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作者

来源

LANDSCAPE AND URBAN PLANNING,Vol.170,P.177-186

语言

英文

关键字

Land change; Coupled natural and human systems; Geographic classification; Exemplar Clustering Analysis (ECA); LAND-USE CHANGE; UNITED-STATES; ECOSYSTEM SERVICES; URBAN SPRAWL; US; IMPACTS; COVER; FRAGMENTATION; CONSERVATION; GROWTH

作者单位

[Van Berkel, Derek B.] North Carolina State Univ, Ctr Geospatial Analyt, 2800 Faucette Dr, Raleigh, NC 27695 USA. [Rayfield, Bronwyn] Univ Quebec Outaouais, Inst Sci Foret Temperee, Dept Sci Nat, 58 Rue Principale, Ripon, PQ J0V 1V0, Canada. [Martinuzzi, Sebastian; Radeloff, Volker C.] Univ Wisconsin, Dept Forest & Wildlife Ecol, SILVIS Lab, 1630 Linden Dr, Madison, WI 53706 USA. [Lechowicz, Martin J.] McGill Univ, Dept Biol, 1205 Docteur Penfield Ave, Montreal, PQ H3A 1B1, Canada. [White, Eric] US Forest Serv, USDA, Pacific Northwest Res Stn, 3625 93rd Ave SW, Olympia, WA 98512 USA. [Bell, Kathleen P.] Univ Maine, Sch Econ, 5782 Winslow Hall, Orono, ME 04469 USA. [Colocousis, Chris R.] James Madison Univ, Dept Sociol & Anthropol, Sheldon Hall,MSC 7501, Harrisonburg, VA 22807 USA. [Kovacs, Kent F.] Univ Arkansas, Dept Agr Econ & Agribusiness, Fayetteville, AR 72701 USA. [Morzillo, Anita T.] Univ Connecticut, Dept Nat Resources & Environm, 1376 Storrs Rd,Rm 227,Unit 4087, Storrs, CT 06269 USA. [Munroe, Darla K.] Ohio State Univ, Dept Geog, 1036 Derby Hall,154 North Oval Mall, Columbus, OH 43210 USA. [McGill, Brian J.] Univ Maine, Sch Biol & Ecol, Deering Hall Room 303, Orono, ME 04467 USA. [Parmentier, Benoit] Mitchel Ctr, Sustainabil Solut Initiat, 5710 Norman Smith Hall, Orono, ME 04469 USA. Van Berkel, DB (reprint author), North Carolina State Univ, Ctr Geospatial Analyt, 2800 Faucette Dr, Raleigh, NC 27695 USA. E-Mail: derekvanberkel@gmail.com

摘要

Sparsely settled forests (SSF) are poorly studied, coupled natural and human systems involving rural communities in forest ecosystems that are neither largely uninhabited wildland nor forests on the edges of urban areas. We developed and applied a multidisciplinary approach to define, map, and examine changes in the spatial extent and structure of both the landscapes and human populations of SSF in the United States. We estimated that the SSF in the contiguous United States, which are home to only 6-7% of the population, account for over 60% of all forested land and over 30% of all land. From 1990 to 2010 SSF declined in area by 16%, changing little overall but declining markedly in proximity to urban perimeters. A PCA ordination and cluster analysis of the human and landscape characteristics of SSF areas revealed complex and regionally variable patterns. Very broadly, SSF in the far northern and western states are less densely settled and more amenity driven, while the southeastern states north through Pennsylvania and Ohio are more densely settled and more agricultural. The socioeconomic characteristics of SSF are often quite variable at fine scales, especially in proximity to urban areas. Our improved multidisciplinary understanding of SSF raises important questions about regional differences in the dynamics, structure and future socioeconomic trajectories of these forests. To best manage these landscapes for the sake of both human and natural systems, SSF need to be considered a distinct land classification in their own right, not merely perceived as fuzzy boundaries around wild lands or urban areas.