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AI-Powered Vegetation Mapping and Landscape Forecasting

Ecology · Planning & Decision-making · Research & Development

What it collects

About a measurement
Anonymized data
  • Open Earth Observation satellite imagery from Sentinel and Landsat missions, providing spectral reflectance and surface measurements. No personal data — purely environmental sensor readings tied to geographic coordinates.
About a place
Anonymized data
  • Geographic extent and spatial coordinates of landscape tiles processed by the system, derived from the spatial footprint of analysis-ready satellite data.
Run by
Natural Resources Canada (NRCan)
Where
No fixed location
Kept
Not stated by the Helpful Places.
Shared with
Accountable organization, Download

What it is for

EcologyPlanning & Decision-makingResearch & Development

The LEAF Toolbox uses AI-driven satellite data analysis to generate free, open maps of vegetation variables across Canada. It processes imagery from open Earth Observation satellites (Sentinel, Landsat) and produces outputs that can be viewed or downloaded on demand. The system is intended for members of the public and researchers needing transparent, replicable landscape data. Users are not currently informed that AI is used to produce these maps.

What it collects and what happens to it

Data taken in

About a measurement
Anonymized data
  • Open Earth Observation satellite imagery from Sentinel and Landsat missions, providing spectral reflectance and surface measurements. No personal data — purely environmental sensor readings tied to geographic coordinates.
About a place
Anonymized data
  • Geographic extent and spatial coordinates of landscape tiles processed by the system, derived from the spatial footprint of analysis-ready satellite data.

Processing

Classification & Prediction
  • AI-based classification and prediction models estimate vegetation variables (e.g. leaf area index, fraction of absorbed photosynthetically active radiation) from satellite spectral inputs. Models are provided or defined by users and run against analysis-ready Earth Observation data.

What it does

Deciding (Analytical AI)
Human decides
  • Predicts and scores vegetation variables from satellite spectral data, producing quantitative maps that users can interpret and act upon. Humans decide how outputs are used — the system produces advisory vegetation metrics, not binding decisions.
Sensing (Perceptive AI)
Human decides
  • Ingests raw satellite imagery (Sentinel, Landsat) and converts pixel-level spectral signals into structured vegetation variable estimates ready for downstream analysis.

Outputs

About a measurement
Anonymized data
  • Free, open maps of vegetation variables (e.g. leaf area index, canopy cover estimates) that can be visualized or exported on demand. All outputs are derived measurements about landscape conditions — no personal data.
About a place
Anonymized data
  • Spatially explicit raster maps covering the geographic extent of the input satellite data, representing landscape conditions at specific locations across Canada.

Run by

Natural Resources Canada (NRCan)
  • Federal department responsible for deploying and operating the LEAF Toolbox to provide open vegetation maps to the public.

Government of Canada AI Register — LEAF Toolbox

Built by

Government of Canada
  • The system was developed by the Government of Canada, with AI methods and algorithms developed internally.

Government of Canada AI Register — LEAF Toolbox

Kept for

Not stated by the Helpful Places.

Shared with

Available to the accountable organization
  • Natural Resources Canada has access to all outputs produced by the LEAF Toolbox, as it operates and hosts the system.
Available to download
  • Vegetation maps and data products can be exported and downloaded on demand by any user via any web-enabled device (desktop, mobile, handheld), free of charge.

Stored

Not stated by the Helpful Places.

How to read the colours

Can it identify you?

Anonymized data
Data about people with the link to who is broken. Stripped of identifiers, blurred, aggregated, or noised so this system can’t reasonably tie a record back to an individual.
Pseudonymous data
Each person’s data is tied to a token (hash, ID, template) that lets this system recognise the same person across events, but the token itself doesn’t reveal a name. Reidentification is possible with extra information.
Identifiable data
The data either contains a direct identifier (name, address, account name, recognisable face or voice, plate number) or carries a token this system uses to look up legal identity during processing.

Who completes the loop?

Human decides
This mode suggests; a person decides what to do next. The AI is always advisory — a human is in the loop on every decision. Example: a triage tool ranks cases for a clinician who chooses which to see first.
Human executes
This mode decides; a person carries out the result. Example: an optimizer plans the day’s trash-collection routes, and drivers run them.
Autonomous
This mode decides and acts on its own. No person reviews each decision or carries out the resulting action.

Definitions from the DTPR standard. Amber is about your data, violet about who decides. The fuller the shape and the deeper the colour, the more identifying the data or the less a person is involved.

What you can do

Ask about this system

Questions go to the Helpful Places, not the vendor.

Your rights

  • Right to Algorithmic TransparencyThe LEAF Toolbox is described as providing transparent, replicable products. The underlying AI methods are used to define integrated models, and users may supply their own algorithms. Detailed information on the specific AI methods used is available through the Natural Resources Canada open data portal.
  • Right to Be Informed of AI UseThe register indicates that AI use is NOT currently disclosed to users of the LEAF Toolbox. Users have an interest in knowing that AI methods are used to generate the vegetation maps they rely upon. Advocacy for improved disclosure can be directed to Natural Resources Canada.

Risks and safeguards

  • Civil liberties harmThe system does not currently disclose AI use to users, limiting their ability to make informed decisions about reliance on AI-generated maps.Safeguard: The toolbox emphasizes transparent and replicable outputs; outputs are made available as open data allowing independent verification. Full AI disclosure to users remains a gap identified in the register.