Alberta
TOTAL AREA:
662,581 km2
TOTAL Human Footprint:
196,190 km2
Region Overview
During the past century, the availability of natural resources in Alberta has defined human land-use patterns, in both time and space. The province was considered a farming frontier in the late 1800s, and most of the human footprint in central and southern Alberta is the result of this farming legacy. While agriculture remains important, other human land uses, particularly forestry and oil and gas development, have expanded in recent decades into previously undisturbed areas in the Foothills and Boreal Forest Natural Regions. To meet the needs of Alberta’s growing population, urban areas have grown to keep up with industrial growth. As these activities continue, understanding and managing the cumulative effects on Alberta's biodiversity are priorities.
Status
As of 2021, human footprint occupied 31.0% of Alberta. Agriculture was the dominant human footprint, covering 21.1%—an area more than four times larger than that of forestry (4.8%), the second-largest human footprint category. The remaining footprint types, in decreasing order of provincial area covered, were energy (1.9%), transportation (1.6%), urban/industrial (1.4%), and human-created water bodies (0.3%).
| Human Footprint Type | Area (km2) | Area (%) |
|---|
Figure: Status of Human Footprint. Summary of percentage cover of total human footprint broken down by human footprint category in the province of Alberta, circa 2021.
Trend
- Between 2000 and 2021, the total area of human footprint in Alberta increased by 4.3 percentage points, from 26.7% to 31.0%.
- This increase in total human footprint was driven by the expansion of the forestry footprint, which more than doubled in size during this time from 2.1% to 4.8%. However, this increase is lower when forest recovery is considered: forestry footprint increased by 1.7 percentage points (1.8% to 3.5%) when the recovery of regenerating forest is included.
- The increases in percent area of Alberta covered by the other human footprint categories were all small: energy (+0.7%), urban/industrial (+0.5%), agriculture (+0.3%), transportation (+0.2%), and human-created water bodies (+0.05%).
| Human Footprint Type | 2000 (km2) | 2021 (km2) | Change (km2) |
|---|
| Human Footprint Type | 2000 (%) | 2021 (%) | Change (%) |
|---|
Figure: Trend in Human Footprint. Trend in the percentage area of total human footprint, and by human footprint category in Alberta between 2000 and 2021. Click on the human footprint categories in the legend to turn categories on and off.
Status of Linear Human Footprint
- Density of total linear features was 2.6 km/km2 in Alberta.
- Conventional seismic lines were the dominant line type, representing 57.7% of all linear footprint, with a density of 1.5 km/km2.
- Density of roads and pipelines represent 23.1% and 19.2% of linear footprint in Alberta, with densities of 0.6 km/km2 and 0.5 km/km2, respectively.
- Transmission lines and railways had very low densities in Alberta.
| Type | Density (km/km2) |
|---|
Figure: Status of Linear Human Footprint. Density (km/km2) of linear features in the province of Alberta, circa 2021, overall and broken down by linear feature type. Hover over bar or legend to view density of specific linear feature type. Please note low impact seismic lines are not included in the summary of linear footprint density.