Geospatial technologies for monitoring vegetation recovery on human disturbance features in Alberta's boreal forest

阿尔伯塔的北方森林地区正受到与自然资源开采有关的人类发展的越来越大的压力。道路、地震线、井场、切割块、矿山、管道和其他人类足迹的元素产生累积的环境影响，可能会损害生物多样性、水质，以及林地驯鹿等濒危物种的栖息地。为了减轻这些影响，资源开采公司和省级监管机构正在努力制定监测计划，跟踪特定地区存在的人类足迹数量，并测量以前受干扰的地区被开垦的速度。本研究项目旨在通过利用尖端的地理空间技术和先进的建模技术来支持这些目标，这些技术可以帮助测量、监测和预测非永久性（即即将开垦）人类足迹特征上植被的恢复。我们的项目将涉及与这一广泛目标相关的五个具体研究目标：(i)利用先进的遥感设备绘制人类足迹特征图；（ii）为可在监测计划中随时间跟踪的人类足迹特征赋予描述性属性；（iii）开发低成本的地面传感器网络，以跟踪人类足迹特征的物理状况和人类/动物使用情况；（iv）开发能够预测整个北方森林人类足迹特征植被恢复速度的统计模型。(v)提供旨在评估人为干扰地区填海状况的快速核查方案。这项工作旨在帮助资源开采公司和政府监管机构减少工业发展对北方生态系统的影响，并与目前计划或正在进行的其他补充性研究项目很好地结合在一起。虽然我们的研究将在阿尔伯塔北部森林的背景下进行，但研究结果和成果预计将转移到加拿大及其他地区的其他生态系统。

The boreal-forest regions of Alberta are under increasing pressure from human development related to natural-resource extraction. Roads, seismic lines, well sites, cut blocks, mines, pipelines, and other elements of human footprint exert cumulative environmental effects that can harm biodiversity, water quality, and the habitat of threatened species such as woodland caribou. In order to mitigate these effects, resource-extraction companies and provincial regulators are working to develop monitoring initiatives that track the amount of human footprint present in a given area, and measure the rate at which previously disturbed areas are being reclaimed. This research program is designed to support these goals by taking advantage of cutting-edge geospatial technologies and advanced modelling techniques that can aid in the process of measuring, monitoring, and predicting the recovery of vegetation on non-permanent (i.e., to-be reclaimed) human-footprint features. Our project will address five specific research objectives related to this broad goal: (i) mapping human-footprint features with advanced remote-sensing devices, (ii) assigning descriptive attributes to human-footprint features that can be tracked through time in a monitoring program, (iii) developing low-cost ground-senor networks that can track the physical condition and human/animal use of human-footprint features, (iv) developing statistical models that can predict the rate of vegetation recovery in human-footprint features across the boreal forest, and (v) delivering a rapid-verification protocol designed to assess the reclamation status of human-disturbed areas. The work is designed to help resource-extraction companies and government regulators reduce the impact of industrial development on boreal ecosystems, and is well-integrated with other complementary research projects currently planned or underway. While our research will be conducted in the context of Alberta's boreal forest, the findings and deliverables are anticipated to be transferable to other ecosystems in Canada and beyond.