Land Cover Change in Northeast Temperate Network Parks 1973-2002
Wang YQ and Nugranad-Marzilli J. 2009. Land Cover Change in Northeast Temperate Network Parks 1973-2002. Natural Resource Technical Report. Natural Resource Technical Report NPS/NETN/NRTR—2009/238. National Park Service. Fort Collins, Colorado
The Northeast Temperate Network (NETN) has identified landscape dynamics as a high-priority vital sign. Knowledge of historical trends of land cover change can help resource managers establish a landscape context for parks, identify key resources and ecosystem stressors, and prioritize resource management efforts. The goal of this study was to provide baseline data regarding landscape change near selected NETN park units. We studied three time periods using Landsat remote sensing data to document general land cover types within and surrounding selected NETN parks, and we used selected buffer areas to quantify land cover change within and adjacent to the parks. The selected National Parks included Acadia National Park; Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park (NHP); Saint-Gaudens National Historic Site (NHS); Minute Man NHP; Morristown NHP; Saratoga NHP; Roosevelt-Vanderbilt NHS; and Weir Farm NHS. The selected sites along the A.T., included segments from Maine to Pennsylvania and totaled about 362 km (225 miles). We focused on areas within a 5-kilometer (3.1-mi) buffer of park boundaries and the A.T. central line. We started with Landsat data and extracted land cover information using supervised, unsupervised, and stratified classifications, as well as post-classification cross-checking with the NLCD, NWI and NPS vegetation mapping project data sets. We applied 500-meter, 1-kilometer, and 5-kilometer buffers to reveal the spatial pattern and magnitude of land cover changes for each site. We adopted the post-classification change detection methodology to derive change analysis results. This project provided approximately 30 years of background information on land cover change for the selected NETN parks. Urban Land expansion and forest dynamics represent the main land cover changes in the studied sites. The baseline data provide a foundation for monitoring future changes in land cover. The template protocols could be applied elsewhere for monitoring and understanding the landscape dynamics within and adjacent to protected lands that have different sizes, shapes, and protection/management goals.
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- Wang, Y.; Nugranad-Marzilli, J.
- Date of Issue
- 2009-11-22
- Publisher
- National Park Service
- Units
- ACAD , APPA , MABI , MIMA , MORR , NETN , ROVA , SAGA , SARA , WEFA
- Keywords
- Landcover