Analysis of change in pinon-juniper woodlands based on aerial photography, 1930's-1980's

Alan R. Johnson; Bruce T. Milne; Peter Hraber

Treesearch

Analysis of change in pinon-juniper woodlands based on aerial photography, 1930's-1980's

Informally Refereed

Authors:

Alan R. Johnson, Bruce T. Milne, Peter Hraber

Year:

1999

Type:

Proceedings

Station:

Rocky Mountain Research Station

Source:

In: Finch, Deborah M.; Whitney, Jeffrey C.; Kelly, Jeffrey, F.; Loftin, Samuel R. Rio Grande ecosystems: linking land, water, and people: Toward a sustainable future for the Middle Rio Grande Basin. 1998 June 2-5; Albuquerque, NM. Proc. RMRS-P-7. Ogden, UT: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. p. 106-111.

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Abstract

We conducted an analysis of land cover change in selected piñon-juniper woodlands of New Mexico and Arizona, using aerial photographs from the 1930's through the 1980's. Both increases and decreases in woodland cover were observed. Fractal dimensions of woodland patches and cover-type changes were analyzed following the method of Krummel and others (1987). The analysis failed to identify the scale of anthropogenic disturbance, although land cover change is clearly due in part to human activity. The analytical method may be an insensitive indicator in these woodland systems because the fractal properties of both natural vegetative cover and human-induced changes are subject to topographic constraints.

Parent Publication

Rio Grande ecosystems: linking land, water, and people: Toward a sustainable future for the Middle Rio Grande Basin

Keywords

Rio Grande Basin, conservation, watershed, endangered species, sensitive species, restoration

Citation

Johnson, Alan R.; Milne, Bruce T.; Hraber, Peter. 1999. Analysis of change in pinon-juniper woodlands based on aerial photography, 1930's-1980's. In: Finch, Deborah M.; Whitney, Jeffrey C.; Kelly, Jeffrey, F.; Loftin, Samuel R. Rio Grande ecosystems: linking land, water, and people: Toward a sustainable future for the Middle Rio Grande Basin. 1998 June 2-5; Albuquerque, NM. Proc. RMRS-P-7. Ogden, UT: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. p. 106-111.