Aspen Parkland - Human Use, Threats and Conservation

Human Use, Threats and Conservation

Before European colonization, there were large areas of western aspen and aspen parkland in the west of what would become Canada and the United States. This was maintained by light to moderate fires with a frequency of 3 to 15 years. Fire also swept the Rocky Mountains aspen as frequently as every ten years, creating large areas of parkland. Settlement increased fire frequency in the late 19th century until fire suppression became popular.

Most of the aspen parkland, like the prairie biome, has been extensively altered by agriculture over the last 100 years since settlement first began in the late 19th Century. While the climate is generally cooler than in the prairies, the climate is still mild and dry enough to support large-scale farming of crops such as canola (Brassica napsus), alfalfa (Medicago sativa) and wheat (Triticum aestivum), and livestock grazing. The soils in the aspen parkland biome are also quite fertile, especially around Edmonton and Saskatoon. Oil and natural gas exploration and drilling have also disturbed the natural habitat, especially in Alberta and northeastern British Columbia. As a result, less than 10% of the original habitat remains undisturbed.

The largest blocks of intact parkland can be found in Moose Mountain Provincial Park north of Carlyle, Saskatchewan and Bronson Forest in Saskatchewan, and Elk Island National Park and Canadian Forces Base Wainwright in Alberta. The rest of the parkland area does contain fragments of original habitat, some in protected areas such as Spruce Woods Provincial Park and Turtle Mountain Provincial Park in Manitoba, and Porcupine Provincial Forest in Saskatchewan.