Wetland

The Wetland dataset includes measurements from wetland sites in the Oil Sands Region and the Peace-Athabasca Delta under the Oil Sands Monitoring Program from 2017 onwards. The purpose of the program is to assess impacts of oil sands development on wetland ecosystems in the region. Wetland sites are selected to encompass a range of dominant wetland classes in the region including bogs, fens, shallow open water wetlands and swamps along key oil sands development pressure gradients predicted to impact wetlands including various land disturbance activities, direct hydrologic alterations (e.g. groundwater and surface water withdrawals) and contaminants inputs. Wetland sites are monitored to assess ecological condition using a suite of wetland indictors that are sensitive to key sources of oil sands disturbances including hydrological responses (i.e. water table depth and soil moisture, responsive to land disturbances and direct hydrological alterations), water and sediment chemistry (responsive to contaminants), benthic invertebrate communities (shallow open wetlands only, responsive to contaminants), vegetation, amphibian and bird communities and wildlife.