GIS Analysis of Historical Changes in Urban Forest and Land-Cover in Scotlandville Louisiana, USA

Abstract

Green infrastructure planning is emerging as an alternative approach to preserve vulnerable flora and fauna, and provide mitigation for climate change effects in urban areas. Cities are losing vulnerable ecosystems due to the ever expanding urban sprawl as city planners favor development of paved surfaces at the expense of conserving natural ecosystems. This study demonstrates how Geographic Information System and remote sensing can be applied in development of urban forestry plans. We analyzed the land use history of Scotlandville using GIS and remote sensing technologies in an effort to determine changes in urban forest development and the drivers of land cover change. Field studies and the spatial analysis of historical aerial photographs, topographic maps, and satellite images were used to create feature layers that were analyzed for changes in land cover using GIS algorithms as tools for decision criteria. There was a major change in land cover and land-use in Scotlandville in seven decades. The Scotlandville land-cover changed from predominantly farm land (68%) in 1941 to urban development (69%) in 2012. Forest cover reduced from 25% to 19% of the land-cover with increased fragmentation.  Natural forests were cleared but land-use change from farmlands provided opportunities for development of street trees, riparian forests, urban forests, and open spaces for recreation.

Keywords: Conservation, Geographic information system, Land-cover, Land-use change, Urban forestry.