Growing Populations, Changing Landscapes Studies from India, China, and the United States (2001) / Chapter Skim
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3. Land Use Change in Space and Time
3. Land Use Change in Space and Time
Pages 43-60
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From page 43... ...
The Tri-Academy Project examined and compared the timelines, patterns, and associated attributes of land use change in six study regions Kerala, India; Haryana, India; litai Basin, China; Pearl River Delta, China; South Florida, USA; and Chicago, USA. In doing so, project researchers achieved a closer look at the intertwined fates of the forestland, grassland, wetland, agricultural land, and built-up land in those regions.
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From page 44... ...
LAND USE CLASSIFICATION SCHEME Each country in the Tri-Academy Project has its own land use classification scheme for data collection and planning purposes. Land use has been measured in the study regions by means of a variety of methods, including surveys, statistical reporting, air photogrammetry, and satellite data analysis.
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From page 45... ...
The study regions vary considerably in land area and population (Figure 3_1~.2 Areas range from 0.965 million hectares for Chicago to 4.421 million hectares for Haryana. In 1950, South Florida had the smallest population (0.76 million)
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From page 47... ...
1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 changes with population trajectories (see Table 3-3 for the population densities of the six study regions from 1950 to 1990~. Over the period 1950-1990, one study region in each country had relatively low population density (Haryana, Jitai Basin, South Florida)
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From page 48... ...
1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 CHICAGO, USA 100 ~, 80Q 60u' 40Hi 20O d (1900) 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 ~ Less intensively managed FIGURE 3-2 Land use in the six study regions, various time periods.
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From page 49... ...
Contrary to common perceptions, the recent official data indicated that forested areas in the six study regions have changed minimally or have increased in most areas, even while population density has increased in all areas (Figure 3-3~. More specifically, for the period 1970 to the present, the study's common data set shows that forestland has not declined dramatically and is even increasing in the two study regions of China.
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From page 50... ...
1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 CHICAGO, USA r10 ~ 1 o ~ r A 0 L ~ t6 Q ~4 R2 I Q 1 0 R0 10 it 1 In -me t 8 o t 6 ~ L ~ i2 X ~ o O ~ ~ 1 80 1 1 60 ~ J ~ 403 ~ 1 ,0 20 1 OA A '' l (1900) 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 FIGURE 3-3 Forestland and population density of the six study regions, various time periods.
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From page 51... ...
1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 100 c 80 au rL 60 au ~ 40 of 20 (1900) 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 FIGURE 3-4 Grassland/wetland in the six study regions, various time periods.
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From page 52... ...
The Pearl River Delta has long been exploited for agriculture and settlement because of its level terrain, high land quality, and convenience for transportation (see Chapter 9~. Thus in this region deforestation of the original subtropical and tropical vegetation has been greater than in other parts of Guangdong Province.
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From page 53... ...
During the period 1975-1995, when comparable data are available for all six regions, agricultural land in the study regions remained remarkably constant, despite increases in population density in all regions (Figure 3-5~. Even in Haryana, India, which is still in the process of adopting the set of agricultural management techniques known as the Green Revolution, agricultural land cover appears to have reached the limit of expansion and was even beginning to decline slightly in the most recent decade (1980-1990)
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From page 54... ...
2 . - O rL~ FIGURE 3-5 Agricultural land use and population density of the six study regions, various time periods.
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From page 55... ...
Since the early 1980s, agricultural land overall has remained static because of the increasing cultivation, on the more marginal upland sites, of horticultural crops for consumption in the cities of Shenzhen and Guangzhou. Agricultural land use in the litai Basin has been steady at about 16 percent of total land area since 1965.
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From page 56... ...
By contrast, the U.S. study regions, Chicago and South Florida, have continuously and primarily produced market crops, but the kinds of crops grown have changed significantly.
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From page 57... ...
~ 2 ~7 {i o {L FIGURE 3-6 Built-up areas and population density of the six study regions, various time periods. NOTE: For Kerala, population density is at the state level; land use change is for the Alappuzha (Alleppey)
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From page 58... ...
Government policies play an important role in protecting and enhancing these less intensively managed land uses. Agricultural land areas in most of the study regions have not changed substantially in the last 30 years, although cropping patterns have altered dramatically, moving away from subsistence crops to more marketable crops.
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From page 59... ...
Agricultural lands were converted to urban land uses, and more distant lands with native cover were developed agriculturally. All study regions witnessed a decline in land with low-intensity uses, particularly grassland and wetland.
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From page 60... ...
60 GROWING POPULATIONS, CHANGING LANDSCAPES REFERENCES Arizpe, L., M
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