Sensitive Ecosystem Inventory for Metro Vancouver (2020)

Provides the location and attributes for sensitive and important modified ecosystems throughout Metro Vancouver.

Published Date: Friday, September 1, 2023

A Sensitive Ecosystem Inventory (SEI) was originally conducted for the Metro Vancouver region and Abbotsford from 2010-2012, using 2009 imagery. An update to that inventory was conducted for the Metro Vancouver region only from 2015-2018, using 2014 imagery. The inventory was updated again in 2023, using 2020 imagery. Provincial SEI standards were followed to identify and map ecologically significant and relatively unmodified 'Sensitive Ecosystems', including wetlands, older forests and woodlands. In addition, 'Modified Ecosystems' such as old fields and young forests, which are human modified but still have ecological value and importance to biodiversity were included in the mapping process. The project area totaled 330,600 ha, consisting of terrestrial lands plus rivers, freshwater bodies, intertidal, and estuarine zones. Two main approaches were used to build the inventory of polygons based on the availability of Terrestrial Ecosystem Mapping (TEM) products. 1) TEM was used to generate SEI values in the Coquitlam, Capilano, and Seymour watersheds; the Regional Parks network; and Mount Seymour and Indian Arm Provincial Parks. Riparian fringe and gully SEI classes could often not be directly translated from TEM so had to be newly generated. 2) For remaining areas with no existing TEM, SEI mapping was developed through image interpretation followed by selective field checks to confirm and inform mapping decisions. For new mapping, 20% of polygons were checked in the field. Polygons were delineated at 1:5,000 (new mapping) to 1: 10,000 - 1: 20,000 (originating from TEM). Sites as small as 0.5 ha were mapped, with the exception of some “Modified Ecosystems”, where only larger instances were mapped, e.g., greater than 2.5 ha for old fields, and greater than 5ha for young forest. Some sites originating from TEM were smaller than 0.5 ha and these were also included in the inventory. Key attributes of class and subclass, structural stage, stand composition, condition and size were recorded for each component within a polygon. Although a polygon can have up to three ecosystem components, attempts were made to map as many pure sites as possible (i.e. one component). Other attributes of biogeoclimatic unit, landscape context, disturbance factors and ecosystem 'quality' were recorded for the polygon as a whole. In the 2014 and 2020 updates, inventory polygons were assessed with the primary purpose of detecting removals or disturbances during the previous 5 years. Corrections were also made where needed. In the 2020 SEI update, the most recent TEM from Regional Parks was used to generate the SEI mapping for Regional Parks.

Users of the SEI must take into account certain limitations inherent with this type of dataset and consider how those limitations may impact the intended use of the information. This includes differences between the dataset and actual site conditions that could be due to human error, classification difficulties, and changes to the site occurring after the date of the imagery or field work. The dataset is considered accurate for the scale at which it was delineated and should not be enlarged beyond this. The SEI does not replace the need for on-site assessments to support any decisions made for a particular area. Visit metrovancouver.org and search ‘SEI’ to access the Technical Reports for the 2009, 2014 and 2020 SEI. SME - Laurie Bates-Frymel, Senior Planner, Regional Planning and Housing Services

Technical Report

2020 Sensitive Ecosystem​ Inventory for Metro Vancouver​ - Technical Report

Sensitive Ecosystem Inventory Mapping Tool

https://metrovancouver.org/services/regional-planning/sensitive-ecosystem-inventory-mapping-app

Sensitive Ecosystem Inventory Technical Reports

2009 Sensitive Ecosystem Inventory for Metro Vancouver and Abbotsford - Technical Report

2014 Update of the Sensitive Ecosystem​ Inventory for Metro Vancouver​ - Technical Report

Contact [email protected]

Datasets available for download

Additional Info

Field Value
Last Updated June 16, 2026, 20:16 (UTC)
Created March 24, 2026, 22:48 (UTC)
Domain / Topic
Domain or topic of the dataset being cataloged.
Title
Title for the Dataset.
Sensitive Ecosystem Inventory for Metro Vancouver (2020)
Description
A description of the dataset.

Provides the location and attributes for sensitive and important modified ecosystems throughout Metro Vancouver.

Published Date: Friday, September 1, 2023

A Sensitive Ecosystem Inventory (SEI) was originally conducted for the Metro Vancouver region and Abbotsford from 2010-2012, using 2009 imagery. An update to that inventory was conducted for the Metro Vancouver region only from 2015-2018, using 2014 imagery. The inventory was updated again in 2023, using 2020 imagery. Provincial SEI standards were followed to identify and map ecologically significant and relatively unmodified 'Sensitive Ecosystems', including wetlands, older forests and woodlands. In addition, 'Modified Ecosystems' such as old fields and young forests, which are human modified but still have ecological value and importance to biodiversity were included in the mapping process. The project area totaled 330,600 ha, consisting of terrestrial lands plus rivers, freshwater bodies, intertidal, and estuarine zones. Two main approaches were used to build the inventory of polygons based on the availability of Terrestrial Ecosystem Mapping (TEM) products. 1) TEM was used to generate SEI values in the Coquitlam, Capilano, and Seymour watersheds; the Regional Parks network; and Mount Seymour and Indian Arm Provincial Parks. Riparian fringe and gully SEI classes could often not be directly translated from TEM so had to be newly generated. 2) For remaining areas with no existing TEM, SEI mapping was developed through image interpretation followed by selective field checks to confirm and inform mapping decisions. For new mapping, 20% of polygons were checked in the field. Polygons were delineated at 1:5,000 (new mapping) to 1: 10,000 - 1: 20,000 (originating from TEM). Sites as small as 0.5 ha were mapped, with the exception of some “Modified Ecosystems”, where only larger instances were mapped, e.g., greater than 2.5 ha for old fields, and greater than 5ha for young forest. Some sites originating from TEM were smaller than 0.5 ha and these were also included in the inventory. Key attributes of class and subclass, structural stage, stand composition, condition and size were recorded for each component within a polygon. Although a polygon can have up to three ecosystem components, attempts were made to map as many pure sites as possible (i.e. one component). Other attributes of biogeoclimatic unit, landscape context, disturbance factors and ecosystem 'quality' were recorded for the polygon as a whole. In the 2014 and 2020 updates, inventory polygons were assessed with the primary purpose of detecting removals or disturbances during the previous 5 years. Corrections were also made where needed. In the 2020 SEI update, the most recent TEM from Regional Parks was used to generate the SEI mapping for Regional Parks.

Users of the SEI must take into account certain limitations inherent with this type of dataset and consider how those limitations may impact the intended use of the information. This includes differences between the dataset and actual site conditions that could be due to human error, classification difficulties, and changes to the site occurring after the date of the imagery or field work. The dataset is considered accurate for the scale at which it was delineated and should not be enlarged beyond this. The SEI does not replace the need for on-site assessments to support any decisions made for a particular area. Visit metrovancouver.org and search ‘SEI’ to access the Technical Reports for the 2009, 2014 and 2020 SEI. SME - Laurie Bates-Frymel, Senior Planner, Regional Planning and Housing Services

Technical Report

2020 Sensitive Ecosystem​ Inventory for Metro Vancouver​ - Technical Report

Sensitive Ecosystem Inventory Mapping Tool

https://metrovancouver.org/services/regional-planning/sensitive-ecosystem-inventory-mapping-app

Sensitive Ecosystem Inventory Technical Reports

2009 Sensitive Ecosystem Inventory for Metro Vancouver and Abbotsford - Technical Report

2014 Update of the Sensitive Ecosystem​ Inventory for Metro Vancouver​ - Technical Report

Contact [email protected]
Tags / Keywords
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Format (CSV, XLS, TXT, PDF, etc)
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Dataset Size
Dataset size in megabytes.
142400.0
Metadata Identifier
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Published Date
Published date of the dataset.
2023-09-14
Time Period Data Span (start date)
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Time Period Data Span (end date)
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GeoSpatial Area Data Span
A spatial region or named place the dataset covers.
Field Value
Access category
Type of access granted for the dataset (open, closed, service, etc).
public
License
License used to access the dataset.
Open Government License
Limits on use
Limits on use of data.
Location
Location of the dataset.
https://open-data-portal-metrovancouver.hub.arcgis.com/datasets/metrovancouver::sensitive-ecosystem-inventory-for-metro-vancouver-2020-1
Data Service
Data service for accessing a dataset.
Owner
Owner of the dataset.
mvagoladmin
Contact Point
Who to contact regarding access?
Metro Vancouver
Contact Point Email
The email to contact regarding access?
[email protected]
Publisher
Publisher of the dataset.
Metro Vancouver
Publisher Email
Email of the publisher.
Author
Author of the dataset.
mvagoladmin
Author Email
Email of the author.
Accessed At
Date the data and metadata was accessed.
2026-04-17
Field Value
Identifier
Unique identifier for the dataset.
fab5a4439b0a4a6bb902daccdb591b63
Language
Language(s) of the dataset
English
Link to dataset description
A URL to an external document describing the dataset.
https://open-data-portal-metrovancouver.hub.arcgis.com/datasets/metrovancouver::sensitive-ecosystem-inventory-for-metro-vancouver-2020-1
Persistent Identifier
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Globally Unique Identifier
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Contains data about individuals
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Contains data about identifiable individuals
Does the data hold identifiable data about individual?
Contains Indigenous Data
Does the data hold data about Indigenous communities?
Portal Type
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Field Value
Version
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None
Source
Source of the dataset.
None
Version notes
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Is version of another dataset
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Other versions
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Provenance Text
Provenance Text of the data.
Metro Vancouver
Provenance URL
Provenance URL of the data.
Temporal resolution
Describes how granular the date/time data in the dataset is.
GeoSpatial resolution in meters
Describes how granular (in meters) geospatial data is in the dataset.
GeoSpatial resolution (in regions)
Describes how granular (in regions) geospatial data is in the dataset.
Field Value
Indigenous Community Permission
Who holds the Indigenous Community Permission. Who to contact regarding access to a dataset that has data about Indigenous communities.
Community Permission
Community permission (who gave permission).
The Indigenous communities the dataset is about
Indigenous communities from which data is derived.
Field Value
Number of data rows
If tabular dataset, total number of rows.
25637
Number of data columns
If tabular dataset, total number of unique columns.
189
Number of data cells
If tabular dataset, total number of cells with data.
4845393
Number of data relations
If RDF dataset, total number of triples.
Number of entities
If RDF dataset, total number of entities.
Number of data properties
If RDF dataset, total number of unique properties used by the triples.
Data quality
Describes the quality of the data in the dataset.
Metric for data quality
A metric used to measure the quality of the data, such as missing values or invalid formats.

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