A: Glossary of Terms
B: Contact List
C: Existing Inventories Questionnaires
D: Inventory User Questionnaire
E: Inventory Attribute Glossary
Attribute: A distinctive, descriptive characteristic associated with a spatial feature. For example, a species type and population density may be associated with a bird resource polygon. Many attributes may be associated with a single spatial feature.
Base Maps: Maps that generally depict planimetry - natural and man-made physical features; topography - contours and spot heights; and cadastral information - legal boundaries and lot lines.
Biogeoclimatic Zones: Zones of the province determined by similar climatic, vegetation and soils features.
Biophysical Mapping: Maps that provide information on natural resource features such as soil, terrain, vegetation, climatic and aquatics.
Cadastral Maps: These maps are an assembly of Land Title Office plans and Land Act plans which show subdivisions of district lots, surveyed road and highway rights-of-way, railway and power rights-or-way, and place names. They do not show contours.
Computer Assisted Design and Drafting (CADD): A software system that manages graphic information. While related to GIS, CADD systems deal with the creation and display of visual data rather than with the underlying physical/spatial reference of the data.
Commission on Resources and Environment (CORE): An independent committee established to report jointly to the public and cabinet on new ways of managing B.C.'s natural resources and of resolving disputes. CORE will develop and support the implementation of a provincial resource strategy and regional local processes for making resource management decisions.
Corporate land Information Strategic Plan (CLISP): The B.C. government plan to establish an overall strategy and concept for the coordination of land-related data, applications and supporting technologies within the B.C. government.
Data Base Management Systems (DBMS): The primary means of managing non-graphic information of government. Applications may include a DBMS, or they may be built on top of a DBMS, utilizing the ability of a DBMS to efficiently organize and access data.
Data Model: A descriptive model incorporating the spatial and attribute information stored in a GIS. Typically, a classification scheme groups geographic features with similar attributes as entities and then describes the relationships and interactions between the various entity types. The data model also includes a spatial or topological description. For example, whether a particular type of feature is represented as point of polygon data.
Digitizing: Refers to the process by which spatial information is captured into a digital mapping format. Usually this involves manual tracing of linework and point locations from source maps using a digitizing tablet. Other methods for digital data capture include scaling conversion using specialized scanners and conversion software. Data may also be loaded by other methods including from geographic coordinates in computer files, by downloading from an electronic device that records positions, and from word-processor mailing, lists of addresses and postal codes.
Dissolve: A GIS. function that provides the ability to merge adjacent polygons on the basis of specified rules relating to common attributes. The result is new, larger polygons with attributes that are newly assigned, or derived from the source polygons. This function is most useful in the generation of new classification schemes.
Feature: A geographic object about which a GIS maintains spatial and attribute information. Features are represented by geometric entities (points, lines and polygons). Examples would be trails, archaeological sites, tourist accommodation areas, shoreline units etc.
Geographic Information Systems (GIS): GIS describes a branch of computer technology, primarily software, that deals with the management and analyses of spatial information. GIS software is available for microcomputers through to mainframes and with a range of capabilities ranging from simple display systems to complex analytical systems capable of handling very large data sets.
Government Land Information Data Exchange Unit (GLIDE): An arm of the Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks responsible for producing the policies, procedures, standards and guidelines contained in the Land Information Management Framework (LIMF). GLIDE liaises with ministries planning, initiating, developing or operating land-related systems.
Labels: Descriptive information which is associated with a graphic feature. Labels are constructed from information stored in the attribute database and are automatically updated with the database. The link to the attribute database differentiates labels from annotation. Labels may be considered "intelligent" annotation.
Land Information Infrastructure (LII): Provides those data, applications and technologies that will enable the exchange and sharing of land-related data among ministries. It includes a physical system, consisting of hardware, software and data, as well as a system specification and development plan.
Land Information Infrastructure Repository (LIIR): A facility for documenting the information resources of the LII. Similar to a library or databank it contains all necessary information to identify what data or systems are available in the LII and where they are.
Land Information Management Framework (LIMF): The operating policy for LII - it provides the necessary policy, procedure, standards and guidelines that will direct and enable land information sharing within the province.
Land Information Strategic Committee (LISC): The committee responsible for coordinating and implementing CLISP. LISC reviews and endorses government land-related information systems submissions and proposals prior to review by Treasury Board. It acts as an interagency committee, encouraging cooperation and consistency in land-related data sharing across government.
Layers (also called Levels, Overlays or Themes): Sets of data which, while referring to the same geographic area of mapsheet and related through a common coordinate system, each deals with a specific type of information. For example, one layer might represent the shoreline, another water bodies and a third roads. Information in layers may or may not be associated attribute information in the database (i.e. may or may not contain features).
Lithographic Mapping: Printed maps which often use many colours and tints to depict different natural, man-made, or administrative features on a map.
Metadata: Data which describe other data. For example, the ranking of data quality, the date of and operator responsible for the last updating, and estimates of data accuracy and precision, are data which describe other data.
NAD27 and NAD83: Refer to the North American Datum of 1927 and 1983 respectively. All mapping, both computerized and manual, is based on a definition of the shape of the Earth, i.e. the parameters of the Earth's spheroid. NAD27 refers to a set of parameters defining the Earth's spheroid for mapping of the North American continent that was the result of an international conference in 1927. These parameters are the basis of most available mapping including the current National Topographic Series maps. However, with the availability of satellite technology it became apparent that these parameters required updating. Accordingly, a new set of parameters was developed at a conference in 1983. These parameters, are referred to as NAD83 and by international agreement have been adopted as the basis for mapping of North America.
National Topographic System of Mapping: A national system used to divide Canada for mapping purposes. The largest divisions are 4° latitude by 8° longitude quadrangles. These quadrangles can subsequently be divided into mapsheets with scales ranging from 1:500,000 to 1:1,000.
Orthophoto Maps: These maps are comprised of an assembly of air photographs that have been brought to an accurate scale over the entire format by projection through special equipment. They can be used as bases for large scale mapping in place of conventional fine work.
Planimetric Maps: These maps are prepared from vertical air photographs tied to existing ground control such as triangulation stations, highways and railway surveys, cut base lines and other ground surveys.
Point: A geometric entity having no area or length. These are typically "spot" observations such as a locations where a legal sample is collected, the location where an cultural site is found or a spot measurement of water temperatures.
Polygon: A closed geometric entity used to graphically represent an area with homogeneous or associated attributes. Polygons are almost always features. Polygons have geometric properties including a surface area and perimeter and topological properties including inside/outside and adjacency.
Quadtree: A class of hierarchal data structures based on the principle of recursively decomposing an image (thematic map) into mutually exclusive quarters (quads) until a region is homogeneous or a specified level has been reached. This data structure facilitates storage in "tessellation" based systems allowing cell size to vary across a mapsheet and provides more detail only where required. Each cell is associated with map features and the related attributes. Tydac SPANS is an example of a quadtree based GIS.
Raster: A method of representing spatial information by partitioning the map coverage into a regular pattern of rectangular cells. Each cell has the same area and is associated with map features and the related attributes. Geographic features are defined by the cells comprising them.
Recreation Opportunity Spectrum (ROS): Six categories with describe the mix of recreation activities, settings and experiences, found in a particular area of provincial forests.
Resource Inventory Committee (RIC): A committee appointed by the provincial government to review the status of current resource inventories and develop mechanisms to rectify problems. RIC oversees the seven resource task forces.
Terrain Resource Information Management (TRIM): A major B.C. Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks program that is producing new 1:20,000 scale, digital mapping of the Province from new aerial photography. The project will complete approximately 7,000 map sheets.
Topographic Maps: These maps show drainage features, relief, culture such as place names, roads, railways etc., cadastral features such as administrative boundaries, land lot surveys, and land status to date of publication.
User Access Terminal (UAT): UATs are software components running on a variety of hardware platforms which allow users and user application programs to gain access to GIS information.