Modelling of forest ecosystems and caribou population dynamics

This page contains the main components of a decision support system for caribou. The descriptions of files for use in models and applications focus on forest ecosystems and caribou herds in northwestern Ontario. The system is based on three main applications that link forest growth and succession, habitat quality and caribou population dynamics:

1. The forest succession (gap) model ZELIG-CFS
2. Plugin developed in QGIS to compute habitat suitability indices (HSM) within caribou ranges
3. The population dynamics model CARIBOUMOD to simulate the development of caribou populations

There are also applications below that can be used to create input files, compute indices, such as caribou habitat quality, or manage the execution of simulations. Models, applications and user guides to download follow. The user guide for the decision support system, User Guide Decision-Support_Caribou.pdf, provides detailed explanations on the use of models and applications and sequential steps.

The forest succession and caribou population dynamics models are managed by AMSIMOD (Application for the Management of SImulation MODels), which is a modelling software platform created to facilitate the development and management of simulation models. It fills a gap in modelling software, as it allows modellers or end users to integrate different types of models, such as traditional empirical growth and yield models, forest succession models, carbon cycle models, population dynamics models, wood quality models, or management models. Also, end users can add extensions that may consist of analytical tools. AMSIMOD includes utilities to display simulation results on graphs. The user guide, which can be downloaded below, explains how to install AMSIMOD and describes its functionalities. As explained in the user guide, the first step in using AMSIMOD is to create projects that include models, input and output files and, if necessary, intervention files to simulate the effects of disturbance scenarios.

Finally, below are dataset files, models, and applications for different caribou ranges in northwestern Ontario, including Brightsand, Churchill, Kesagami, Nipigon, and Pagwachuan. Files for each range are contained in separate folders compressed in a ZIP file. They should be unzipped in the same general folder (which may be considered as a project folder), such as 'Forest_Caribou_Project'. The 'Ontario_Roads_and_Mines' ZIP file, which contains GIS files for the computation of the impacts of road networks and mines on habitat quality for caribou, should be located in the general folder. The user guides included on this page provide detailed information on the use of models and applications.

Files to download and install:

1. User guide for the decision support system: User_Guide_Decision-Support_Caribou.pdf (PDF file, 1.1 MB)
2. User guide for AMSIMOD: AMSIMOD_User_Guide_V8.pdf (PDF file, 561 KB)
3. AMSIMOD installation file: AMSIMOD_Setup.exe (EXE file, 1.8 MB)
4. User guide for QGIS: QGIS-2.18-UserGuide-en.pdf (PDF file, 23 MB)
5. QGIS application (64 bits): QGIS-OSGeo4W-2.18.20-1-Setup-x86_64.exe (EXE file, 416 MB)
6. Generate Ontario Tree List plugin from eFRI: Project_Ontario_eFRI_Tree_Generator.zip (ZIP file, 39 MB)
7. HSM plugin for QGIS: Project_HSM.zip (ZIP file, 7.6 MB)
8. ZELIG-CFS model: ZELIG_CFS_Setup.exe (EXE file, 1.4 MB)
9. CARIBOUMOD model: CARIBOUMOD_Setup.exe (EXE file, 1.1 MB)
10. Convert DBF form application: Convert_DBF_Form_Setup.exe (EXE file, 1.2 MB)
11. Disturbance-recruitment application: Compute_Disturbance_Recruitment_Setup.exe (EXE file, 1.2 MB)
12. User guide for ZELIG-CFS: User_Guide_ZELIG-CFS.pdf (PDF file, 352 KB)
13. Application to create input files for ZELIG: Zelig_Create_Input_Files_Setup.exe (EXE file, 1.6 MB)
14. Application to compute fertility factor for ZELIG: Zelig_Fertility_Factor_Setup.exe (EXE file, 1.4 MB)
15. Partial cut application: PartialCut_ZELIG-CFS_Setup.exe (EXE file, 1.2 MB)
16. Example of an input file for AMSIMOD: AmericanC_Input_RCP4_5.csv (CSV file, 2.5 MB)
17. Files that contain data, models and applications for caribou ranges: Brightsand.zip (ZIP file, 2.3 GB), Churchill.zip (ZIP file, 2.5 GB), Kesagami.zip (ZIP file, 2.2 GB), Nipigon.zip (ZIP file, 2.8 GB), and Pagwachuan.zip (ZIP file, 1.2 GB)
18. File that contains GIS data on road networks and mines: Ontario_Roads_and_Mines.zip (ZIP file, 48 MB)

If you would like to be kept informed on future releases or make comments, you can send an email to Guy Larocque at guy.larocque@nrcan-rncan.gc.ca.