Friday, August 10, 2007
Exhibit Halls 1 and 2, San Jose McEnery Convention Center
Coal is used as fuel to generate electricity for Albertans, but coal mining alters composition, spatial configuration, and ultimately, landscape function. Function is qualified by the ability of the landscape to provide ecological goods and services such as healthy aquatic ecosystems and suitable wildlife habitat. Under the Alberta Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act (AEPEA) in Alberta, Canada, the objective of reclamation is to restore equal or better land capability, defined as the ability of the land to support land-use similar to pre-mining. The pre-mined landscape including the present-day mine-site and surrounding areas was, and still is, predominately used for agronomically-related purposes. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the potential for incorporating wetlands and wildlife habitat into a post-mined, mainly agricultural landscape. Potential landscape function in an active and partially reclaimed coal mine was measured using spatial patterns depicted by land use/cover at the landscape level (11 metrics) and the patch level (8 metrics) using FRAGSTATS (a spatial pattern analysis program for quantifying landscapes) and Geographical Information System (GIS). The objective was to 1) to quantify the spatial arrangement of wetland and forest land classes on a landscape surrounding a present-day coal mine and 2) to evaluate the effect of grain or cell size on the interpretation of landscape patterns. Results suggest that wetlands (~0.02%) and forests (~0.18%) cover a fraction of the present landscape and cell sizes larger than one meter (1m) would be inappropriate for a study of this scale. Similar methods will be used on the same pre-mined landscape to quantify landscape change and model potential land use in a post-mine environment.
