Natural Regions:

TOTAL AREA:
95,566 km2

TOTAL Human Footprint:
57,626 km2

Region Overview

The Grassland Natural Region occupies almost 96,000 km2, or 14% of the province, stretching from the Rocky Mountain foothills in the west to the Saskatchewan border to the east in southern Alberta. In the rain shadow of the Rocky Mountains, the Grassland Natural Region receives too little precipitation to support forests but too much precipitation to be considered a desert—hence the predominance of grasses and forbs that characterize the landscape. The region has been extensively cultivated, particularly to the north and west, areas that receive more precipitation. Large areas of semi-arid native prairie remain in the southeast. While grasses predominate, there is a diversity of other vegetation types depending on soil and climatic conditions. For example, trees and shrubs, such as the Narrow-leaf Cottonwood, Silver Sagebrush, and Prickly Rose are commonly found in depressions, along creeks, and in coulees and ravines where there is enough moisture to support their growth. Bird species like the Chestnut-collared Longspur, Baird’s Sparrow, and Sprague’s Pipit rely on native prairie habitat for nesting and foraging. Human footprint status and trends are presented for the Grassland Natural Region.

Status

As of 2018, human footprint occupied 60.3% of the Grassland Natural Region. Agriculture was the predominant human footprint, covering 53.0% of the landscape. Transportation (2.7%), energy (2.1%), and urban/industrial (1.5%) footprints all covered similar areas.

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 Grassland Natural Region, circa 2018.

Legend
Figure: Map of Human Footprint. Status of human footprint by sector in the Grassland Natural Region (circa 2018). Click on sectors in the Legend to turn different footprint types on and off. Zoom into map for a detailed view of the distribution of human footprint. This map can be explored in more detail in the ABMI Mapping Portal.

Trend

  • Between 1999 and 2017, the total area of human footprint in the Grassland Natural Region increased by 2.9 percentage points, from 57.3% to 60.2%. 
  • Agriculture and energy footprint demonstrated the largest expansion during this time frame, increasing by 1.7 and 1.0 percentage points, respectively.
  • The remaining footprint types had smaller increases totaling 0.4 percentage points, combined.  
Human Footprint Type 1999 (km2) 2017 (km2) Change (km2)
Human Footprint Type 1999 (%) 2017 (%) Change (%)

Figure: Trend in Human Footprint. Trend in the percentage area of total human footprint, and by human footprint category in the Grassland Natural Region between 1999 and 2017. Click on the entries in the legend to turn human footprint categories on and off.

Status of Linear Human Footprint

  • Density of linear features was 2.49 km/km2 in the Grassland Natural Region.
  • Pipelines,  with a density of 1.01 km/km2, were the most common linear feature, followed by major roads (0.59 km/km2), minor roads (0.57 km/km2), and conventional seismic lines (0.25 km/km2).
  • Transmission lines and railways had very low densities in the Grassland Natural Region.
Type Density (km/km2)

Figure: Status of Linear Human Footprint. Density (km/km2) of linear features in the Grassland Natural Region, circa 2018, 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.

Legend
Figure: Map of Linear Human Footprint. Status of linear features, by line type, in the Grassland Natural Region, circa 2018. Click on line types in the Legend to turn on and off. Zoom into map for a detailed view of the distribution of linear features. This map can be explored in more detail in the ABMI Mapping Portal.