Total ALS Coverage
1.77M km²
19.4% of total land area of Canada.
Coverage of forested ecozones
27.2%
Coverage of managed forests
66.2%
ALS data coverage in Canadian forests
This webpage is designed to present the current status of airborne laser scanning (ALS) data coverage across Canada’s forested landscapes. We present a collection of maps and descriptive statistics that illustrate the current status and availability of ALS data, specifically focusing on its applications within forestry. ALS acquisitions outside Canada’s forested ecozones (e.g. in urban areas) or data acquired for research projects are not included.
This webpage accompanies the publication by White et al. 2025, and is designed to keep the statistics and maps presented in the paper up to date.
Information on this website is periodically updated to ensure the most current and accurate representation of ALS data coverage. See ALS coverage data sources to find the date the coverage was updated for each jurisdiction.
Most recent coverage summary
The total area of ALS coverage in Canada is currently 1,768,170 km2, which corresponds to approximately 19.4% of the total land area of the country. The coverage of all forested ecozones is approximately 27.2%, while the coverage of managed forests is approximately 66.2%.
| Jurisdiction | Total ALS coverage | ALS coverage over managed forest |
|---|---|---|
| British Columbia (BC) | 261,662 (28.3%) | 171,873 (34.4%) |
| Alberta (AB) | 361,582 (56.3%) | 233,321 (93.3%) |
| Saskatchewan (SK) | 100,799 (17%) | 65,259 (76%) |
| Ontario (ON) | 394,674 (43%) | 298,880 (89.2%) |
| Quebec (QC) | 512,411 (37.5%) | 373,544 (98.2%) |
| New Brunswick (NB) | 74,624 (100%) | 58,146 (100%) |
| Prince Edward Island (PE) | 5,734 (100%) | 2,429 (100%) |
| Nova Scotia (NS) | 56,684 (100%) | 37,279 (100%) |
Maps
The map showing the overall ALS coverage is presented below. Additional maps show acquisition year, point cloud density, and areas of multiple overlapping acquisitions. More detailed maps are available for western and eastern parts of the country.
Acquisitions over time
Cumulative area of ALS data acquired by jurisdictions, by year, including overlapping acquisitions. PJ = percentage of jurisdictional area that is covered by ALS data. PM = percentage of jurisdictional managed forest area that is covered by ALS data.
