Abstract |
The EPA's Regional Vulnerability Assessment (ReVA) Program develops and demonstrates approaches to (1) integrating spatial data and model results, (2) forecasting future scenarios, and (3) applying these methods towards regional priority setting and decision making. This report demonstrates the projection of multiple drivers of ecological change at a broad scale to the year 2020 followed by the application of different integration methods that synthesize results to address a suite of assessment questions to guide proactive decision making. Identified drivers of change for the Mid-Atlantic region include land use change and population growth, non-indigenous species, pollution, and resource extraction. Making use of available data and models, projections were made for land use/land cover, population and demographics, non-point source pollutants in surface water, nitrogen in groundwater, and spread of non-indigenous species for the year 2020. These were then compared to a similar set of variables available for the current time period to assess changes in condition and vulnerability for the Mid-Atlantic region. |