Aerial overview surveys

The provincial aerial overview survey is the cornerstone of forest health monitoring in B.C. Like most forested jurisdictions across North America, B.C.’s annual aerial sketch mapping is done to efficiently record the location and severity of forest disturbances that can be seen from the air.

Combined with records from the Canadian Forest Service dating back to 1909, B.C.’s aerial overview survey data provides invaluable historical information on the patterns of disturbance across the provincial forested land base.

Information from aerial overview surveys can be used to help understand the impacts of forest pests or other disturbances, and can help predict how climate change might change the impact of these disturbances in the future.

Aerial survey resources can be found at:

• Read about aerial overview survey methods in B.C.
• B.C.’s aerial overview survey data is publicly available from the B.C. Data Catalogue (split into current and historical Pest Infestation Polygons and Pest Infestation Point files from 1909 to present). You can learn more about these files from the Forest Health team’s aerial overview survey data files webpage.
• The AOS Dashboard is a tool which aggregates past and current Aerial Overview Survey data to help understand the impacts of forest pests or other disturbances. There are five tabs which can be utilized to look at specific areas, pests, and timeseries of forest pests in British Columbia.