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Conference paper
Analysis of land use and land cover changes on the Mississippi Coast: 1950s-1992
Gulf Coast Association of Geological Societies. Transactions, Vol.48, pp.467-473
48, Gulf Coast Association of Geological Societies
45th Annual Conference of the Gulf Coast Association of Geological Studies (Baton Rouge, Louisiana, 10/25/1995–10/27/1995)
1995
Abstract
In order to assess recent development and loss of wetlands in the coastal zone of Mississippi, a study was done of historical changes in land use and land cover on the mainland Mississippi coast. Nineteen U. S. Geological Survey quadrangles having land below the 15-foot contour (the coastal zone study area) were evaluated. The Coward.in classification system of over 200 categories was simplified for use in the study to 7 categories: water, marsh, forest, agriculture, developed, dredge spoil, and beach. Historical data were compiled from U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service classifications of the area done in the 1950s and the 1970s. The 1992 classification was done using 1991-92, 1:24,000 scale, color infrared aerial photography. All data were digitized and comparative analysis was done using ARC/Info.
Interpretation of changes in land use/cover between the three data sets was hampered by inconsistencies in the original interpretations done of the 1950s and 1970s data. The 1992 interpretation is by far the most accurate and most consistent with respect to classification of individual use/cover types. The greatest marsh loss between the 1950s and 1992 occurred on the Waveland quadrangle (698 hectares) due to residential development, and on the Kreole and Grand Bay SW quadrangles (972 ha together) as a result of erosion and marsh deterioration. Over the entire study area, about 3,500 ha of marsh were lost between the 1950s and 1992 due to erosion (25%) and development (40%); the remaining losses resulted from conversion to forest or agriculture and overestimation of the original marsh acreage in the 1950s. This loss represents about 13% of the total coastal marsh area in mainland Mississippi. Developed land in the study area increased from 5,711 ha to 17,345 ha for the study period.
Details
- Title
- Analysis of land use and land cover changes on the Mississippi Coast
- Publication Details
- Gulf Coast Association of Geological Societies. Transactions, Vol.48, pp.467-473
- Resource Type
- Conference paper
- Conference
- 45th Annual Conference of the Gulf Coast Association of Geological Studies (Baton Rouge, Louisiana, 10/25/1995–10/27/1995)
- Publisher
- Gulf Coast Association of Geological Societies; United States
- Series
- 48
- Format
- pdf
- Copyright
- Permission granted to the University of West Florida Libraries by the author to digitize and/or display this information for non-profit research and educational purposes. Any reuse of this item in excess of fair use or other copyright exemptions requires the permission of the copyright holder.
- Identifiers
- 99380090337306600
- Academic Unit
- Earth and Environmental Sciences; Hal Marcus College of Science and Engineering
- Language
- English