Natural Regions:
TOTAL AREA:
60,748 km2
TOTAL Human Footprint:
47,742 km2
Region Overview
The Parkland Natural Region occupies approximately 61,000 km2 or 10% of Alberta, forming a broad transitional band between the Grassland Natural Region to the south and the Boreal Natural Region to the north. As a result, no known species are unique to this region; instead, plant and animal communities share characteristics of the neighboring ecosystems. Much of the Parkland Natural Region has been converted for agricultural purposes. The remaining native vegetation is a mixture of grasslands interspersed with Aspen woodlands where well-known plants like Snowberry, Saskatoon, Chokecherry, and Prickly Rose are commonly found. The abundance of wetlands that dot the Parkland Natural Region, particularly in the east, are part of the prairie pothole region, otherwise known as the “duck factory” of North America. This is a globally significant breeding and migratory stopover area for waterfowl, shorebirds, and landbirds. While native parkland is limited, the juxtaposition of croplands and pastures with natural habitats like native grasslands, wetlands, windbreaks, and forests provides foraging and breeding opportunities for a diversity of wildlife species. Human footprint status and trends are presented for the Parkland Natural Region.
Status
As of 2021, human footprint occupied the majority of the Parkland Natural Region, covering 78.6% of the area. Agriculture was the dominant footprint type, occupying 68.5% of the region. The remaining footprint types, in decreasing order of provincial area covered, were urban/industrial footprint (4.1%), transportation footprint (3.8%), energy footprint (1.9%), 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 Parkland Natural Region, circa 2021.
Trend
- Between 2000 and 2021, the total area of human footprint in the Parkland Natural Region increased by 1.5 percentage points, from 77.1% to 78.6%.
- This increase can be mainly attributed to urban/industrial, energy, and transportation footprints, which increased by 1.2, 0.6, and 0.3 percentage points, respectively.
- Agruiculture footprint decreased by 0.9 percentage points, from 69.4% to 68.5%.
| 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 the Parkland Natural Region between 2000 and 2021. 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 2.8 km/km2 in the Parkland Natural Region.
- Roads, with a density of 1.5 km/km2, were the most common linear feature, followed by pipelines (0.9 km/km2), and conventional seismic lines (0.3 km/km2).
- Transmission lines and railways had very low densities in the Parkland Natural Region.
| Type | Density (km/km2) |
|---|
Figure: Status of Linear Human Footprint. Density (km/km2) of linear features in the Parkland Natural Region, 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.