Monitoring Land Change is the South

John CoulstonTeam Leader: Methods & Techniques Research

USDA Forest Service, Southern Research Station, Forest Inventory & Analysis

Resource and Social Issues

• Land change– Land use change

• Changing land management intents• Parcelization caused by change in land use and division of parcels

– Land cover change• Changing biological cover over the landscape• Fragmentation caused by complex land use and land cover patterns.

• Land change is also one driver behind– Invasive species establishment– Water quality and quantity– Likelihood of practicing forestry– Biomass availability

Information Assets

• To quantify, monitor, and model land use and cover change a suite of geospatial data and products are available.

• Research is also underway to improve base data and parameterize empirical models.

Base FIA Information

Modeled Products:In Production

Completed Research Looking for FundingSample based image change: land use and land cover

Total Change = 19.03%

Collaborative Research With The Center For Integrated Forest Science and Synthesis

Yadkin-Peedee Watershed

PercentForest Percent

Developed

DominantLand Use

ManagementType

Growing Stock Volume

2020 DominantLand Use2040 DominantLand Use2060 DominantLand Use

Closing Comments

• Given that land area is fixed, the division of the land into land uses and land covers impacts a broad range of ecosystem services.

• Examining ecosystem services increasingly requires spatially explicit information.

• We must begin to articulate the ‘forest’ story within the context of other land uses and land covers.

• Relevant policy recommendations will come from understanding forest, the context in which they exist, the relevant drivers of change, and the ecosystem services influenced.