Residential expansion as a continental threat to U.S. coastal ecosystems

Abstract

Spatially extensive analysis of satellite, climate, and census data reveals humanenvironment interactions of regional or continental concern in the United States. A grid-based principal components analysis of Bureau of Census variables revealed two independent demographic phenomena, (z-settlement reflecting traditional human settlement patterns and ~-settlement describing relative population growth correlated with recent construction in non-agricultural areas, notably in coastal, desert, and "recreational" counties and around expanding metropolitan areas. Regression tree analysis showed that 13-settlement was differentially associated with five distinct combinations of seasonality, summer heat or cool, intensity of agriculture, and extent of "barren" land. Beta-settlement was greatest in coastal and desert areas, and coincided with national concentrations of threatened and endangered species.

Disturbance and coastal forests: A strategic approach to forest management in hurricane impact zones

“…The rising costs of natural disasters is a result of increased vulnerability of coastal ecosystems, especially due to decisions made during a period of relatively low event risk that increased populations and infrastructure in coastal areas Landsea, 1998, 1999;Bartlett et al, 2000;Burbridge et al, 2005;Emanuel, 2005). Societal responses will be the key factor in the future (Michener et al, 1997;Pielke and Landsea, 1999) but the historical record is not encouraging (Moser, 2005); simultaneous disasters will tax government resources, especially as private insurance coverage declines, either by declining to insure or because higher premiums exceed the willingness of consumers to pay (Mills et al, 2005).…”

Household strategies in the face of resource scarcity in coastal Ghana: are they associated with development priorities?

“…Subsequent progress has been made, although much remains to be done. A good deal of this area's existing research focuses on the linkages between population dynamics and environmental change (e.g., Hunter, White, Little, & Sutton, 2003;Wust, Bolay, & Du, 2002;Nanu-Fabu, 2001;Bartlett, Mageean, & O'Connor, 2000;Cramer, 1998;Entwisle, Walsh, Rindfuss, & Chamratrithirong, 1998) or environmental context (e.g., Ness & Low, 2000;Hunter, 1998). Important contributions have also been made in understanding environmental degradation's human health consequences (e.g., Mishra, 2003).…”

Mapping and analyzing change of impervious surface for two decades using multi-temporal Landsat imagery in Missouri

“…Human population growth and associated sprawl has rapidly converted open lands to developed uses that consequently affected their distinctive ecological characteristics (Johnson and Beale, 2002;Schnaiberg et al, 2002;Bartlett et al, 2000;Heimlich and Anderson, 2001). In Missouri, this low-density development converted >71,000 ha of fields, farmland, forests, and green space to urban use during the 1980s and 1990s.…”