Land fragmentation under rapid urbanization: A cross-site analysis of Southwestern cities

• DOI: 10.1007/s11252-011-0157-8
• Publication Date: 2011-02-16T21:39:18Z
• Authors: Abigail M. York; Milan Shrestha; Christopher G. Boone; Sainan Zhang; John A. Harrington; Thomas J. Prebyl; Amaris Swann; Michael Agar; Michael F. Antolin; Barbara Nolen; John B. Wright; Rhonda Skaggs
• Keywords: Fragmentation; Infill; Land Cover; Urban ecology

Explosive population growth and increasing demand for rural homes and lifestyles fueled exurbanization and urbanization in the western USA over the past decades. Using National Land Cover Data we analyzed land fragmentation trends from 1992 to 2001 in five southwestern cities associated with Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) sites. We observed two general fragmentation trends: expansion of the urbanized area leading to