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In Alberta, one of the areas of highest biodiversity is the Parkland Natural Region, which covers about 10 percent of Alberta. In the Central Parkland Subregion, only 10 to 15 percent of the native vegetation remains. In an effort to determine where these remaining areas are, the North American Waterfowl Management Plan (NAWMP) and others partnered together to map and inventory the native areas in the aspen parkland.
“For this project we focused on the Central Parkland area only, it does not include the Peace Parkland or Foothills Parkland areas,” explains Ron Bjorge, Head of Wildlife Management for the Southeast Region, Prairies and Parkland, with Alberta Fish and Wildlife, Sustainable Resource Development in Red Deer. This area is characterized by its fertile soils, favourable growing climate, and increasing pressure from rural residential expansion. Much of the native vegetation has been lost to agriculture development, infrastructure and other industry.
The remaining native land is very important, because most of the plant and animal life depends on these areas for food, cover and water. The abundance and diversity of wildlife persisting in these small areas is quite amazing. “Much of the provinces waterfowl and white tailed deer come from this area,” says Bjorge. “Several ‘threatened species’ also occur here, including the piping plover, peregrine falcon, northern leopard frog, Sprague’s pipit and loggerhead shrike.”
The mapping and inventory project will provide an indication of where the remaining native vegetation and wetlands occur, the size, distribution and ownership of these areas. All of the data will be collected and presented using a GIS environment. “The native vegetation inventory and mapping is about 98 percent complete, with over 70 mapping layers developed,” says Bjorge. Some of the key components included in the inventory are tree cover, divided into deciduous and coniferous, trees and shrubs, water and ownership. “We’re now doing an analysis of the inventory and determining where the native areas and wetlands are, using logical boundaries such as watershed, municipalities and wildlife management units.” The analysis is expected to be completed over the next few months.
This information is already being used by partners and others for developing and delivering individual programs. “One of the primary uses of the information will be for stewardship and land use initiatives,” says Bjorge. “It will also be used for broader conservation programs, such as a baseline for estimating populations for particular species, (e.g. white tail deer or Sprague’s pipit), or for landscape related objectives.” The information is currently being used for research, and will be the basis for future efforts.
“It’s important to remember that the inventory map is just one piece of information that can be used along with all other information to put together a picture of the area,” notes Bjorge. It works really well for the landscape level and even at the county level, but is not nearly as useful for small individual parcels. “The real value of the information will be for planning and running conservation initiatives, agricultural and industrial activity and research in this important landscape.”
Partners in the project include Alberta Sustainable Resource Development, Alberta Conservation Association, Canadian Wildlife Service, NAWMP/Ducks Unlimited Canada, Nature Conservancy of Canada, Alberta Research Council and Petroleum Technology Alliance Canada.
For more information, contact:
Ron Bjorge at email: ron.bjorge@gov.ab.ca
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