Landscape indicators and land cover change in the Mid-Atlantic Region of the United States, 1973-2001

Landscape indicators, derived from land use and land cover data as well as other data, were used to calculate the ecological consequences of land cover change in terms of nitrate loading and physical bird habitat. Both were modeled from 1973, 1992, and 2001 land cover data in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. Land cover statistics and trends are calculated for three time periods. In general, forest gain and agricultural loss was found in areas of improving landscape indicators and forest loss and agricultural gain was found to occur in areas of declining indicators, which was confirmed by high-resolution aerial photographic analysis.