1 Summary

The Alberta Biodiversity Monitoring Institute (ABMI), in partnership with Alberta Environment and Parks (AEP), has developed a stream connectivity indicator to help inform the environmental planning of Alberta’s watersheds. The goal of this indicator is to provide the following functions:

  • Quantify the degree of connectivity within our stream systems.
  • Identify and monitor changes in anthropogenic barriers (i.e., culverts, dams, bridges) as they relate to biodiversity either directly or indirectly.
  • Incorporate variation in the location and probability of movement through different types of barriers.
  • Can be implemented at multiple spatial scales.
  • Cost effective in monitoring and reporting.

This document will outline the methodology behind the indicator, illustrate how results can be interpreted, highlight a breadth of applications, and provide the underlying code. The aggregated geospatial layers are available through Alberta GeoDiscover (https://geodiscover.alberta.ca/geoportal/rest/metadata/item/7025fe90840a4680b4011b7100c21644/html) and technical documentation can be found at (https://open.alberta.ca/publications/stream-connectivity-indicator-for-alberta).

1.1 Acknowledgement

We would like to acknowledge that this work would not be possible without the dedication of staff from both the Government of Alberta and ABMI.

1.2 Suggested citation

Alberta Biodiversity Monitoring Institute. 2022. Development of the Stream Connectivity Indicator for Alberta. Alberta Biodiversity Monitoring Institute, Alberta, Canada. (https://abbiodiversity.github.io/StreamConnectivity/)

1.3 Contact

All questions related to this document, acquiring raw data, or the available scripts, please contact Brandon Allen ().