Earth Observation (EO) data are used to develop landscape scale information products   used by the Parks Canada Agency (PCA)  to  to monitor and report the ecological integrity of Canada’s national parks.  This is especially required for the large northern parks which are large, remote and inaccessible. 

Results/Conclusions

The ParkSPACE Canadian Space Agency (CSA) funded project will produce a variety of outputs including:  terrestrial ecosystem mapping  using SPOT5 imagery, sub-pixel change detection using historical Landsat time series, changes in plant growth and phenology using AVHRR/MODIS time series, optical/SAR derived wetland classifications, EO-based modeling of permafrost dynamics at 30-m spatial resolution, and SAR derived ice-off maps. All products are being calibrated and validated using field measurements conducted at four northern national parks: Ivvavik, Wapusk, Ukkusiksalik, and Torngat Mountains.  A geospatial model that integrates a number of information layers is also used to quantify  habitat fragmentation in relation to  ecological integrity. 

Conclusions:

This presentation will describe the generation of these products and models at Canada Centre for Remote Sensing and discuss how they will be used by Parks Canada Agency.