Status of Land Cover & Biodiversity in the Oil Sands Region, Alberta, Canada

Organization
Alberta Biodiversity Monitoring Institute (ABMI)
Resource Type
Report
Authors
Alberta Biodiversity Monitoring Institute
Resource Date:
2024
Page Length
19

This report summarizes the status of land cover and biodiversity in the Oil Sands Region.
Results show:

  • Human footprint increased from 12.0% to 16.5% between 2000 and 2021, with agriculture (7.9%), forestry (4.2%), and energy (2.6%) being the main types of human disturbance in 2021.
  • Wildfire (8.1%) affected more area than human activities (2.7%) from 2010 to 2021.
  • Biodiversity intactness averages 87%, indicating much of the habitat across the region is in good condition; however, human development activities are impacting habitat suitability in some areas.
  • Ongoing research focuses on vegetation regeneration on seismic lines and their impacts on species like Woodland Caribou.

The regional summary includes results for several indicators that align with the monitoring framework for the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, such as native cover, interior habitat, and biodiversity intactness.