Terrain Mapping Standards & Guidelines
On any mapping project where soil, terrain or surficial geology attributes are collected, a qualified professional must do the mapping and sign off on the completed project, and provincial standards should be followed.
Standards and guidelines applicable to B.C. terrain mapping projects, including Terrain Inventory Mapping (TIM), Terrain Stability Mapping (TSM) and Bioterrain (TBT) projects include the following:
All terrain mapping projects in B.C. follow the Terrain classification standard:
- Terrain Classification System for British Columbia (Version 2 (1997) D. Howes and E. Kenk) (PDF)
- Guidelines and Standards to Terrain Mapping in British Columbia (1996) (PDF)
- Field Manual for Describing Terrestrial Ecosystems (DTEIF) – 2nd Edition (2010) (PDF)
- FS882 Field form (2011) (PDF) (Site, Terrain, Soils, Vegetation, Tree Mensuration)
- FS1333 Site Visit Form (SIVI) (PDF)
- Ground Inspection Form (GIF) (PDF)
- Landslide Classification and Inventory System for British Columbia with Digital Standards-DRAFT 1, 2007 (request this document)
These technical standards outline the procedures and rules for capturing, storing, and submitting project data that is to be maintained in a provincial data warehouse. Submit projects in file geodatabase format:
A contractor package that includes templates in ArcGIS file geodatabase and SHP/DBF formats and an ArcGIS data validation toolbox is also available:
Each data set / digital file is identified with a unique business area project identification number (BAPID). If a BAPID has not already been provided, request one from the data custodian after a detailed project plan is in place, but before submitting data.
Assessing the quality of each individual mapping project is a key component in determining appropriate interpretative uses of the data.
