One of the most influential factors in human-induced global change over the last two hundred years has been the transformation of land and resource use associated with urbanization and sprawling development (Pataki et al. 2006). Land cover change is expected to increase significantly in the coming decades as populations continue to expand. As part of this project, Dr. Alberti (University of Washington) and Jeff Hepinstall (University of Georgia) have developed a coupled human-natural land-cover change model to assess the impact of alternative development patterns in the Central Puget Sound Region that can support land use and infrastructure investment decisions. The model has successfully been applied to assess the impact of land cover change on bird diversity (Hepinstall et al 2008). As part of this project, the model is currently being extended to 2050 and further partitioned to fully represent the complex and heterogeneous land use/land cover patterns and behaviors emerging along the urbanization gradient.
Projects