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Part of ACIMS methodology

ACIMS Elements of biodiversity

Learn about the methodology used by the Alberta Conservation Information Management System to classify Elements of biodiversity, like species and communities.

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ACIMS methodology

Overview

The Alberta Conservation Information Management System (ACIMS) lists units of biodiversity for Alberta, along with conservation status ranks. These units are called Elements. Those deemed to be of conservation concern are tracked. Spatial data for tracked Elements is used to create Element Occurrences.

This process is based on NatureServe methodology, which is used by ACIMS and other conservation data centres in the NatureServe Network.

Biological Elements can be divided into 2 main types:

  • species-related Elements
  • ecological communities

In addition, ACIMS developed a list of landform Elements in Alberta. Landform Elements are units of natural physical diversity. ACIMS is not currently collecting data on landforms or updating the database.

Species-related Elements

Species-related Elements include:

  • species – example:
  • infraspecific taxa (groups below the rank of species), such as subspecies, varieties and populations – examples:
  • non-taxonomic biological entities, such as breeding bird colonies, which are important to species level conservation

ACIMS endeavours to list all species reported for the province, and contributes to the General Status of Wild Species. Through this process, taxonomic experts compile lists of species reported for Alberta and calculate their ranks (S-Ranks). These lists are used to update the ACIMS database.

New species related Elements can also be added to ACIMS based on verified data sources such as scientific papers and museum or herbarium records.

Updating species related Elements is a big task and ongoing project. New information is constantly coming forward and changes in taxonomy are being made as various Element groups are studied and revised. Not all Element groups are included yet, and some are incomplete.

Once species related Elements are added to the ACIMS system they are ranked, and some are added to the track or watch lists as described in following sections.

Ecological communities

An ecological community is a distinct assemblage of plant species with similar total species composition and vegetation structure often associated with specific environmental conditions. Given the right conditions, it can reoccur predictably.

Ecological communities can be separated into 3 major types:

  • terrestrial
  • wetland
  • aquatic

Reports and descriptions of the ecological communities of Alberta come from a wide variety of sources including academic publications, ecological site guides, range plant community guides, and other regional surveys. Some ecological communities have been matched (crosswalked) to communities recognized in other jurisdictions, like the United States, in collaboration with partners from the NatureServe network. See Element codes, below.

Background sources were reviewed and targeted fieldwork conducted to develop a list of ecological communities. 

This report describes community types that were considered rare, uncommon, or of limited extent. It also includes community types that have been described by vegetation experts as in decline or threatened. Importantly, many ecological communities in Alberta are under sampled making them difficult to rank. Likewise, some ecological communities could remain undescribed or poorly described in Alberta.

Get more information on ecological community composition and methodology, including:

  • Ecological Community Sampling Guidelines
  • Assessing Similarities Between Observed Ecological Communities
  • Ecological Community Characterization Abstracts
  • Physiognomic Classes for Terrestrial Ecological Communities
  • Minimum Patch Size Specifications for Ecological Community Occurrences
  • Photos of Selected Ecological Communities

All rare ecological communities are significant at the provincial scale. Some may be nationally or globally significant. A rare ecological community may or may not include individual plant species of conservation concern. It is the grouping, the community itself, which is the Element of interest. Ecological communities are "not just containers for species but complex, dynamic systems in themselves.” *

* Anderson, M., P. Comer, D. Grossman, C. Groves, K. Poiani, M. Reid, R. Schneider, B. Vickery, A. Weakley. 1999. Guidelines for representing ecological communities in ecoregional conservation plans. The Nature Conservancy, Arlington VA. 74 pp.

Ecological community pattern type

Ecological communities can be divided into 3 main pattern types:

  1. Matrix communities – widespread and cover large areas across the landscape.
  2. Large patch communities – less extensive and cover less of the landscape, but overall may still form large, uninterrupted patches.
  3. Small patch communities – form small, discrete areas, usually associated with specialized environmental conditions such as cliff faces or saline seepages.

Together, matrix and large patch communities usually make up the main, representative vegetation of an area. These are typically the communities described in published plant community guides. Small patch communities, although small in area, "contain a disproportionately large percentage of the total flora, and also support a specific and restricted set of associated fauna (invertebrates or herpetofauna) dependent on specialized conditions."* Rare ecological communities are often, but not always, small patch types. An occurrence for a tracked community should meet the minimum patch size specification.

Natural versus cultural ecological communities

There are different kinds of ecological communities, ranging from those that are natural, to those that are dominated by cultivated species**. Only natural, near-natural and some modified/managed ecological communities are considered of conservation concern. For example, communities that have formed in roadside ditches or those that have been planted or substantively altered by cultivation may well provide habitat for species of conservation concern, and hence be significant for other reasons, but they would not be considered rare communities.

** Grossman, D.H., D. Faber-Langendoen, A.S. Weakley, M. Anderson et. al. 1998. International classification of ecological communities; terrestrial vegetation of the United States. Vol. 1, The National Vegetation Classification System: development, status and applications. The Nature Conservancy, Arlington VA.

Naming ecological communities

Ecological communities are named using dominant and diagnostic species. Species within the same stratum are separated by a hyphen (-), and species in different strata separated by a slash (/).

Landforms

The Landforms of Alberta project was initiated by Alberta Parks in the late 1990s to classify and record the geomorphic features of the province as background information on the natural diversity of Alberta. Initially, this comprehensive review of Alberta landforms was done for the Special Features in Alberta report. 

Read more on the initial Landforms of Alberta project, including:

  • Classification of Alberta Landforms
  • Special Features in Alberta – Proposed Framework for Site Identification and Initial Evaluation of Potential Special Features Sites

The next phase of the project, the Significant Landforms of Alberta, involved mapping the spatial extent of landforms in Alberta that were identified as provincially, nationally or internationally significant. This phase also involved a review and update of the classification scheme by experts at the Alberta Geological Survey.  Spatial data available from this project can be used as needed in planning projects, education programs or other purposes.

Important: ACIMS is not currently collecting additional data on landforms in Alberta nor updating the database.

Element codes

All Elements are given an 'Element Code' (ELCODE) which is assigned by NatureServe. It is a 10-character code that uniquely identifies Elements in the ACIMS database.

  • ELCODES were historically “information-rich” and used to reflect the classification of an Element by using unique strings of letters to distinguish groups of Elements (for example, I = invertebrate animals, IM = phylum mollusca, IMGAS = class gastropoda).
  • ELCODES for ecological communities reflect whether they have been matched to global types (start with CEGL), or are a type that has only been characterized in Alberta (start with CEAB).
  • ELCODES do not exist for landform Elements. Landforms are not incorporated into the NatureServe database.

While ELCODES are still used in the ACIMS and NatureServe databases, they are no longer required to fully reflect species classification but are still useful identifiers. For information on ELCODES see the following information:

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