Landscape structure and change in a hardwood forest-tall-grass prairie ecotone

Temporal changes in land use, vegetation cover types, and landscape structure were examined in a hardwood forest-tallgrass prairie ecotone in northern Oklahoma using a Geographic Information System. Our objective was to examine relationships between human activity, changes in land use and vegetation...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of range management 1997-05, Vol.50 (3), p.244-249
Main Authors: Boren, J.C. (New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM.), Engle, D.M, Gregory, M.S, Masters, R.E, Bidwell, T.G, Mast, V.A
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
BIODIVERSIDAD
BIODIVERSITE
BOSQUES
COMPOSICION BOTANICA
COMPOSITION BOTANIQUE
Deciduous forests
DENSIDAD DE LA POBLACION
DENSITE DE POPULATION
ECOLOGIA
ECOLOGIE
Forest ecosystems
FORET
HERBAGE
Land use
Landscapes
OKLAHOMA
PAISAJE
Pastures
PAYSAGE
Plant-Animal
PLANTAS DE COBERTURA
PLANTAS DECIDUAS
PLANTE A FEUILLES CADUQUES
PLANTE DE COUVERTURE
PRADERAS
PRADERAS DE AMERICA DEL NORTE
PRAIRIE
Rural density
Rural populations
SISTEMAS DE INFORMACION GEOGRAFICA
SYSTEME D'INFORMATION GEOGRAPHIQUE
UTILISATION DES TERRES
UTILIZACION DE LA TIERRA
Vegetation cover
Vegetation structure
Woodland grasslands
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Summary:Temporal changes in land use, vegetation cover types, and landscape structure were examined in a hardwood forest-tallgrass prairie ecotone in northern Oklahoma using a Geographic Information System. Our objective was to examine relationships between human activity, changes in land use and vegetation cover type, and landscape structure in rural landscapes between 1966 and 1990. Cover types in most of the high density rural population landscape in this study require more intensive inputs and management, which resulted in a landscape with lower diversity, higher homogeneity, and greater patch fragmentation compared to the low density rural population landscape. Both native grasslands and forests were less fragmented in the low density rural population landscape whereas forests were increasingly fragmented in the high density rural population landscape. Native grasslands were less fragmented than forests for all years in both the low density rural population and high density rural population landscapes. Our study suggests conservationists should focus their concerns on fragmentation and losses in biological diversity that accompany increased human activity in densely populated rural landscapes that surround urban centers. Extensively managed landscapes dominated by native vegetation that are under less pressure from expanding human influence are in less peril
ISSN:0022-409X
2162-2728
DOI:10.2307/4003723