Historical distribution of kelp forests on the coast of British Columbia: 1858-1956

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dc.contributor.authorCosta, Maycira
dc.contributor.authorLe Baron, Nicole
dc.contributor.authorTenhunen, Kim
dc.contributor.authorNephin, Jessica
dc.contributor.authorWillis, Peter
dc.contributor.authorMortimor, James P.
dc.contributor.authorDudas, Sarah
dc.contributor.authorRubidge, Emily
dc.date.accessioned2020-06-04T21:31:19Z
dc.date.copyright2020en_US
dc.date.issued2020
dc.description.abstractThe quantification of kelp forest distribution across space and time is critical to support decision-makers responsible for habitat management and conservation. Spatial data such as aerial photos and satellite imagery are key for deriving kelp distribution; however, they have only become available at an adequate quality within the 20th and 21st centuries. In this study, British Admiralty (BA) charts created between 1858 and 1956 covering the British Columbia coast and portions of the adjacent Washington and Alaska coast were used to create a digital historical baseline map of kelp presence. A total of 137 BA charts were scanned at 200 DPI, georeferenced, and kelp features were manually digitized following a rigorous method considering the scale and quality of the data. An accuracy assessment of the digitized kelp features concluded that 99% of the kelp features occurred in expected areas within a depth of less than 40 m, and only about 1% of the features occurred entirely outside of this depth. Recently mapped kelp forests in similar areas reaffirmed the results of the produced baseline map. Potential sources of uncertainty should be considered when working with the historic BA charts such as the surveyor's method for defining floating kelp features, the artistic ability of the cartographer when transcribing the information from the surveys to the BA charts, and the regional seasonality of kelp cover. The outcome of this research shows that the historical BA charts are an unconventional but extremely rich source of baseline coastal habitat data from the 19th century. The methods conducted are simple and robust and could be applied to other regions where historical charts with sufficient quality exist.en_US
dc.description.reviewstatusRevieweden_US
dc.description.scholarlevelFacultyen_US
dc.identifier.citationCosta, M., Le Baron, N., Tenhunen, K., Nephin, J., Willis, P., Mortimor, J. P., Dudas, S., & Rubidge, E. (2020). Historical distribution of kelp forests on the coast of British Columbia: 1858-1956. Applied Geography, Vol. 120, 1-10. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apgeog.2020.102230.en_US
dc.identifier.urihttps://doi.org/10.1016/j.apgeog.2020.102230
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/1828/11793
dc.language.isoenen_US
dc.publisherApplied Geographyen_US
dc.subjectKelp spatial distribution
dc.subjectBritish columbia
dc.subjectHistorical british admiralty charts
dc.subject1858-1956
dc.subject.departmentDepartment of Geography
dc.titleHistorical distribution of kelp forests on the coast of British Columbia: 1858-1956en_US
dc.typeArticleen_US

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