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LAND USE CHANGE DUE TO URBANIZATION FOR THE MID-ATLANTIC INTEGRATED ASSESSMENT REGION OF THE EASTERN UNITED STATES
Citation:
Rapport, D. J., W. L. Lasley, D. E. Rolston, N. O. Nielsen, C. O. Qualset, AND A. B. Damania. LAND USE CHANGE DUE TO URBANIZATION FOR THE MID-ATLANTIC INTEGRATED ASSESSMENT REGION OF THE EASTERN UNITED STATES. Chapter 76, Managing for Healthy Ecosystems. Lewis Publishers, Boca Raton, FL, (2003).
Impact/Purpose:
Provide regional-scale, spatially explicit information on the extent and distribution of both stressors and sensitive resources.
Develop and evaluate techniques to integrate information on exposure and effects so that relative risk can be assessed and management actions can be prioritized.
Predict consequences of potential environmental changes under alternative future scenarios.
Effectively communicate economic and quality of life trade-offs associated with alternative environmental policies.
Develop techniques to prioritize areas for ecological restoration.
Identify information gaps and recommend actions to improve monitoring and focus research.
There are two task objectives that reflect the work done by LCB in support of the ReVA Program objectives:
Provide information management, spatial analysis support, and data and information accessibility for the ReVA Program
Provide program management support, technology transfer, and outreach.
Description:
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Regional Vulnerability Assessment Pro- gram (REVA) is designed to develop and demonstrate approaches to identify the ecosystems at the greatest risk from regional population growth and economic activity (Smith, 1999). A region is a multi-state area involving many metropolitan areas, drainage basins, associated ecosystems, and cultural infrastructures. The term vulnerability is a variable, ranging from no vulnerability to low and high vulnerability; without a qualifier, the term implies nothing. REVA is particularly used to compare risks arising from all sources of potential harm, acting alone or in combination, over the entire region. REVA is beginning with a pilot study conducted as part of the Middle Atlantic Integrated Assessment (MAIA). The study area includes all of Pennsylvania; Maryland; West Virginia; Virginia; the District of Columbia; and parts of North Carolina, Delaware, New York, and New Jersey. This area was selected because it has a wealth of ecological data collected by field surveys, remote sensing, and other ecological monitoring, modeling, and research activities.
The study reported herein addresses two key questions: (1) What will be the land conversion to urban use and nitrogen loading during the next 5 to 25 years? and (2) Where are the most vulnerable ecosystems located? Immediate objectives are these:
1. Integrate multiple data sources and existing assessment technologies
2. Expand research to fill critical gaps in our ability to apply existing data at the regional scale
3. Incorporate socioeconomic research to better understand factors driving environmental change and to more accurately assess the true costs of environmental degradation
REVA will test alternative approaches by applying the technology as it is developed to the MAIA and obtain feedback from decision makers at the regional and local levels and the public.