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ScienceDaily_2014 03682.txt

#NOAA analysis reveals significant land cover changes in U s. coastal regionsa new NOAA nationwide analysis shows that between 1996 and 2011 64975 square miles in coastal regions--an area larger than the state of Wisconsin--experienced changes in land cover including a decline in wetlands and forest cover with development a major contributing factor. Overall 8. 2 percent of the nation's ocean and Great lakes coastal regions experienced these changes. In analysis of the five year period between 2001-2006 coastal areas accounted for 43 percent of all land cover change in the continental U s. This report identifies a wide variety of land cover changes that can intensify climate change risks such as loss of coastal barriers to sea level rise and storm surge and includes environmental data that can help coastal managers improve community resilience. Land cover maps document what's happening on the ground. By showing how that land cover has changed over time scientists can determine how these changes impact our plant's environmental health said Nate Herold a NOAA physical scientist who directs the mapping effort at NOAA's Coastal Services Center in Charleston S. C. Among the significant changes were the loss of 1536 square miles of wetlands and a decline in total forest cover by 6. 1 percent. The findings mirror similar changes in coastal wetland land cover loss reported in the November 2013 report Status and Trends of Wetlands in the Coastal Watersheds of the Conterminous United states 2004 to 2009 an interagency supported analysis published by the U s. Fish and Wildlife Service and NOAA. This new NOAA analysis adds to the 2013 report with more recent data and includes loss of forest cover in an overall larger land area survey. Both wetlands and forest cover are critical to the promotion and protection of coastal habitat for the nation's multi-billion dollar commercial and recreational fishing industries..Development was a major contributing factor in the decline of both categories of land cover. Wetland loss due to development equals 642 square miles a disappearance rate averaging 61 football fields lost daily. Forest changes overall totaled 27515 square miles equaling West virginia Rhode island and Delaware combined. This total impact however was partially offset by reforestation growth. Still the net forest cover loss was 16483 square miles. These findings and many others are viewable via the Land Cover Atlas program from the NOAA's Coastal Change Analysis Program (C-CAP. Standardized NOAA maps allow scientists to compare maps from different regions and maps from the same place but from different years providing easily accessible data that are critically important to scientists managers and city planners as the U s. population along the coastline continues to grow. The ability to mitigate the growing evidence of climate change along our coasts with rising sea levels already impacting coastlines in ways not imaged just a few years ago makes the data available through the Land Cover Atlas program critically important to coastal resilience planning said Margaret Davidson National Ocean Service senior advisor for coastal inundation and resilience science services. C-CAP data identify a wide variety of land cover changes that can intensify climate change risks-for example forest or wetland losses that threaten to worsen flooding and water quality issues or weaken the area's fishing and forestry industries. The atlas's visuals help make NOAA environmental data available to end users enabling them to help the public better understand the importance of improving resilience. Seeing changes over five 10 or even 15 years allows Land Cover Atlas users to focus on local hazard vulnerabilities and improve their resilience plans said Jeffrey L. Payne Ph d. acting director for NOAA's Coastal Services Center. For instance the atlas has helped its users assess sea level rise hazards in Florida's Miami-Dade County high-risk areas for stormwater runoff in southern California and the best habitat restoration sites in two watersheds of the Great lakes. Selected Regional Findings--1996 to 2011: All C-CAP data sets are featured on the Digital Coast. Tools like the Digital Coast are important components of NOAA's National Ocean Service's efforts to protect coastal resources and keep communities safe from coastal hazards by providing data tools training and technical assistance. Check out other products and services on Facebook (www. facebook. com/NOAA) or Twitter (twitter. com/NOAA. Story Source: The above story is provided based on materials by National Oceanic and Atmospheric administration (NOAA. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length h

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