Section 1	Identification Information
Originator	World Wildlife Fund Canada
Title	Ecological Classifications for Canada
Abstract	This data set represents a coarse-level hierarchical terrestrial ecosystem classification based on climate, soil, and landform information. This data was taken from the World Wildlife Fund of Canada's ECS coverage. Two sources that map physical attributes at scales comparable to the recommendations of Peterson and Peterson (1991) for a natural regions framework are the Physiographic Divisions of Canada mapped at 1:5 000 000 (Bostock 1970) and the Ecoclimatic Regions of Canada mapped at 1:7 500 000 (Ecoregions Working Group 1989). Natural region boundaries identified from information mapped at these scales should be interpreted as fuzzy lines enclosing characteristic biophysical features. In this way, natural regions should broadly characterize the nation's ecological diversity at 1:5 000 000 or 1:7 500 000 scale. In Ontario, site district boundaries (Hills 1961) have been adopted as the basis for a natural regions framework. Peterson et al. (1995) recommend that protected areas represent enduring features (landforms) of the landscape as the primary elements of ecological diversity and, hence, biological diversity. This approach identifies enduring features within a broad national framework of natural regions, in which boundaries are first delineated on the basis of broad patterns of physiography at a scale of 1:7 500 000 (WWF 1995).
Purpose	A base data layer.
Time Period of Content Date	1995
Currentness Reference	Enduring features map date
Progress	Complete
Maintenance and Update Frequency	As needed
Spatial Extent of Data	Sections of Ontario, Canada within the Lake Superior Boundary
Bounding Coordinates	-97.293 -81.564 49.255 41.573
Place Keywords	Ontario, Canada
Theme Keywords	enduring features, ecological, eco-regions, eco-districts
Theme Keyword Thesaurus	None
Access Constraints	None
Use Constraints	None
Contact Person Information	Gerald Sjerven, GIS Specialist Natural Resources Research Institute 5013 Miller Trunk Hwy Duluth, Minnesota 55811 Phone: (218)-720-4388 FAX: (218)-720-4328 E-mail: gsjerven@sage.nrri.umn.edu
Browse Graphic File Name	none available
Browse Graphic File Description
Associated Data Sets
Section 2	Data Quality Information - - - - - - Go back to top
Attribute Accuracy	Contact WWF of Canada, http://www.wwfcanada.org/
Logical Consistency	Contact WWF of Canada, http://www.wwfcanada.org/
Completeness	Contact WWF of Canada, http://www.wwfcanada.org/
Horizontal Positional Accuracy	Contact WWF of Canada, http://www.wwfcanada.org/
Vertical Positional Accuracy	Not applicaple
Lineage	NRRI combined this data with Lake Superior and US ecological classifications and mapjoined them together. NRRI then used a 50 km buffer of the Lake Superior Basin Boundary to clip out the relevant area. The data then was split into counties for the US side, and kept whole on the Canada side.
Source Scale Denominator
Section 3	Spatial Data Organization Information - - - - - - Go back to top
Native Data Set Environment	UNIX-ARC/INFO Ver. 7.1.2, Sun Solaris operating system
Geographic Reference for Tabular Data	None
Spatial Object Type	Vector
Vendor Specific Object Types	Polygon, area
Tiling Scheme	Canada-wide
Section 4	Spatial Reference Information - - - - - - Go back to top
Horizontal Coordinate Scheme	Geographic (Lat. Long.)
Ellipsoid	GRS80
Horizontal Datum	NAD83
Horizontal Units	Meters
Distance Resolution
Altitude Datum	Not applicable
Depth Datum	Not applicable
Map Projection Name	Albers Equal Area
Map Projection Parameters	Standard Parallel: 29.5 Standard Parallel: 45.5 Longitude Of Central Meridian: -96 Latitude Of Projection Origin: 23 False Easting: 0 False Northing: 0
Other Coordinate System's Definition	Planar Coordinate Encoding Method: Coordinate Pair Abscissa Resolution: 1 Ordinate Resolution: 1 Semi-Major Axis: 6378206.4 Denominator of Flattening Ratio: 294.98
Section 5	Entity and Attribute Information - - - - - - Go back to top
Entity and Attribute Overview	Entity and attribute information is self explanatory with a few exceptions: Enduring Feature - a landscape element or unit within a natural region characterized by relatively uniform origin of surficial material, texture of surficial material and topography - relief (Geomatics, 1993). Natural Region -(terrestrial) a geographical area characterized by broad similarities in climate, landform, geology and macro-vegetation type. Natural Region boundaries should be considered 'fuzzy lines' that broadly enclose characteristic biophysical features. Protected Area - Areas that have some form of legal protection from industrial activities such as logging, mining, hydro-electric or oil and gas development. See lineage.
Entity and Attribute Detailed Citation	None
Section 6	Distribution Information - - - - - - Go back to top
Publisher	Natural Resources Research Institute
Publication Date	Unpublished material
Contact Person Information	Gerald Sjerven, GIS Specialist Natural Resources Research Institute 5013 Miller Trunk Hwy Duluth, Minnesota 55811 Phone: (218)-720-4388 FAX: (218)-720-4328 E-mail: gsjerven@sage.nrri.umn.edu
Distributor's Data Set Identifier
Distribution Liability	No warranty expressed or implied is made regarding the accuracy or utility of the data on any other system or for general or scientific purposes, nor shall the act of distribution constitute any such warranty. This disclaimer applies both to individual use of the data and aggregate use with other data. It is strongly recommended that careful attention be paid to the contents of the metadata file associated with these data. The University of Minnesota shall not be held liable for improper or incorrect use of the data described and/or contained herein.
Transfer Format Name	ARC/Info export format
Transfer Format Version Number
Transfer Size
Ordering Instructions
Online Linkage	none available
Section 7	Metadata Reference Information - - - - - - Go back to top
Metadata Date
Contact Person Information	Joel Nelson, GIS Intern Natural Resource Research Institute 5013 Miller Trunk Highway Duluth, Minnesota 55811 Phone: (218)-720-4254 FAX: (218)-720-4328 E-mail: jnelson@sage.nrri.umn.edu
Metadata Standard Name	Minnesota Geographic Metadata Guidelines
Metadata Standard Version	Datalogr 2.01
Metadata Standard Online Linkage	http://www.lmic.state.mn.us/gc/stds/metadata.htm

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