Since 1975
, the British Columbia Ministry of Forests has been systematically developing an ecosystem classification of the province, an area covering 94 million hectares. This Biogeoclimatic Ecosystem Classification (BEC) system provides a framework for resource conservation and management. To date, approximately 250 person-years have been invested in the collection, analysis and synthesis of over 8000 ecological (vegetation and environmental data) plots, and in the production of ecological field guides.
The development of a database and analysis system on the micro-computer platform to support a classification system of this magnitude was a complex procedure that required judicious planning and coordination. We have developed data-processing software that permits a user to select raw data from broad provincial or regional coverage to plot-and species-level summaries, and to export the data to a variety of output formats.
This paper addresses key issues for handling ecological field data on the desktop computer with emphasis on standards, operator ease-of-use, and data access. G.M. BRITTON ET AL.
TABLE I Evolution of BEC database and data analysis systems. Time period Database Data analysis