.
Woodlands can be filtered by different criteria or by final report card scores
Other data will be entered into the Woodland Details Form with scores updating in real time
Compare a Woodland to the Average After all scores have been assigned, the application allows users to compare a single woodland to the overall average values for all woodlands. Using this tool can help prioritize maintenance efforts in the area as well as encourage public participation and investment in the management of the City’s natural resources.
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First started in 1996, the NAS is conducted annually, with each natural area surveyed every four years. Site visits yield data collected on flora, fauna, vegetation communities, boundary changes and management concerns. Field data is then taken and entered into a database for further analysis. The NAS provides the majority of the data for this tool. More information on the NAS can be found at http://www.Mississauga.ca/portal/residents/nas
About Plan-It Geo
Plan-It Geo is a geospatial analysis, technology consulting, and planning firm specializing in natural resource management and related fields. We provide a full range of services involving GIS, remote sensing, cost/benefit analysis, urban forestry planning, water resources analysis, decision support systems, and webbased solutions. Our clients and partner affiliations include local, state and federal government as well as non-profits, private industry, academia, and utilities.
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Contact Plan-It Geo Plan-It Geo, LLC Arvada, Colorado www.planitgeo.com www.treeplotter.com info@planitgeo.com
Contact Mississauga Jamie Ferguson Supervisor, Woodlands & Natural Areas Parks & Forestry City of Mississauga jamie.ferguson@mississauga.ca www.mississauga.ca