Human land use No Big Deal

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Human land use No Big Deal?
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Human land use Big Deal?
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• Topics
• examples of land use change
• trajectories of land use change
• rates of change
• effects on landscape patterns
• drivers of land use change

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Greater Yellowstone
Types of Land Use
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Greater Yellowstone
Types of Land Use
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Greater Yellowstone
Types of Land Use
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Types of Land Use
Rates of Exurban ExpansionGreater Yellowstone
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Types of Land Use
Rates of Exurban ExpansionGreater Yellowstone
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Types of Land Use
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Types of Land Use
Maasai East Africa
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Types of Land Use
Maasai East Africa
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Types of Land Use
Maasai East Africa Land Use Types
Nomadic Pasturalism
Small plot agriculture
Urban
Mechanized Agriculture
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Maasai East Africa Land Use Change
Types of Land Use
Wheat Fields
Nairobi
Suburban expansion
Kenya
Small-scale agricultural expansion and poaching
Serengeti-Mara wildebeest range
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Types of Land Use
Mayan Forest
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Mayan ForestLand Uses
Types of Land Use
Swidden Agriculture
Primary Forest
Permanent Small-Plot Agriculture
Industrial Agriculture
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Types of Land Use
Palenque
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Trajectories of Land Use Change
Foley et al. 2005
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Trajectories of Land Use Change
Mustard et al. Classification
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Trajectories of Land Use Change
Trajectories of Land Use Change in the U.S.
Urban
Suburban
Wildland
Exurban
Resource Extraction
Agriculture
Hansen et al. 2005
Exurban low density homes (ca. 6-25/km2) in a
wildland or rural matrix.
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Topology of Land Use Changes in US
Trajectories of Land Use Change

• URBAN and RURAL SPRAWL
• Urban and exurban development in cities and rural
  areas.
• AGRICULTURAL INTENSIFICATION
• Conversion of natural or agricultural lands to
  higher intensity agriculture.
• AGRICULTURAL ABANDONMENT
• Abandonment of agricultural lands leading to
  expansion of seminatural habitats.

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Mustard et al. 2005
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Human Density
Rates of Land Use Change
Brown et al. 2005
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Rates of Exurban Expansion US
Rates of Land Use Change
Brown et al. 2005
Area at exurban densities grew from 5 in 1950 to
25 in 2000.
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Agriculture
Rates of Land Use Change
Brown et al. 2005
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Rates of Land Use Change
Rates of Exurban Expansion Western US
West Coast Forests
Northwestern Forested Mountains
North American Deserts
Mediterranean Ca.
Temperate Sierras
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Rates of Land Use Change
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Rates of Land Use Change

• SERGoM housing density1970-2030

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Rates of Land Use Change
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Rates of Land Use Change
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Rates of Land Use Change
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Rates of Land Use Change
Global (Millenium Assessment) Over the past 50
years, humans have changed ecosystems more
rapidly and extensively than in any comparable
period of time in human history, largely to meet
rapidly growing demands for food, fresh water,
timber, fiber, and fuel. More land was
converted to cropland in the 30 years after 1950
than in the 150 years between 1700 and 1850.
Cultivated systems (now cover one quarter of
Earths terrestrial surface. Approximately
20 of the worlds coral reefs were lost and an
additional 20 degraded in the last several
decades of the twentieth century, and
approximately 35 of mangrove area was lost
during this time. The amount of water
impounded behind dams quadrupled since 1960, and
three to six times as much water is held
in reservoirs as in natural rivers. Water
withdrawals from rivers and lakes doubled since
1960 most water use (70 worldwide) is for
agriculture. Since 1960, flows of reactive
(biologically available) nitrogen in terrestrial
ecosystems have doubled, and flows of
phosphorus have tripled.
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Greater Chesapeake Bay Ecosystem
Effects on Landscape Patterns
Largest Estuary in US _at_ 7,000 km2 Average Depth
6m Watershed 168,000 km2 (64,000 mi2)
Officially an Impaired Watershed under the
Clean Water Act
Goetz in various
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Percent Forest
Effects on Landscape Patterns
Tree Cover for 2000
Goetz in various
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Impervious Surface
Effects on Landscape Patterns
Goetz in various
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Effects on Landscape Patterns
Goetz in various
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Effects on Landscape Patterns
Luck and Wu 2002
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Effects on Landscape Patterns
Luck and Wu 2002
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Habitat and Infrastructure Changes
Effects on Landscape Patterns
Wildland
Exurban
Population Density Buildings Roads Impermeable
surface Fences Septic runoff, Erosion Hobby
livestock and pet densities Exotic
species Outdoor recreation Habitat fragmentation
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Greater Yellowstone
Drivers of Land Use
Thomas Moran Hayden Expedition 1871
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Drivers of Land Use
Drivers of Land Use
Past

• Natural Resource Constraints
• Agricultural suitability
• Water
• Climate
• Timber
• Minerals
• Transportation
• Rivers
• Coast
• Railroads
• Highways
• Natural Amenities
• Scenery
• Wilderness
• Public lands
• Outdoor recreation

Present
Based on Huston 2005
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Drivers of Land Use
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Drivers of Land Use
Drivers of Land Use
Past

• Natural Resource Constraints
• Agricultural suitability
• Water
• Climate
• Timber
• Minerals

Dirt is destiny
Present
Based on Huston 2005
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Drivers of Land Use
Drivers of Land Use
Past

• Natural Resource Constraints
• Agricultural suitability
• Water
• Climate
• Timber
• minerals
• Transportation
• Rivers
• Coast
• Railroads
• Highways
• Natural Amenities
• Scenery
• Wilderness
• Public lands
• Outdoor recreation

Present
Based on Huston 2005
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Drivers of Land Use
Drivers of Land Use
Past

• Natural Amenities
• Scenery
• Wilderness
• Public lands
• Outdoor recreation

Desperately seeking nature
Present
Based on Huston 2005
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Drivers of Land Use
Drivers of Land Use GYE Conclusion
Current land use patterns reflect integration of
agricultural suitability, transportation, natural
amenities, and past development.
Gude et al. 2996
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Additional References Brown, D. G., K. M.
Johnson, T. R. Loveland, and D. M. Theobald.
2005. Rural land-use trends in the conterminous
United States, 19502000. Ecological Applications
1518511863. Foley, J., R. DeFries, G.P. Asner,
C.G. Barford, G.B. Bonan, S.R. Carpenter, F.S.I.
Chapin, M.T. Coe, G. Daily, H. Gibbs, J.H.
Helkowski, T. Holloway, E. Howard, C. Kucharik,
C. Monfreda, J. Patz, I.C. Prentice, N.
Ramankutty, and P.K. Snyder, 2005 Global
consequences of land use. Science, 309
570-574. Gude, P.H., A.J. Hansen, R. Rasker, B.
Maxwell. 2006. Rate and drivers of rural
residential development in the Greater
Yellowstone.  Landscape and Urban Planning
77131-151. Hansen, A.J., R. Knight, J.
Marzluff, S. Powell, K. Brown, P. Hernandez, and
K. Jones. 2005. Effects of exurban development on
biodiversity Patterns, Mechanisms, Research
Needs. Ecological Applications 15(6)
1893-1905. Huston, M. A. 2005. The three phases
of land-use change implications for
biodiversity. Ecological Applications 15
18641878. Millennium Ecosystem Assessment,
2005. Ecosystems and Human Well-being Synthesis.
Island Press, Washington, DC.