Land Cover Classification For Alberta Energy Regulation Pilot Area

2005 land-use and land-cover classifications derived from Landsat multispectral imagery for a specific pilot area in Alberta. The dataset contains 13 distinct classes including water bodies, various forest types, developed areas, and agriculture. It was created by the Alberta Energy Regulator as part of a 2014 Play-Based Regulation pilot project to assess surface change from energy exploration.

Use Cases

• Establish baseline land cover using 13 classification categories for impact assessment prior to new energy development.
• Monitor changes in specific classes like 'exposed land/cut blocks' or 'mixed developed areas' over time to evaluate surface disturbance.
• Analyze the spatial distribution of 'coniferous forest', 'broadleaf forest', and 'mixed forest' classes for habitat and forestry management planning.

Strengths

• Contains 13 detailed land cover classes enabling specific environmental analysis.
• Covers a defined geographic area spanning multiple townships and several Alberta towns.
• Serves as a defined baseline for a specific regulatory pilot project.

Limitations

• Data is from a single year (2005), providing no time-series for change detection without complementary datasets.
• Spatial coverage is limited to the specific Play-Based Regulation pilot area, not provincial.
• The classification scheme includes a broad 'unclassified' category which may represent missing information.

Provenance

Source

Alberta Energy Regulator (AER), Government of Alberta.

Collection Method

Derived from 2005 Landsat multispectral imagery through a classification process.

Time Range

2005

Freshness

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Geography

Alberta, Canada, from Twp. 52, Rge. 7, W 5th Mer. to Twp. 70, Rge. 5, W 6th Mer., covering towns including Edson, Fox Creek, Whitecourt.