General

NFI Business Process

The Business Process document describes the procedure and means by which the NFI collects, validates, stores, uses and disseminates national forest inventory data.
Version 8.0 (PDF, 1.91MB)

NFI Brochure

The NFI brochure provides a succinct overview of the purpose and design of Canada's National Forest Inventory.
NFI Brochure.pdf (PDF, 4.5MB)

Tree Species List

The tree species recognized by the National Forest Inventory with scientific names, and codes for genus, species, and variant.
Version 4.5 (PDF, 437KB)

Ground Plot

Data Dictionary

The NFI Ground Plot Data Dictionary describes the structure of the NFI ground plot database and documents the definition, format and reporting rules for each attribute within.

Data Dictionary Version 5.2.3 (PDF, 2.66MB)

Ground Plot Guidelines

Describes the recommended field sampling procedures for the establishment and ongoing measurement of NFI ground plots.
Version 5.0 (PDF, 3.65MB)

National Standards for Ground Plots Compilation Procedures

This document outlines the equations and rules that have been developed to compile the NFI ground plot raw data.
Version 2.4 (PDF, 1.47MB)

Customized Spatial Climate Models for North America

The climate data reported for NFI ground plots are generated using spatial climate models developed for Canada and the United States by researchers at Natural Resources Canada's Canadian Forest Service, in collaboration with the Australian National University, Environment Canada, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
This article, which was published by the American Meteorological Society in 2011, outlines the methods used to generate those models.

Photo Plot

Photo Plot Data Dictionary (plot establishment, 2000 - 2006)

This document provides a data model and data dictionary for NFI attributes from photo plots and to facilitate a standard input format for national compilation.
Version 4.2.4 (PDF, 296KB)

Photo Plot Data Dictionary (plot re-measurement)

These documents provide a data model and data dictionary for data collected during the first and second remeasurement phases of the NFI photo plot program.
First Remeasurement (2007 – 2017)
Version 5.2 (PDF, 2068KB)

Second Remeasurement (2018 – 2027)
Version 6.0 (PDF, 2163KB)

Land Cover Classification

The Land Cover Classification Scheme is used to describe current vegetated and non-vegetated land cover in NFI photo plots. The documentation for this scheme is now included in the Photo Plot Data Dictionary.

Land Use Classification

The Land Use Classification Scheme is used to describe current land use in NFI photo plots. The documentation for this scheme is now included in the Photo Plot Data Dictionary.

Photo Plot Compilation Procedures

This document describes NFI photo plot compilation procedures.
Version 1.4 (PDF, 78KB)

Estimation

Estimation Procedures

This document describes NFI estimation procedures.
Version 1.13 (PDF, 376KB)

Estimation Procedure Examples

These worksheets are for the Examples provided in the NFI Estimation Procedures document.
Version 1.3 (Excel, 948KB)