Lewis & Clark Campus Land Coverage Analysis: Lawn and Forested Area 1936 & 2005 Meghan Cleland

LC 1936/LC 2005 GPS Points Campus Safety Carriage circle Manor House

LC Campus Coverage 1936 Green= forested area White/Green dashed= Lawn

LC Campus Coverage 2005 Green= forested area White/Green dashed= Lawn

Discussion Pt. 1 Why these years? Why these variables? – 1936 (oldest image) vs 2005 (recent) gives a nice historical perspective Looking at two aspects of the campus that are aesthetically prized, but dramatically altered – Environmental impacts of aesthetic features

Discussion Pt. 2: Results Forested area: Reduced from 63.5 to – Nearly halved Less habitat= less biodiversity Less habitat= increased competition Reduced trees= increased erosion Lost to construction= increased impermeable surface – Increased runoff Lawn/grassy area: Reduced from to 6.84 – Over half lost Less grass= less permeable area – Increased runoff – Question of fertilizer use and maintenance over time

Errors & Bias Not all GPS points imported to GIS Differences in image quality and alignments Imperfections in polygon figures Smaller exact details cannot be shown