***** This project was carried out by Environment and Climate Change Canada in collaboration with the MDDELCC as part of the St. Lawrence Action Plan (PASL). Since 1988, the governments of Canada and Quebec have worked together to conserve and enhance the St. Lawrence River as part of the St. Lawrence Action Plan (PASL). One of the projects identified under the theme of biodiversity conservation is the development of an integrated plan for the conservation of natural environments and biodiversity in the St. Lawrence. Identifying priority natural environments for the conservation of biodiversity was the first step in this planning exercise. However, planning for the conservation of natural environments requires having a fair, reliable, accurate and current image of the spatial distribution of ecosystems in the study area. In order to produce an Atlas of territories of interest for conservation in the St. Lawrence Lowlands, an updated mapping of land use in this vast territory was therefore undertaken. This project required the obtaining of reliable information on the natural environments of the St. Lawrence Lowlands. Although numerous and excellent cartographic products already exist to delimit different types of environments, they often cover well-circumscribed regions and it was therefore particularly important to obtain a homogeneous product throughout the territory. At the same time, this makes it possible to obtain the best information on its various components: Agricultural, aquatic, anthropogenic, wooded, humid environments as well as wastelands and bare soils. The mapping of land use in the St. Lawrence Lowlands is thus mainly based on grouping and improving the best existing products for each of the themes.**This third party metadata element was translated using an automated translation tool (Amazon Translate).**

This data layer presents the results of a modeling of net anthropogenic inputs of nitrogen and phosphorus (NANI/NAPI) carried out by Professor Roxane Maranger and Stéphanie Shousha from the University of Montreal as part of a partnership with the Ministry of the Environment, the Fight against Climate Change, Wildlife and Parks (MELCCFP). The modeling was carried out using the Net Anthropogenic Nitrogen/Phosphorus Input method applied for the first time in Quebec by ([Goyette et al., 2016]) (https://can01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fagupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com%2Fdoi%2F10.1002%2F2016GB005384&data=05%7C02%7CAntoine.Prince%40environnement.gouv.qc.ca%7Ce9a3e849691c4a3f9bc008de4e23f624%7C4262d4ec5a674957abb6bf78aca6a6f5%7C0%7C0%7C639034113587157844%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C 0% 7C%7C%7C&sdata=a7ktxc6ea9u4thdsbor9ojrkspdjgwno%2Fbaizkkkuaq%3D&reserved=0)) then refined in ([Shousha & Maranger, 2024] (https://can01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fbesjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com%2Fdoi%2Ffull%2F10.1111%2F1365-2664.14733&data=05%7C02%7CAntoine.Prince%40environnement.gouv.qc.ca%7Ce9a3e849691c4a3f9bc008de4e23f624%7C4262d4ec5a674957abb6bf78aca6a6f5%7C0%7C0%7C639034113587193473%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=AdT31R8 IHMEEYRZZ1HGMTRTUAEE8XMRMAQBRNAUJDN 4% 3D&reserved=0)). The model is based on the premise that a region imports nitrogen and phosphorus to support its population and agricultural activities.**This third party metadata element was translated using an automated translation tool (Amazon Translate).**