Development of Interactive Data Visualization Tool for the Predictive Ecosystem Mapping Project

Biogeoclimatic Ecosystem Classification (BEC) system is the ecosystem classification adopted in the forest management within British Columbia based on vegetation, soil, and climate characteristics whereas Site Series is the smallest unit of the system. The Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development held under the Government of British Columbia (“the Ministry”) developed a web-based tool known as BEC Map for maintaining and sharing the information of the BEC system, but the Site Series information was not included in the tool due to its quantity and complexity. In order to allow users to explore and interact with the information, this project aimed to develop a web-based tool with high data quality and flexibility to users for the Site Series classes using the “Shiny” and “Leaflet” packages in R. The project started with data classification and pre-processing of the raster images and attribute tables through identification of client requirements, spatial database design and data cleaning. After data transformation was conducted, spatial relationships among these data were developed for code development. The code development included the setting-up of web map and interactive tools for facilitating user friendliness and flexibility. The codes were further tested and enhanced to meet the requirements of the Ministry. The web-based tool provided an efficient and effective platform to present the complicated Site Series features with the use of Web Mapping System (WMS) in map rendering. Four interactive tools were developed to allow users to examine and interact with the information. The study also found that the mode filter performed well in data preservation and noise minimization but suffered from long processing time and creation of tiny sliver polygons.