Full-coverage mapping and updating of habitat characteristics for regional biodiversity monitoring and integrated landscape management

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The continuing growth and development of Alberta's population and natural resource-based economy has resulted in a strong need for effective land management and ecological stewardship strategies. The Land-use Framework (LuF), adopted by the Government of Alberta in 2008 to address this need, is designed to promote collaborative local management, whereby industry, communities, and governments work together to achieve improved land-use decision-making that meets regional planning guidelines, and reduce the current rate of biodiversity loss. As a result there is a pressing need in Alberta to create and maintain a shared repository with high-quality local-level information on the status of the landscapes in which the above agents operate. However, to date no such repository exists. To fill this gap, we will conduct research on the exploitation of modern remote sensing technologies and data sets within a Geographic Information System (GIS), with the goal of creating a repository of up-to-date local habitat information that can be made available to land managers and decision-makers through the internet. Once complete, this project will demonstrate a strategy for providing local information on habitat status, which will help us identify the causes that underlie observed changes in biodiversity in Alberta. In addition, this research will help us predict future biodiversity conditions that may result from different management scenarios. Our work is designed to benefit industrial, government, and non-governmental organizations throughout Alberta, and provide a practical example for other provincial and national monitoring programs.