LandWeb Simulation Modelling

A research project and tool that uses spatial simulation modelling to generate the historical range of landscape conditions across western boreal Canada.

This is by far the most ambitious Healthy Landscapes project. The objective of LandWeb is to define historical NRV conditions at landscape scales across 140 million ha of the western boreal from spatially explicit simulation modelling. The output will provide NRV for landscape scale metrics such as seral-stage levels and old forest patch sizes.

One of the first research projects undertaken by the Healthy Landscapes Program remains today as one of the more complex. Originally, our partners were interested in fundamental questions such as the sizes of natural disturbances and historic levels and sizes of old forest. These seemingly simple questions required several layers of research to address.

Natural landscape mosaics that we see today (or 50 or 100 years ago) are the result of hundreds of years of wildfires interacting with soil, topography, climate, and tree species dynamics over time and space. Old forest is created over many decades, and thus we can only explain their patterns when we understand the causes. Unfortunately, we do not have detailed knowledge of natural landscapes from decades or centuries ago.

However, spatial modelling can create such data if we have three things:

  1. reliable inputs,
  2. the right model,
  3. sound local knowledge of key disturbance elements such as fire sizes, fire severity, and species mortality rates.

In 2014, the Healthy Landscapes Program formed a partnership with the Canadian Forest Service at the Pacific Forestry Centre to develop the model. The framework in which LandWeb will be developed is called SpaDES (Spatially Discreet Event Simulator). SpaDES is actually not a model, but rather an innovative framework in which other models and modules can “talk” to each other. SpaDES is free, available on-line, and customized for each HLP partner with the LandWeb configuration.

Selected Resources

The following reports describe the process of developing these project elements:

  1. Assessing Forest Age Data in Foothills and Mountain Landscapes of Alberta
  2. Landscape-Level Fire Activity on Foothills and Mountain Landscapes of Alberta
  3. Patch and Event Sizes on Foothills and Mountain Landscapes of Alberta
2014
Project Begins

McIntire and Chubaty begin work on the LandWeb suite of models

Spring 2017
Beta Version Complete

LandWeb and SpaDES, the platform it runs on, is demonstrated for partners

Fall 2018
Web App Complete

Simple, easy to use, cloud-based access point for users is created

Scientific Publications | Peer Reviewed Papers
Open Access paper from the Healthy Landscapes Program
Scientific Publications | Peer Reviewed Papers
Open Access paper from the Healthy Landscapes Program
Scientific Publications | Reports
This report summarizes the pre-industrial landscape metrics computed by the Landweb modelling suite.
Scientific Publications | Reports
This report summarizes the pre-industrial landscape metrics computed by the Landweb modelling suite.
landscape, mountains
Scientific Publications | Reports
This report summarizes the pre-industrial landscape metrics computed by the Landweb modelling suite.
Scientific Publications | Reports
This report summarizes the pre-industrial landscape metrics computed by the Landweb modelling suite.
Scientific Publications | Reports
This report summarizes the pre-industrial landscape metrics computed by the Landweb modelling suite.
Scientific Publications | Reports
This report summarizes the pre-industrial landscape metrics computed by the Landweb modelling suite.
Reports | Scientific Publications
This report summarizes the pre-industrial landscape metrics computed by the Landweb modelling suite.
Launching LandWeb
Blog
A suite of models and a breakthrough platform that integrates many scientific fields will solve some of the hard, multi-way interactions of landscape ecology.
Dr. Alex Chubaty
Dr. David Andison
Dr. David Andison
Program Lead