Few studies have examined the land use, fragmentation, and conversion impacts from siting unconventional oil and gas wells on farmland. This exploratory GIS study examined these issues in the Bakken shale region in North Dakota. A total of 3,577 well pads containing 6,201 wells located on farmland were digitized and examined in this study. The findings indicate that in addition to land used for agricultural purposes (such as cropland and rangeland), other land types such as native woodlands and wetlands have also been converted to well pads and associated infrastructure.

The single-well and multi-well pad footprints in this study were higher than the industrial estimates. The overall average well pad footprint is 6.45 acres while the average single-well pad and multi-well pad footprint is 5.26 acres and 8.60 acres, respectively. Eighty two percent of well pads had 1-2 wells sited on them. The findings show that the well pad footprint differed based on whether the well pad was located in a core or periphery county, on rangeland or cropland, and that single-well well pad footprint increased over time. Several issues that require further research are outlined.

很少有研究检查非常规油气井在农田上的选址对土地使用，破碎和转化的影响。这项探索性GIS研究研究了北达科他州Bakken页岩地区的这些问题。在这项研究中，对总计3,577个包含农田中6,201口井的井垫进行了数字化处理和检查。调查结果表明，除了用于农业目的的土地（例如耕地和牧场）以外，其他土地类型（例如原生林地和湿地）也已转换为井垫和相关的基础设施。

这项研究中的单孔和多孔焊盘足迹高于工业估计。总体平均井垫占地面积为6.45英亩，而平均单井垫和多井垫的足迹分别为5.26英亩和8.60英亩。82％的井垫上有1-2口井。研究结果表明，根据井垫是位于核心县还是周边县，牧场或农田，井垫足迹会有所不同，并且单井井垫足迹会随着时间增加。概述了需要进一步研究的几个问题。