Abstract
Landscape Change in the Bay Area
Track: Ecology and Conservation
Author(s): Jacquelyn Bjorkman, James Thorne
By the year 2030, it is estimated that 60% of the world population will be living in urban areas, with over 8 million people expected to live in the San Francisco Bay area alone. What impact will this growth have on our landscape?
The Wieslander VTM Project provides a detailed view of the historic landscape of the Bay area from the 1930s. Using historic vegetation maps in conjunction with current urban footprints of the Bay area, we can assess which landscape types have been lost to urban use. Furthermore, using a projected future urban footprint from the land-use model UPlan in conjunction with current vegetation maps, we can also assess which landscape types will be impacted by future development.
Through awareness of how urban areas affect our natural landscape, we can begin to mitigate the negative effects of development and restore the landscape to its pre-altered state.
Jacquelyn Bjorkman
Information Center for the Environment
2120 Wickson Hall
1 Shields Ave
Davis , California 95616
United States
Phone: 530-756-7809
E-mail: jhonig@ucdavis.edu
James Thorne
Information Center for the Environment, UC Davis
One Shields Ave
Davis , California 95616
United States
Phone: 530-754-5933
E-mail: jhthorne@ucdavis.edu