Changes in land use, forest fragmentation, and policy responses.

Abstract

Land-use conversion is a primary determinant of environmental change in terrestrial ecosystems. Projections are for more than 50 million acres of U.S. forest to be converted to developed uses (e.g., parking lots) over the next 50 years (Alig et al. 2004, Alig and Plantinga 2004), as the population grows by more than 120 million people. Land use change can lead to forest fragmentation-the transfornation of a contiguous patch of forest into disjunct patches. Forest fragmentation is considered to be a primary threat to terrestrial biodiversity.

Citation

Alig, Ralph J.; Lewis, David J.; Swenson, Jennifer J. 2005. Changes in land use, forest fragmentation, and policy responses. Proceedings of the Conference on Emerging Issues Along Urban/Rural Interfaces: Linking Science and Society, March 13-16, 6 p