Published Library Resources

This virtual library holds a wide range of urban forestry resources including: research abstracts and full text journal articles, trade magazine articles, CDs, other technology transfer resources, books (or chapters of books), patents, ordinances, theses and dissertations, and conference proceedings.

Urban form and pedestrian choices: Study of Austin neighborhoods

Supporters of the New Urbanism suggest that the right design will encourage walking, thereby encouraging interaction and a greater sense of community and discouraging automobile dependence. Existing research provides insufficient evidence to support this belief, however, largely because of ...

The effects of urbanization on the loss of farmland at the rural-urban fringe: A national and regional perspective

The paper investigates the relationship between urbanization and the loss of farmland for all counties that are included in Standard Metropolitan Statistical Areas in the United States _ Using regression analysis, it-is found that not only does urbanization have an effect on the conversion of ...

The effects of suburbanization on agriculture

This article conceptualizes the effects of suburban population density and land speculation on agricultural production choices, prices, and profits. A dual profit function model and a system of reduced-form price equations are used to estimate these effects for New Jersey. Results show that ...

The economic benefits of parks and open space: How land conservation helps communities grow smart

Too often we hear that communities cannot afford to "grow smart" by conserving open space. But accumulating evidence indicates that open space conservation is not an expense but an investment that produces important economic benefits. Some of this evidence comes from academic studies and economic ...

Taxes, fees, and urban development

Fiscal policy, when uncoordinated with urban planning, is an element that could bring about an inefficient urban structure. Illustrative of this position is the work of Gyourko and Voith [12], who find that urban sprawl in American cities may be attributable to the U.S. federal personal income tax ...

Methodologies for exploring the link between urban form and travel behavior

Communities are increasingly looking to urban design and the concept of the New Urbanism as an effective strategy for reducing automobile dependence in suburban areas. While the available empirical evidence suggests that automobile travel is lower in traditional-style neighborhoods, it provides ...

Local shopping as a strategy for reducing automobile travel

Suburban development in the U.S. is widely criticized for its contribution to automobile dependence and its consequences. Not surprisingly, then, a return to more urban-style development, where potential destinations are closer to home, is often put forth as a strategy for reducing automobile ...

Landscape change in the Midwest: An integrated research and devlopment program

Contemporary patterns of landownership and development are changing the landscape of, urban, suburban, and rural areas; fragmenting the forest resource base and raising concerns among a range of stakeholders. A new Landscape Change Integrated Research and Development Program of the USDA Forest ...

Urbanization and the loss of agricultural lands and wetlands

This study is concerned with the conversion of agricultural lands and wetlands. The interpretation of land use at sample points provides estimates of the types and quantities of land that are converted to urban uses as population growth occurs in urbanizing areas. By interpreting land use at sample ...

America's forests: 1999 health update

This report provides a summary of forest ecosystem health issues in America’s forests. There are seven general concerns that have not changed from previous years: Forest wildfire threat (fuel-live and dead vegetation-buildups), invasion of exotic (nonnative invasive) pests, wildland/urban ...

Understory biomass reduction methods and equipment

This project began at the request of the Washington Office Fire and Aviation Management staff. They asked the Missoula Technology and Development Center (MTDC) to identify or develop equipment and techniques to help managers reduce extremely hazardous fuelloading (biomass) conditions in ponderosa ...

Understanding the link between urban form and nonwork travel behavior

Planners are increasingly turning to land use policies as potential solutions to transportation problems in metropolitan areas, yet little evidence exists to support the belief that such policies can be effective in reducing automobile dependence. This paper presents a framework for researching the ...

Transportation and land use in the mature metropolis

This chapter deals with the urbanized areas that grew to large size under the influence of nineteenth and early twentieth century technologies of production, transportation, and communication. These areas-New York, Philadelphia, Boston, Chicago, Detroit, and St. Louis are examples-are viewed as ...

Riparian buffer systems for managing effluents

The concept of utilizing riparian buffer systems to manage agricultural effluents is being investigated in two separate studies at the Coastal Plain Experiment Station, Tifton, Georgia. In one study determination is being made of the effects of a restored forested riparian buffer system on ...

Review of phosphorous control measures in the United States and their effects on water quality

Historical information on phosphorus loadings to the environment and the effect on water quality are summarized in this report, which was produced as part of the U.S. Geological Survey's National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program. Phosphorus is a water-quality constituent of concern because ...

Retaining agricultural activities under urban pressures: A review of land use conflicts and policies

From a national perspective it is unclear whether the continued expansion of urban development seriously affects America's potential food production over the long run. Yet there are clearly regional biases toward conversion of farmland to urban uses and locally important changes in the appearance ...

The farmland conversion debate: NALS and beyond

The need to protect high quality agricultural land through public. policies and programs at various levels of government has been debated in the U.S. for at least three decades. This article reviews the evolution of the debate before 1979, the ill-fated attempt of the National Agricultural Lands ...

Residential site planning and perceived densities

From an urban planner's perspective, the two salient features of the American way of life since the end of World War II have been low-density living and high personal mobility. These two features are intrinsic to urban sprawl. Yet, they are increasingly being questioned in the wake of fundamental ...

Urban woodlands: Their role in reducing the effects of particulate pollution

In recent years a substantial research effort has focused on the links between particulate air pollution and poor health. As a result the PM1O value has been set as a measure of such pollutants which can directly cause illness. Due to their large leaf areas relative to the ground on which they ...

Population growth, density and the costs of providing public services

Recent policy interest in managing local population growth has drawn attention to the fiscal pressures that population growth imposes on local governments. This paper uses 1985 data for 247 large county areas to determine the separate impacts on local government spending of two dimensions of ...

Pluralism by default: Community power in a paper mill town

Forest-dependent communities are often isolated geographically and culturally but linked politically and economically to industrial core areas. Theories of underdevelopment and resource-dependence, and theories of community power are used to explain the implications of forest-dependence for the ...

Fencerows, edges, and implications of changing connectivity illustraed by two contiguous Ohio landscapes

We evaluated the amounts and implications of changes in habitat connectivity on rural landscapes by modeling the colonization success and subsequent habitat colonization of a model edge organism within real landscapes. We first inventoried the changes in the fencerow and forest-edge network of two ...

Evidence of the effects of water quality on residential land prices

We use hedonic techniques to show that water quality has a significant effect on property values along the Chesapeake Bay. We calculate the potential benefits from an illustrative (but limited) water quality improvement, and we calculate an upper bound to the benefits from a more widespread ...

Evaluating visible spatial diversity in the landscape

It is Dutch national policy to maintain the landscape's identity. Spaciousness or landscape enclosure is the characteristic of identity investigated in this study. This study develops and validates a GIS model for evaluating and monitoring the spaciousness of Dutch landscapes. Six areas are ...

Effects of habitat isoloation on the recovery of fish assemblages in experimentally defaunated stream pools in Arkansas

We removed fish from pools in two Arkansas streams to determine recolonization rates and the effects of isolation (i.e., riffle length, riffle depth, distance to large source pools, and location), pool area, and assemblage size on recovery. To determine pool-specific recovery rates, we repeatedly ...

Ecology of sympatric fox squirrels (Sciurus niger) and gray squirrels (S. carolinensis) at forest-farmland interfaces of Pennsylvania

We compared abundance, habitat use and diurnal activity patterns of sympatric populations of fox squirrels (Sciurus niger) and gray squirrels (S. carolinensis) in forest-farmland interfaces in a four-county area of Pennsylvania from August 1995 to October 1996. The mean number of fox squirrels ...

Does farmland protection pay? The cost of community services in three Massachusetts towns

One common claim made to Massachusetts towns is that residential development increases the local tax base, thereby lowering property taxes. Others are that resource conservation is too expensive at the local level, and that farmland does not make a significant contribution to the tax base, so it is ...

Designing with the land

There are many success stories of how principles of soil and water conservation have been applied to create better urban environments. But we need more people who care about land and water in the countryside to care about land and water in cities too. The fate of our cities and the fate of our ...

Defining forest fragmentation by corridor width: The influence of narrow forest-dividing corridors on forest-nesting birds in Southern New Jersey

In studies of forest fragmentation, a fundamental inconsistency exists in the distance criterion used to define the discreteness of forest fragments. We examined three types of ubiquitous narrow forest-dividing corridors for effects that influence the relative abundance and community composition of ...

Building small-lot homes in your community

As environmental restrictions, antigrowth sentiment, state and local growth management initiatives, and spiraling land costs make their impact felt all over the country, previously unacceptable detached densities are becoming a reality-whether mandated by statute, judicial opinion, or financial and ...

Building livable communities: Sustaining prosperity, improving quality of life, building a sense of community

The Livable Communities Initiative's aim is to provide communities with tools, information, and resources they can use to enhance their residents' quality of life, ensure their community's economic competitiveness, and build a stronger sense of community. Our goal is to help build livable ...

Beyond the urban fringe: Land use issues of nonmetropolitan America

The present volume grows out of a recent gathering of professional geographers and fellow researchers held during June 1980 in College Park, Maryland under the aegis of the Association of American Geographers with grants from the National Science Foundation, the Office of Water Research and ...

Are compact cities a desirable planning goal?

This paper considers some key issues that help to evaluate whether or not the promotion of compact cities is a worthwhile planning goal. These are: the pressures on prime agricultural land; residential density preferences; energy resource savings; the potential for expanding transit use and ...

Application of a geographic information system (GIS) for inventory and analysis of forest land resources in the urban-rural interface

A series of computer generated maps of the city of Fort Thomas, Kentucky were used to illustrate and analyze various criteria to assist in the preparation of a city-wide comprehensive land use plan. Forest cover, soils, slope and geology data are used to identify areas where forest cover is ...

Land use planning and national soils policies

Land is used for many purposes. It is also the focus of conflict between a wide range of land uses including agriculture, mining, forestry and nature protection, leisure, and urban and industrial development. Competition between users grows more under increasing population pressure and in countries ...

Land use pattern, forest migration and global warming

Range limits of many plant species are expected to shift dramatically if climatic warming, driven by the release of greenhouse gases, occurs in the next century. The ability of species to migrate in response to the range shifts has been questioned, especially in the context of extensive habitat ...

Land use in the lake states region: An analysis of past trends and projections of future changes

This paper presents the historic trends and future projections of forest, farm, and urban land uses for the Lake States of Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. Since the 1950s, forest and farm land have been decreasing, and urban and other land use: have been increasing throughout the Lake States. ...

Land use in Maine: Determinants of past trends and projections of future changes

The purpose of this report was to analyze past land use trends in Maine and, based on these results, develop projections of future land use. This paper discusses past trends in land use in Maine and reviews previous studies of the determinants of land use. Empirical evidence and land use theory are ...

Land resource economics and sustainable development

This book presents a pragmatic approach to the issues of land use and sustainable development. Breaking away from the narrow focus of most economics texts on resources, this unique book encompasses current political and ecological concerns, but at the same time provides readers with the essential ...

Integrating ecological concepts with natural resource management of southern forests

Natural resource management must integrate commercial development and use of forest resources with the maintenance of ecological values. The "New Perspectives" program of the U.S. Forest Service is responding to increased public environmental awareness and legislative mandates in placing a greater ...

Perceptions of the rural-urban fringe: Citizen preferences for natural and developed settings

The most dramatic changes in the American landscape today are occurring at the rural-urban fringe. There is a tremendous increase in development at the fringe, yet there has been little work to identify physical characteristics of the fringe that individuals prefer. The cost of this oversight is ...

Patterns and determinants of edge vegetation of a midwestern forest preserve

To discern the effects of edge age, orientation, and adjacent vegetation structure on forest-edge composition, I surveyed and compared woody species composition in the forest interior and in edges located along roads encircling and bisecting Hueston Woods Nature Preserve, an old-growth beech-maple ...

Georgia's threatened lands: The impact of sprawl

Georgia encompasses slightly more than 37 million acres of land. It is all the land that Georgia has; no more is being made. But demands for land are increasing greatly, as reflected by population and economic growth. Much of the land conversion from biological productivity to urban uses has and is ...

Geographic information systems and remote sensing techniques in environmental assessment

Digital map products and spatial inventories are becoming increasingly available from geological surveys, agricultural, natural resource, environmental, energy, transportation and forestry departments. As well there are now multitudes of specialized digital airborne and satellite image products ...

Florida's regional fire councils: Tools for fire management

Florida's natural communities evolved under the influence of frequent, low-intensity lightning fires. Many communities require such fires for continued existence. Fire managers must contend with the increasing pressure of a burgeoning population. The state's population increases by 900 people per ...

'Counterurbanization', interaction and functional change in a rural amenity area - a Canadian example

Recent explanations of population and economic change in rural communities in Canada, the United States, the British Isles and Australia are described and assessed. These are synthesized and evaluated in the south Georgian Bay area at the outer edge of Toronto's urban field: Custom census ...

Conversion of anthropogenic savanna to production forest through fire-protection of the forest-savanna edge in Gabon, Central Africa

Tropical moist forest is being destroyed at the rate of 11 million hecares per year: much of which degrades into fire-maintained savanna or low-productivity pasture. Greater economic and ecological benefits can be realized from much of this land if it can be converted into more productive secondary ...

Changes in wetlands due to urbanization: A regional perspective

Only about 30 percent of wetland loss in rapidly growing Southeastern counties is due to direct conversion for urban land uses. Wetlands converted to agriculture and forestry account for 65 to 70 percent of gross losses and these may well be intermediate uses in a process of eventual urbanization. ...

A scientific framework for managing urban natural areas

Due to the natural population growth and the influx of population from other areas of the county, South Florida is experiencing rapid growth. Meeting the challenge of conserving regional ecological integrity in urban and urbanizing landscapes will depend on the development of ecological reserve ...

The effects of population growth on timber management and inventories in Virginia

Expanding human populations may have important effects on the availability of timber from private lands in the South. To examine the effects of development on timber supply, we compared the density of populations and various site variables with expert opinions on the future location of commercial ...

The effects of geology and landuse on the export of phosphorus from watersheds

The export of total phosphorus from 34 watersheds in Southern Ontario was measured over a 20-month period. The annual average export for igneous watersheds (i.e. those of the Canadian Shield) that were forested was 4.8 mg m^-2 yr^-1, significantly different from the average (11.0 mg m^-2 yr^-1) for ...

Sustainable forestry: A guide for Virginia forest landowners

The purpose of this publication is to provide you with some basic information about forest management and specifics on how timber harvesting should be conducted to ensure the sustainability of your forest resources. This guide is designed to help you make informed, knowledgeable decisions about ...

Mammalian abundances on forest-farm edges versus forest interiors in Southern Illinois: Is there an edge effect?

Activity of furbearers, assessed by track stations, and abundance of small mammals, assessed by live-trapping, were compared for 10 sites of forest-farm edge and 11 sites of forest interior in southern Illinois. No statistically significant difference between edges and interiors was detected. ...

Using long-term monitoring to understand how adjacent land development affects natural areas: An example from Saguaro National Park, Arizona (USA)

Managers of protected natural areas across the country are increasingly concerned with the effects that adjacent land developments have on parks, preserves, forests, and wildlife sanctuaries. Despite this concern, relatively few efforts have been undertaken to evaluate how protected natural areas ...

Understanding wildlife habitats in urban areas

With so much of Canada consisting of "wild" habitat, little attention is being paid to the comparatively few species that still live in and around our cities and suburbs. And yet in our cities we often hear of surprising, sometimes disconcerting, interactions between humans and wild species. There ...

Woodscaping for small landowners in southern New England

Woodscaping---combining forest management and landscaping principles to create natural beauty, wildlife habitat, and recreational opportunities around one's own home---is proving more relevant than traditional forestry to many small woodland owners. In Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island, ...

Social forestry and GIS: The Urban Resources Initiative involves communities in planning and decisionmaking

For more than two decades, geographic information system (GIS) concepts and applications have heralded a new era for natural resource management. GIS allows forestry professionals to acquire, organize, evaluate, and present data in ways that were not previously available. It can examine different ...

Rural land use and demographic change in a rapidly urbanizing environment

Aerial photographs taken in 1953, 1974 and 1982 of the two rapidly developing seacoast counties of New Hampshire were interpreted into six classes of land use, and the interpretations were overlaid in a grid-based geographic information system to locate and quantify land use change in 50 townships ...

The relationship of land use practices to surface water quality in the Upper Oconee Watershed of Georgia

On a watershed scale, geospatial information can be used to identify water resources that are least buffered from contamination. Implementing conservation practices at these locations may accelerate the process of increasing a watershed's ability to support its designated uses. The Upper Oconee ...

The Florida statewide greenways system planning project: Recomendations for the physical design of a statewide greenways system

The primary objective of the University of Florida's work was the preparation of a recommended design or a physical plan for Florida's Statewide Greenways Svstem. The University of Florida's recommended Greenways Vision includes approximately 57% of the state. Nearly 63% of those lands are either ...

Public policy and land use in Georgia: A concise reference book

Decisions about how land will be used and developed are made or not made every day by Georgia's private citizens and state and local elected officials. Since land-use decisions affect the quality of life of all Georgia residents, understanding how land-use policy has evolved in Georgia is ...

Preventing disaster: Home ignitability in the wildland-urban interface

Wildland--urban interface (W-UI) fires are a significant concern for federal, state, and local land management and fire agencies. Research using modeling, experiments, and W-UI case studies indicates that home ignitability during wildland fires depends on the characteristics of the home and its ...

Planning in the USA: Policies, issues and processes

This book has two objectives. First, it is intended to give an outline of policies relating to land use, urban planning and environmental protection. Second, it aims to provide an introduction to the policy-making process in these fields. The central concern is with the way in. which policy issues ...

Edge city: Life on the new frontier

Welcome to Edge City. We Americans are going through the most radical change in a century in how we build our world, and most of us don't even know it. From coast to coast, every metropolis that is growing is doing so by sprouting strange new kinds of places: Edge Cities. Not since we took Paul ...

Development of a model for definingand predicting the urban-wildland interface for LeFlore County, Oklahoma

The purpose of this project is to develop a pragmatic model for defining the urban-wildland interface through an identification and evaluation of land-use/land cover, and economic, social and other factors, that potentially describe and impact these interface zones. The importance of this study is ...

Culture, conflict, and communication in the wildland-urban interface

Although the interface between urbanized areas and wildlands has existed since organized settlement began, a comprehensive program studying the phenomenon associated with these lands is a relatively new occurrence. This growing interest in the issues associated with the wildland-urban interface is, ...

Building partnerships for ecosystem management on mixed ownership landscapes: Regional perspectives

This report is based upon a series of national and regional workshops held to explore and evaluate voluntary, non-regulatory mechanisms for facilitating closer cross-boundary cooperation for ecosystem management. Participants at the national workshop proposed an array of incentive-based and ...

Land use transition in urban areas: Research and information needs

This collection of papers is the result of "Land Use Transition in Urbanizing Areas: Research and Information Needs," a workshop sponsored by the Economic Research Service and the Farm Foundation in June, 1988. The workshop had three objectives: 1) to bring together a diverse group of people ...

Land-use policy and the protection of Georgia's environment

In Georgia, a high rate of population, growth-one of the highest in the nation-and the associated economic development occurring in the state present policymakers with many choices. Decisions are being made (and not being made) every day that affect how the land will be used and whether it will be ...

Land use planning, environmental protection and growth management: The Florida experience

This book is an attempt to get underneath the surface issues of growth management problems in Florida, identifying the underlying causes of resistance to planning, and pointing the way to possible alternatives for reaching the desired goal of orderly growth. In doing this, case studies are utilized ...

Land use and forest resources in a changing environment: The urban/forest interface

The many dimensions of land use include the legal-political and administrative framework of both public and private land use decisions. Economic values (monetary as well as intangible) also play a large role. The social values and psychological perceptions behind individual choices likewise ...

Land ownership and taxation in American agriculture

The origins of this volume trace to a 1990 conference on the social collection of rent in the then Soviet Union, sponsored by the Robert Schalkenbach Foundation. In the course of discussions about what converting from a planned to a market economy entails, several of us became aware of real ...

Integrating social science with ecosystem management

Especially important to moving human dimensions and ecosystem management forward is demonstrating how the concepts and data from the different social sciences can be applied, interpreted and linked spatially with data representing the biological and physical dimensions of ecosystems. Achieving an ...

Outdoor recreation in American life: A national assessment of demand and supply trends

In this book, we overview national demand and supply trends, the current situation and likely futures of outdoor recreation and Wilderness, as these trends and futures are driven by ever more rapid social, technological and economic change. The main text of this book begins with an overview of the ...

Forested landscapes in perspective: Prospects and opportunities for sustainable management of America's nonfederal forests

At the request of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Forest Service, the National Research Council's Board on Agriculture convened a 14member Committee on Prospects and Opportunities for Sustainable Management of America's Nonfederal Forests to assess the status of the nation's nonfederal ...

Forest fragmentation: Implications for sustainable private forests

The long-term trend for private forests in the United States is that of more people owning smaller pieces of wooded land for amenity values. This trend shows no sign of slowing, and indications are that it may be speeding up. The fragmenting of forests into smaller pieces appears to be driven by ...

Community openspaces: Greening neighborhoods through community action and land conservation

This book is an initial attempt to document, evaluate, and disseminate information on a phenomenon-that of community participation in the provision of open-space amenities-that has become an important element in the neighborhood revitalization process. Continued interest and research on this topic ...

Colorado state-wide fire hazard analysis

The purpose of this project was to assemble in one convenient location the current major forest health and wildfire hazard assessments that have recently been completed for Colorado. It can be viewed as a "Status of Our Knowledge " A methodology for conducting hazard assessments has been provided, ...

A nice place to live: Creating communities, fighting sprawl

Almost no matter where Americans live, their communities are under enormous stress. Cities are struggling to survive with fewer middle-class residents, older suburbs suffer from traffic congestion and over development, and many rural communities are overwhelmed with the explosive growth of new ...

Human dimensions of ecosystem management: A case study of landowner decision making in Brush Creek watershed

Many environmental programs depend on voluntary participation of private landowners. This research focuses on landowner decision making in regards to the management of their property and to participation in the Brush Creek EARTH Project. This EARTH Project is one of several EARTH Projects in ...

Urban forest landscapes: Integrating multidisciplinary perspectives

In recent years there has been considerable interest in community tree planting projects. While the underlying motives for such endeavors are commendable, many individuals have expressed concern about the ultimate results. Has sufficient consideration been given to species selection, long-term ...

The 200,000-acre solution: Supporting and enhancing a rural economy for Loudoun's 21st century

Loudoun County's Comprehensive Plans long have encouraged the maintenance of a rural economy, concentrating on traditional agricultural pursuits, and consistently have stated as a goal the maintenance of Western Loudoun as a largely rural area. The extent to which the County's implementing ...

Managing growth in America's communities

Communities of all shapes and sizes across the nation are practicing growth management, adopting and implementing policies and regulations to guide the location, quality, and timing of development. Programs and techniques that have been evolving over decades are being employed in company with ...

Loudoun county environmental indicators project

The Loudoun County Environmental Indicators Project (LEIP) was initiated on October 1, 1998, when necessary funding requirements were realized. The first year's work was devoted to the identification of sites suitable for monitoring the 19 indicators originally proposed. This number was reduced by ...

When city and country collide: Managing growth in the metropolitain fringe

As the nation's population increases each year, the availability of sustainable places to live and work, with high environmental quality, will emerge as a national priority. This book describes and illustrates several ways to achieve more sustainable communities in the rural-urban fringe. The ...

Tree ordinance development guidebook: A preliminary guide to aid communities in the revision of existing or development of new tree ordinances

Trees provide communities with many environmental, social, and economic benefits. They filter pollutants, provide shade and homes for animals, create desirable living and working places, increase property value, attract shoppers and businesses, help control stormwater runoff and soil erosion, and ...

Saving the farm: A handbook for conserving agricultural land

Despite the increased interest in preserving farmland there is a lack of information on farmland preservation options available to local governments and private landowners. This handbook was prepared to provide that information. It is intended to be both a summary of the tools and techniques for ...

The Southern Appalachian Assessment: Social/ cultural / economic technical report

This report is an analysis of social, cultural, and economic forces that are a part of the ecosystems in the Appalachian Mountains in Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia, and Alabama. Population, employment, wages, housing, education, and ethnic makeup are described. The ...

The quality of our nation's water; 1996

The National Water Quality Inventory Report to Congress is the primary vehicle for informing Congress and the public about general water quality conditions in the United States. This document characterizes our water quality, identifies widespread water quality problems of national significance, and ...

The new frontier for land policy: Planning and growth management in the states

This monograph is an assessment, as of 1992, of state/regional growth management systems in seven selected states and two regions. It represents an interim status report on the state/regional growth management movement that began in the 1970s and has continued into the 1990s. These systems will be ...

The land trust as a conservation tool

In the United States, rapid development, urban sprawl, and the visible depletion of open space, farmland, and wilderness have led to a new citizen awareness and concern for the dwindling supply of the nation's land and natural resources. Concurrent with this concern is the evolution of ...

The forest bank: An experiment in managing fragmented forests

As the trend toward, smaller parcels of land continues, many of the values associated with forestland are at risk. The Forest Bank, an ecosystem-based approach to forest management on private lands in southwestern Virginia, points to a potential new direction in forest management. Sponsored by The ...

The exurbanization of America's forests: Research in rural social science

Exurbanization, or the migration of urban residents to rural environments, has increase greatly over the past two decades, often motivated by perceptions of an improved quality of life in rural locations. The effects of sudden population changes on forestry can be significant, affecting local ...

Urban surface water management

Urban Surface Water Management shows how state-of-the-art engineering tools and techniques have been and can be used to manage the quantity and quality of urban stormwater runoff. The book's focus is on planning and designing facilities and systems to prevent or to control flooding, erosion, ...

Urban stormwater hydrology

The primary purpose of this monograph is to present in a coherent fashion the state of the art in urban hydrology and stormwater management. A secondary objective is to communicate recent research findings as they apply to improved methods of analysis of urban runoff. This monograph attempts to ...

Reining in urban sprawl: What can be done to tackle this growing problem?

Urban sprawl's environmental consequences often have been overlooked by environmentalists amid concerns about other problems. Yet conditions in metropolitan areas in the United States may be the best indicator of the environmental quality of our lives. Many U.S. residents believe that those ...

Regional ecosystem analysis Chesapeake Bay region and the Baltimore-Washington corridor: Calculating the value of nature

American forests conducted a Regional Ecosystem Analysis of the Chesapeake Bay Region to determine how the landscape has changed over time. The analysis assessed the value of ecological features using data from satellite images spanning a 24-year period from 1973 to 1997. The analysis covered ...

Regional and metropolitan growth and decline in the United States

The present volume affords us the opportunity to take a more in depth view of the post-1970 redistribution changes as they affect population shifts across the nation's regions and metropolitan areas, as well as between the central cities and suburbs of the nation's largest metropolitan areas. In so ...

Reducing the impacts of stormwater runoff from new development

While most local governments in New York State require drainage plans as part of their site-plan review procedures and subdivision regulations, few have undertaken stormwater management planning to achieve multiple purposes and objectives such as flood control, erosion and sediment control, water ...

Principles of geographic information systems for land resources assessment

This book describes and explains the principles of geographical information systems that are important for most applications in environmental and natural resource inventory and analysis. It describes the major components of geographical information systems, including raster and vector data ...