Human Footprint of the Northern Appalachian/Acadian Ecoregion

The Human Footprint (HF) of the Northern Appalachian/Acadian ecoregion measures the extent and relative intensity of human influence on terrestrial ecosystems at a resolution of 90 m using best available data sets on human settlement (population density, dwelling density, urban areas), access (roads, rail lines), landscape transformation (landuse/landcover, dams, mines, watersheds), and electrical power infrastructure (utility corridors). Each 90m grid cell is attributed with a Human Footprint score between 0 and 100, where 0 represents minimum human influence and 100 represents maximum human influence at that location. The Human Footprint scores (0-100) may be interpreted as the percent influence.