Landscape patterns project

Overview

The Landscape Patterns project was a collaboration with a variety of conservation and land management partners in southern Alberta, Western Canada and the northwestern United States to analyze the impacts of land use on the environment.

Our Integrated Resource Management system moves away from highly localized studies. Instead, we focus on the interconnections between our landscapes and how we use them. To do this, the Landscape Patterns Environmental Quality Analysis partnership framework has been designed.

This analysis is used to understand the relationship between human patterns of land use and environmental quality in:

• agricultural and forested landscapes
• air
• ecosystem services
• fish and wildlife
• urban landscapes
• water

Why we analyze

Landscape Patterns Environmental Quality Analysis is used to understand the environmental big picture. We need to see how all components and processes in an ecosystem are affected by human land use.

How we analyze

Landscape Patterns Environmental Quality Analysis is a two-phase approach that measures the total impact of human land-use over time.

Phase 1

Research is compiled and assessed about how human land-use affects the environment in Alberta and the surrounding North American landscape.

Phase 2

Based on Phase 1 research, strategies are developed to manage human activity and minimize impact on the environment.

For more detailed information on how Landscape Patterns Environmental Quality Analysis works, please review:

• Citations spreadsheet (XLSX, 65 KB)
• PowerPoint presentation (PDF, 4.2 MB)
• Report and annotated bibliography

Regional partnerships

Here is a partial list of partnerships with links to examples of how we are using Landscape Patterns Environmental Quality Analysis:

• Environment Canada
• Great Northern Landscape Conservation Cooperative (GNLCC)
• Plains and Prairie Potholes Landscape Conservation Cooperative (PPPLCC)
• Oldman Watershed Council (OWC)
• Prairie Conservation Forum (PCF)