The Extent of Anthropogenic Disturbance on Wetland Area in the Oil Sands Region of Alberta, Canada Between 2000 and 2018

Wetlands globally have and continue to undergo modification from anthropogenic and natural environmental factors. To bridge this gap, this study utilised a GIS-based approach to quantify the areal extent of human footprint disturbances to wetlands over time. This approach attributed wetland disturbance by wetlands class, disturbance type and sector during two notable disturbance transitions, from 2000 to 2010 and from 2010 to 2018, in the oil sands region (OSR) of northern Alberta, Canada. The wetland disturbance area was calculated using a physical disturbance dataset intersected with the Alberta Merged Wetland Inventory. Results indicate that 3284 km2 (2616 km2 between 2000 and 2010, 668 km2 between 2010 and 2018) of wetlands have undergone disturbance in the OSR. Examination of disturbance by the industrial sector between 2010 and 2018 indicates that the oil and gas and forestry sectors are the greatest sources of disturbance (402 km2 and 179 km2, respectively). Monetary assessment of wetland ecosystem services per year results in a minimum yearly loss of USD 30.05 million for peatlands and USD 197.86 million for marshes and swamps in USD (2007). This analysis is valuable for quantifying the impact of human footprint on wetlands, which is critical for ensuring sustainable development in wetland-rich areas.