Building density and landscape pattern over time in northern Wisconsin, USA

Contact: Charlotte E. Gonzalez-Abraham

Collaborators: Volker C. Radeloff, Todd J. Hawbaker, Roger B. Hammer, Murray K. Clayton, and Susan I. Stewart

Buildings have strong effects over the landscape; there is destruction of natural vegetation, soil disturbance and erosion, introduction of exotic species due to gardening and landscaping, and the restriction of wildlife movements by roads and fences. Other examples are changes in ecological interactions such as predator-prey and competition, and possible avoidance behavior in species not adapted to human presence. The effects of the buildings in the landscape are a function of the spatial (density and pattern) and the temporal component (change of density and pattern over time). Understanding the effects of buildings on landscape fragmentation and its historical changes may give information to explain current landscape patterns and provide insight in future trends. This study addresses three questions: a) Does land cover and land ownership explain building density and landscape fragmentation; b) how does the spatial pattern of buildings affect landscape fragmentation; and c) how do buildings and landscape fragmentation change through time? Building density is positively correlated to the abundance of lakes, agriculture and grasslands, and since 1938 to 1998 there is a trend of building clustering along the lakeshores. Due to this intense clustering the landscape fragmentation is mostly affecting riparian areas. In contrast, formerly agricultural areas maintained more dispersed settlement patterns. The legacies of past development have strong influence on present landscape patterns and ecological effects of a disturbance event may not immediately be recognizable, and time lags may exist. Northern Wisconsin legacies of land use have set a trend for development that needs to be recognized in order to protect sensitive areas that are in the risk of being developed.

Acknowledgements:
This research was funded by the North Central Research Station of the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service.

Publications:
Hawbaker, T. J., V. C. Radeloff, R. B. Hammer, and M. K. Clayton. 2005. Road density and landscape pattern in relation to housing density, land ownership, land cover, and soils. Landscape Ecology, in press.

Hawbaker, T. J. and V. C. Radeloff. 2004. Road and landscape pattern in northern Wisconsin based on a comparison of four road data sources. Conservation Biology 18, no. 5:1233-1244. PDF (contains color, 0.6 Mb)