Post on 09-Feb-2016
description
Quantifying the Ecological FootprintOf Suburban/Exurban Land Use Change
Richard G. Lathrop and John A. BognarGrant F. Walton Center for Remote Sensingand Spatial Analysis (CRSSA), Rutgers UniversityNew Brunswick, new Jersey
John E. HasseRowan University, Glassboro, New Jersey
Percent of Developed Land in Top Developed States
0.00
5.00
10.00
15.00
20.00
25.00
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35.00
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Year
Perc
ent D
evel
oped
CT
DE
FL
MD
MA
NJ
RI
CT 24.47 25.95 27.21 28.50
DE 13.41 14.86 16.26 18.12
FL 9.48 10.56 12.65 15.04
MD 14.68 15.97 17.03 19.89
MA 20.80 22.92 25.51 29.76
NJ 26.92 31.69 33.32 37.90
RI 25.30 26.76 29.31 30.30
1982 1987 1992 1997
NRCS NRI (2000)
New Jersey – the most densely developed state in the nation
Human land use is the major force driving landscape change, affecting our natural resources and environment.
Landscape Level Indicators of Environmental Change
An active area of research is the development of quantitative measures to evaluate the success or failure of land management and environmental protection policies at the scale of watersheds or landscape regions.
Natural resources of critical priority:• all vs. interior forest loss • all vs. prime farmland loss • natural wetland loss
Ecological Footprint of a Housing Unit:
What is the overall as well as the per capita impact of existing patterns of development on some of New Jersey’s most highly valued land
resources?Big Foot Sprawl or Little Foot Smart Growth?For more info on 1986-1995 change analysis see –
Hasse & Lathrop. 2003. Applied Geography 23:159-175
1986 1995
NJ Landscape Change Analysis Program1986-1995 Land Use Change
Data source: NJ DEP land use/land cover data based on visual interpretation of 1m scale CIR digital orthophotography
Land Use Change 1995-2000 Update
Image Source: 10m SPOT Pan USA Select 2000
Mapping technique:- Overlay 1995 NJDEP LU/LC data- On-screen digitize urban and transitional land use change polygons. MMU = 1 acre.
Land Use Change 1995-2000 Update
Comparison of 1m DOQ vs. 10 m SPOT PAN
1m B&W DVRPC DOQ
10m Pan
SPOT
Key:
Yellow 1995
Blue 2000
Stratified random selection of 62 photo plots
Comparison of Land Use between Reference Imagery & SPOT: Urban & Transitional
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50
100
150
200
250
300
350
400
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400SPOT (acres)
Ref
eren
ce Im
ager
y (a
cres
)
Tile1 to 1 line
Total change: SPOT = 1983ac DOQ = 1895ac Within 5%
Land Use Change Rate 1986-1995 1995-2000To Urban ha/yr(ac/yr) 6,750 (16,650) 5,900 (14,650)
To Barren ha/yr(ac/yr) 1,275 (3,150 ) 1,700 (4,150)
1986-1995 Change
43%
38%
11%
0%
8%
forest
agwet
waterbarren
1995-2000 Change
51%
28%
5%
0%
16%
forest
agwet
waterbarren
NJ Population Change
1986-1995 1995-2000
1986-1995 Urban Land Use Change
Urban Growth vs. population change
High per capita land consumption in exurban areas
From Hasse & Lathrop, 2003
1995-2000 Urban Land Use ChangeUrban Growth vs. population change
New Jersey: The Forest State?
Over 45% of New Jersey is in forest
Forest Loss to Development1986-1995 3,490 ha/yr1995-2000 3,880 ha/yr
1986-1995 Interior Forest Change% change vs. per capita change
Approximately 24% of the forest loss was classed as interior forest (>100m from edge)
1995-2000 Interior Forest Change% change vs. per capita change
Approximately 21% of the forest loss was classed as interior forest (>100m from edge)
New Jersey: The Garden State
Agriculture is still a major industry and preservation of remaining farmlands is a major state initiative
Farmland Loss to Development 1986-1995 3,020 ha/yr 1995-2000 2,100 ha/yr
1986-1995 Prime Farmland Loss % loss vs. per capita loss
60% of the farmland lost to urban development between 1986 and 1995 was considered prime farmland soils
1995-2000 Prime Farmland Loss % loss vs. per capita loss
58% of the farmland lost to urban development between 1995 and 2000 was considered prime farmland soils
Farmland Preservation:
Will it succeed in preserving large
contiguous areas of farmland to
maintain a viable agricultural landscape?
40,000 acres (16,200 ha) preserved during 1995-2000
New Jersey: The Wetland State?
Nearly 20% of New Jersey is wetlands
Wetlands Loss to Development1986-1995 860 ha/yr1995-2000 410 ha/yr
1986-1995 Natural Wetlands change% loss vs. per capita loss
1995-2000 Natural Wetlands change% loss vs. per capita loss
Conclusions• Rapid landscape change in NJ due to urban growth• SPOT Pan provided a cost and time effective means
of updating land use• Landscape indicators provide a useful measure to
assess and communicate ecological costs of change• Rate of forest loss increased, farmland & wetlands
loss decrease. % loss of interior forest and prime farm soils steady
• Existing land use planning techniques (i.e., large lot zoning) leading to higher rates of per capita land consumption in exurban municipalities.
• Big Foot is alive & well and living in New Jersey