Detailed, sample-based information on human footprint is captured at the 1:5000 scale over the ABMI’s set of 1656 3 x 7-km, and is used to track short- and long-term changes and trends in human footprint in Alberta. Older versions of the dataset that cover the years 1999 to 2017 were manually digitized from a variety of high-resolution satellite imagery in an effort separate from the province-wide Human Footprint Inventory HFI) digitization efforts. These are referred to as the 3 x 7 Human Footprint data. The newer Temporal Human Footprint (THF) dataset was updated using very similar approaches and datasets, but was done as part of broader provincial HFI updating. It covers 1950, 1985, 2000, 2001, and annually from 2004 to 2021, and is spatially consistent with the larger HFI dataset. It is also specifically designed for consistency across time (i.e., later years incorporate the same features that appear in previous years), which is particularly advantageous for accurate trend analyses.

Both the 3 x 7 Human Footprint and THF datasets are available in Geographic Information System (GIS) format that includes human footprint attributes and features related to the energy, forestry, and agriculture industries, as well as urban development.