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Changelog

Source: NEWS.md

RSYC 0.2.0

Model release v20260923

  • Updated the packaged catalogue from model release v20260709 to v20260923. After limiting ecological models to the 12 forested ecozones, the catalogue contains 27,208 rows and 42 columns. Curve coefficients and model availability changed, so predictions and local calibration results can differ from the previous package release.
  • Added the raw ecological hierarchy fields ecozone_id, ecoprovince_id, ecoregion_id, and ecodistrict_id. They preserve upstream identifiers and provenance. Ecological selection through strata_id now accepts these codes as well as existing names and hierarchical paths; quoted ecoprovince codes preserve values such as "10.1".
  • Added canonical character strata_code columns to model and strata discovery, generated curve tables, and ecological spatial results. Ambiguous ecozone codes 5, 6, and 10 are reported explicitly in single-selection workflows rather than silently choosing a named subdivision.
  • Relative to v20260709, national coverage was lost for 10 combinations: ecological AGB for ALNU.INC, LARI.LAR, and QUER.RUB; ecological volume for ALNU.INC, FRAX.NIG, LARI.LAR, and QUER.RUB; tile AGB for LARI.LAR; and tile volume for FRAX.NIG and LARI.LAR. These species had relatively limited spatial coverage and their models had frequently caused fitting problems in earlier model-development runs.
  • Fixed an upstream sampling bug in which a small number of samples were drawn from the wrong ecodistricts. This issue affected ecological-strata models only; tile models were unaffected.

Interface changes

  • Tile IDs, ecological area names, and hierarchical paths supplied through strata_id are now matched ignoring case.
  • available_rsyc_models(), rsyc_species(), and rsyc_strata() now warn when a strata_id value matches no published curve or when a species code is unknown, instead of silently returning an empty table.
  • build_rsyc_dataset() now warns when requested species are omitted because they are unknown or have no published curve for the selected response and areas.
  • calibrate_rsyc() now rejects negative obs_response values, which could previously produce negative calibrated curves.

Spatial products

  • Added ecological boundary release v2, aligned exactly to the v20260923 national model catalogue. It contains 12 forested ecozones, 36 ecoprovinces, 138 ecoregions, and 672 ecodistricts in EPSG:3978, with hierarchy names and raw hierarchy identifiers preserved.
  • Boundary builds now record source and output checksums and validate complete, one-to-one coverage of published national model strata.
  • download_rsyc_boundaries() now downloads from the immutable GitHub release asset ecostrat-v2 instead of a development-branch file.

Documentation

  • Added a “Model validation” article summarizing how RSYC yield curves compare with independent ground plots, grouped by age class.
  • Added an interactive “Yield curve explorer” to the package website for browsing published RSYC yield curves together with their validation results.

RSYC 0.1.0

This is a significant update to both the published RSYC models and the package interface. Almost all user-facing functions have been redesigned to work with the expanded, versioned model catalogue.

Models

  • RSYC model releases are now versioned. This package version includes model release v20260709; the release is recorded in the model_version field of the model catalogue and in generated dataset metadata.
  • Replaced the former parameter data with RSYC_models, a unified catalogue of published aboveground biomass (agb) and total-volume (volume) curves.
  • Models can now be selected for either 150 km tiles or polygons from four nested levels of Canada’s ecological land classification: ecozone, ecoprovince, ecoregion, and ecodistrict.
  • Added stable model identifiers and supporting metadata describing response units, model groups, geographic strata, and model releases.
  • Added a downloadable CSV archive and checksum manifest so the complete model catalogue can be used without installing the package.

Redesigned interface

  • Redesigned predict_rsyc() around a consistent response, species, age, strata_level, and strata_id interface. It now predicts both AGB and volume for tile and ecological-strata models, resolves ecological names and paths, and warns when ages are outside the fitted range.
  • Redesigned the model-discovery workflow. available_rsyc_models(), rsyc_species(), and rsyc_strata() now query the versioned catalogue by response and geographic level.
  • Updated species_codes() for the expanded model metadata. Removed the legacy tile-only species_in_tile() and tiles_for_species() helpers; use rsyc_species() and rsyc_strata() for both tiles and ecological strata.
  • Added build_rsyc_dataset() to return predictions together with the model parameters and provenance metadata needed to reproduce them.
  • Added calibrate_rsyc() for local BLUP-based calibration of a published curve to field observations of AGB or volume at known stand ages. The local random effect is estimated conditional on the fitted model and substituted into the curve’s asymptote, following Tompalski et al. The adjustment is a shrinkage-based local level anchor, with optional safeguards (apply_limits) against implausible ratios and values.

Spatial data and documentation

  • Added rsyc_boundaries() and download_rsyc_boundaries() for obtaining the ecological polygons associated with published curves. Boundary downloads are cached and independently versioned.
  • Updated the bundled 150 km tile grid and documented the optional ecological boundary data, its source, licence, and attribution requirements.
  • Expanded examples and reference documentation for model discovery, prediction, mapping, downloads, citation, and licensing.