Step 3 - Define the ecological network
This step consists of identifying the ecological network of your territory, i.e. the habitat cores, the buffer zones around these cores and the corridors that link them together. Biodiversity hotspots help define the ecological network and select priority natural environments to link.
Data from the MFFP's Système d'information écoforestière (SIEF) is useful for identifying the forest massifs in a study area. Aerial photographs are used to refine the analysis and to remove new anthropogenic environments (residential and industrial developments, new roadways, and conversions of forest to farmland).
Once the cores and buffers have been identified, the natural corridors can be drawn freehand or created from a geomatics analysis. These approaches result in a summary map that must be validated in the field by trained professionals. Validation allows for characterization of physical (e.g., infrastructure, topography and hydrography) and biological (e.g., terrestrial and wetland plant community composition, confirmation of animal presence) features. It is important to identify areas that are constraining to the establishment of a corridor (e.g. anthropogenic environment), knowing that these constraints vary according to the species. For example, a watercourse may be a considerable barrier for some species while favouring others. These new data allow the necessary adjustments to be made to the natural corridors.
The result is a detailed map of the natural corridor(s) identified for a given area!
