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Lara Hernandez, Viadero, Linenfelser, Lacy, Hall, Kelble, Kavanagh and
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Frontiers in Marine Science | www.frontiersin.org 13 July 2021 | Volume 8 | Article 633240
Publication loadedhomePage1/18fullscreenremove_circle_outlineadd_circle_outlinesearchgroup_addmore_horizget_appinfolistlinkDETAILSRELATIONSEcosphereVolume 13, Issue 10Oct 2022ARTICLEFire intensity and ecosystem oligotrophic status drive relative phosphorus release and retention in freshwater marshesView article pageAnd...
51
CHAPTER 2
Florida Land Use and Land Cover
Change in the Past 100 Years
Michael I. Volk1
, Thomas S. Hoctor1
, Belinda B. Nettles2
, Richard Hilsenbeck3
,
Francis E. Putz4
, and Jon Oetting5
1Center for Landscape Conservation Planning, Department of Landscape Architecture, University of
Florida, FL; 2Department of Urban and Regional Planning, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL; 3The
Nature Conservancy – Florida Chapter, Saint Augustine, FL; 4Department of Biology, University of
Florida, Gainesville, FL; 5
Florida Natural Areas Inventory, Tallahassee, FL
This chapter provides an overview of land use and land cover change in Florida over the past 100 years
and a summary of how it may change in the future. We begin by providing a baseline description of
Florida’s pre-1900 land cover, natural resource distribution, and biodiversity. This is followed by a
description of major land use changes and trends related to transportation, agriculture, mining,
urbanization, tourism, disruption of natural processes, and conservation from 1900 to the present. We
also describe changes in land use and land cover caused by climate change. The chapter concludes with
a discussion of current land use and land cover patterns, and the potential impacts of climate change and
continued human population growth on the remaining natural and rural landscapes in Florida. Much has
changed in Florida over the last century due to a combination of wetland draining, agriculture
conversion, urban development, and establishment of several dominant exotic plant species, as well as
accelerating sea level rise and shifting climate zones due to climate change.
Key Messages
• Land cover and land use within Florida have changed dramatically since pre-settlement times,
primarily due to human activities, with significant impacts on ecosystems and biodiversity.
• Climate-related impacts on land cover, resulting from human-caused climate change, have
also been documented in Florida.
• Patterns of historic land use and land cover change are important to quantify and visualize so
that we can assess the degree to which natural systems have been impacted and changed by
human activities.
• Florida still has highly significant cultural and natural landscapes, which provide important
services to people, in addition to possessing intrinsic values separate from their value to
humans.
• As future changes continue to occur as a result of climate change and population growth, it
will be more important than ever to conduct careful land use planning and management so
that we can preserve natural and cultural resources, and maintain the qualities that make
Florida the special place that it is today.
Keywords
Land use; Land cover; Climate change; Transportation; Tourism; Agriculture; Mining;
Urbanization; Population growth; Natural processes; Conservation
52 • MICHAEL I. VOLK ET AL.
Historical Overview
lorida has a diverse history of land use and human settlement, coupled with a wide range
of natural communities, high biodiversity, and abundant natural resources. Land use
trends throughout the state’s history have been directly influenced by the natural
resources, geomorphology, and climate that exist within the state. In turn land use change caused
by human populations has altered the natural features that existed prior to human settlement. In
this chapter we define land cover as simply the physical characteristics of the earth’s surface
including natural communities and altered land cover types (e.g., rocks, water, ice, forest,
wetlands, rangeland, desert, etc.) whereas land use refers to specific ways that humans are using
land (e.g., pastures, crops, residential, commercial, industrial, mining, transportation, utilities,
etc.). (NOAA 2015).
Since 1900, Florida has seen substantial changes in land use patterns and land cover. Even
though people had lived in Florida for thousands of years prior to 1900, their overall impact had
been minimal. The Native Americans altered the land by building settlements, cultivating fields,
building mounds, establishing transportation routes, grading causeways, and digging canals and
fishponds (Derr 1998). European explorers and settlers arrived in the 1500s, but much of Florida,
particularly the central and southern regions, remained relatively undeveloped until the last
decades of the 19th century. Significant increases in population and tourism were coincident with
new development, facilitated by new railroads and highways, and inspired by an aggressive
marketing campaign for new residents and visitors to come to the state (Derr 1998). In creating
the ideal Florida community, destination, or attraction, developers directly and indirectly caused
significant changes to the natural landscape and resources of the state, fragmenting and degrading
natural landscapes, introducing invasive species, and exploiting natural resources.
In addition to development and tourism, Florida’s agriculture and extraction industries also
led to land cover changes. Agriculture, Florida’s second largest industry, led to land clearing,
drainage projects, the introduction of invasive species, and pollution. By the early 20th century,
the lumber industry had cleared most of North Florida’s old growth forests (Florida Natural Areas
Inventory 2005). Mining removed natural land cover, altered soil composition, and often left
behind large abandoned excavations in the landscape (Shukla et. al. n.d.). Large-scale crop
farming operations significantly altered drainage patterns and impacted water resources,
particularly in South Florida (Stone and Legg 1992). In response to the environmental
degradation that was occurring, Florida started to implement more environmental protection and
growth management policies beginning in the 1970s and 1980s (Davis 2009). Efforts were also
made to set aside conservation areas and to create wildlife corridors (Florida Department of
Environmental Protection 2015; Hoctor et al. 2015). In recent years (as of 2016), state support
for these efforts has weakened, but many people and organizations are still actively working to
maintain the natural heritage and resources that remain in Florida. The history of land use change
F
FLORIDA LAND USE AND LAND COVER CHANGE IN THE PAST 100 YEARS • 53
and development within the state is particularly important to understand when making future
land use decisions and choices about how to adapt to climate change. The land use decisions that
we make today will affect the ability for natural systems to adapt to climate change tomorrow.