Rangelands on the Edge | Quantifying the modification, fragmentation, and future residential development of U.S. rangelands
2018
Reeves, Matthew Clark | Krebs, Michael A. | Leinwand, Ian I. F. | Theobald, David M. | Mitchell, John E. (John Edward)
Rangelands are increasingly urban, subdivided, and fragmented. About 62 percent of coterminous U.S. rangelands occur on private land and are at further risk for conversion. This Rangelands on the Edge (ROTE) project improves our understanding of the fate of rangelands from historical, present day, and future perspectives by describing human modification, fragmentation, and future residential growth projections for rangeland-dominated vegetation. Since pre-European settlement, some 340 million acres (over 34 percent) of rangelands, particularly in the Great Plains, have been converted to alternative land uses, especially intensive agriculture (croplands, pastureland). Approximately 11 percent of private rangelands are likely to experience significant increases in housing development over the next 15 years.
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