Area disturbed by Fire - Waterton Lakes - Grasslands

Fire plays an important role in maintaining health of forests and grasslands, and maintains biodiversity by creating a mosaic of varying age structure. The fescue grasslands of the Foothills Parkland Ecoregion were historically maintained by fire, both from natural causes and by First Nations. More than a century of fire suppression has contributed to loss of open grasslands due to shrub and aspen encroachment. The Area Burned Condition Class (ABCC) measure is designed to be evaluated and reported as a condition monitoring measure within the Parks Canada Agency National Ecological Integrity (EI) Monitoring program in all national parks with fire-dependent vegetation. This measure is based closely on the fire cycle concept and assesses the degree of departure (Area Burned Difference) from historic or reference area burned levels within a park.