Historical vegetation (Upper Canada 1784 - 1859)

Description

During settlement of Upper Canada (now Southern Ontario) from 1784 to 1859, land surveys were conducted along transects at one mile intervals. These hand-written notes and a few maps are housed in various locations in Ontario and have been used only sparsely in modern research. This information is applicable as a pre-European settlement baseline in such fields as, land-use and heritage planning, forestry, archaeology, and agriculture. Though early survey data (ESD) exhibit deficiencies and surveyor bias, they comprise a unique source of spatial environmental data that is best suited to large-scale resolution studies. Only a few researchers have generated pre-settlement vegetation maps from ESD, each using independent methodologies.

Pre-settlement vegetation map: Esquesing township:

Esquesing Township 1819

**Vegetation symbols/ full name**
acronym/ full name	acronym/ full name	acronym/ full name	acronym/ full name
Ab: Ash Black	Ce: Cedar	Mh: Maple Hard	T: Thickets
Al: Alder	Ch: Cherry	Ms: Maple Soft	Ta: Tamarack
Aw: Ash White	Dg: Dogwood	Md: Meadow	Th:Thorn
B: Birch	E: Elm	Ms: Maple Soft	W: Willow
Bd: Basswood	Ha: Hazel	Ow: Oak White	Wa: Walnut
Be: Beech	He: Hemlock	Pw: Pine White	Wf: Windfall
Bu: Butternut	Hi: Hickory	Sa: Sassafras
C: Chestnut	Ir: Ironwood	Sy: Sycamore

This mapping surveys (PDF) document describes methodologies for transcribing Survey notes into both paper maps and digital formats (using ArcGIS and Quantum GIS {QGIS} mapping applications).