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Trends and processes of land cover change in the western High Plains ecoregion

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dc.contributor.authorDrummond, Mark A., author
dc.contributor.authorLaituri, Melinda J., advisor
dc.date.accessioned2024-03-13T19:26:13Z
dc.date.available2024-03-13T19:26:13Z
dc.date.issued2007
dc.description.abstractThe goal of this study was to better understand the agricultural land use processes and land cover changes affecting the semi-arid Western High Plains ecoregion in the United States Great Plains. Globally, the processes of agricultural expansion and loss have had widespread effects on land cover and ecosystems that are an ongoing concern of land change research. To improve the understanding of regional land change, three main topics were addressed: (1) the contemporary patterns and key processes of agricultural change in the conterminous United States; (2) the rates, causes, and processes of land cover change in the Western High Plains ecoregion between 1973 and 2000; and (3) the primary driving forces of contemporary land cover change in the Western High Plains, including the dynamics of water resource access. Land cover change estimates for the ecoregion were derived using a stratified random sample of 10 x 10 km blocks and remote sensing change detection. Land use was examined using the Census of Agriculture. Results of the study indicate that patterns of land change vary by region and time period depending on socioeconomic driving forces and environmental context. In the Western High Plains ecoregion, net grassland loss occurred from 1973 to 1986 as agricultural land expanded in response to market opportunities. Agricultural expansion affected 1.9% of the ecoregion. Processes of land change became substantially different after 1986. Between 1986 and 1992, grassland expanded and became the dominant land cover, driven in large part by the cropland retirement policies of the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP). Agricultural declines affected 7.3% of the ecoregion, primarily as cropland was converted to grassland cover. Between 1992 and 2000, net grassland expansion was less than 1%, although there was a high rate of gross change in the location of grassland and agriculture that had only a limited effect on net change. The primary driving forces of land cover change were enabled by water resource access, which had a substantial influence on grassland extent and pattern.
dc.format.mediumborn digital
dc.format.mediumdoctoral dissertations
dc.identifierETDF_Drummond_2007_3266388.pdf
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10217/237695
dc.languageEnglish
dc.language.isoeng
dc.publisherColorado State University. Libraries
dc.relation.ispartof2000-2019
dc.rightsCopyright and other restrictions may apply. User is responsible for compliance with all applicable laws. For information about copyright law, please see https://libguides.colostate.edu/copyright.
dc.rights.licensePer the terms of a contractual agreement, all use of this item is limited to the non-commercial use of Colorado State University and its authorized users.
dc.subjectGreat Plains
dc.subjectland cover change
dc.subjectsemiarid
dc.subjectecology
dc.subjectgeography
dc.subjectphysical geography
dc.titleTrends and processes of land cover change in the western High Plains ecoregion
dc.typeText
dcterms.rights.dplaThis Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights (https://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/). You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s).
thesis.degree.disciplineGeosciences
thesis.degree.grantorColorado State University
thesis.degree.levelDoctoral
thesis.degree.nameDoctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)

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