We are combining newly available fine-scale housing density data from the decennial Census of 2010 with existing forest characteristics, demographic and remote sensing data to examine the relationship among residential development patterns, spatial variations in forest cover and ecosystem change in New Hampshire. The combination of spatial data on residential housing density with data on forest characteristics offers a unique opportunity to understand patterns of forest change and the implications of such forest change for ecosystem services. Our analysis of forest change and the role of residential land use in such forest change contributes new insights relevant to a broad range of ecosystem services of interest to our colleagues on the EPSCoR project including water supply, albedo and carbon storage.
The EPSCoR Land Use and Demographics effort is funded by NSF EPSCoR, and leverages additional funding to the investigators from the USDA Forest Service and the New Hampshire Agricultural Experiment Station.
POPULATION
The following data are available for each 2000 and 2010 US Census block in New Hampshire:
FOREST COVER
The following data are available for each 2010 US Census SUBCOUNTY (TOWN) in New Hampshire: