

@mastersthesis {6489,
	title = {Changing farms, changing forests: {A} model of land cover change in northwestern {Wisconsin} from 1972 to 2002},
	year = {2007},
	note = {3294126},
	school = {The University of Wisconsin - Madison},
	type = {phdPh.{D}.},
	address = {Ann Arbor},
	abstract = {With a dynamic land use history and the availability of long-term social and physical data, northwestern Wisconsin presents a unique opportunity to conduct research on the changing pattern of land use and land cover. In this region, land cover patterns are affected by shifts in agricultural economies and the growth of the recreation industry. Field interviews of land managers and farmers focused on identifying relevant social, economic and spatial factors that may lead to land use changes. These factors included increasing land taxes, the age of the land owner, the distance from nearest water body or distance from urban center. Using a layer stack method, four Landsat scenes were analyzed to assess land cover change at approximately 10 year intervals, from 1972 to 2001. Land change trajectories were then incorporated into classification tree models linking the location and pattern of land cover change to a set of socioeconomic and spatial factors representing the driving causes of change. Through the use of classification trees, this study has shown that the highest rates of change occurred in and around population centers from 1983-1991, but in more rural areas from 1991-2002. Additionally, areas with a higher median age and more managed lands led to persistent or increased forest cover over time. The factors leading to changes in landscape pattern, measured through landscape ecology metrics, included the percent of managed lands for the early period and the total housing density and distance to nearest city for the later period. More specifically, there appears to be less fragmentation of forested areas on managed lands suggesting that managed forest are less prone to fragmentation. Taken together the models of land cover and land pattern change reveal that areas of high intensity use with little managed lands appear to be the most affected by forest loss and corresponding forest fragmentation. By modeling land cover changes in relation to a set of socioeconomic and spatial indicators, this research provides a better understanding of the impact of local land use changes on forest cover and forest fragmentation over time.},
	keywords = {0478:Forestry, 0768:Environmental science, Biological sciences, Environmental science, Forest fragmentation, Forestry, Forests, Health and environmental sciences, Land cover change, Wisconsin},
	url = {http://search.proquest.com/docview/304782466?accountid=14270},
	author = {Rose, Robert A.}
}
