Trends in Landscape Heterogeneity Along the Borders of Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Abstract

Abstract:Border areas of Great Smoky Mountains National Park were examined in a photogrammetric study of temporal trends in landscape heterogeneity. Analysis of data from maps and aerial photographs showed that from 1940 to 1978, most areas outside the park borders experienced an increase in forest patch density and cleared patch density, a decrease in forest patch size and little change in percentage of forest cover Areas inside the park borders showed an increase in forest patch size and percentage of forest cover, and a decrease in density of forested and cleared patches.Significant differences in spatial continuity of vegetation existed between areas inside and outside the park borders at the time of the park's establishment. Land use changes since 1940 have increased differences in landscape heterogeneity between park and nonpark lands. The areas of greatest change haw generally been those in closest proximity to the legal park border, where relatively sharp gradients in patch size, patch density, and forest cover now exist. Differences in landscape heterogeneity between adjacent lands outside the park have decreased as have differences between adjacent park lands.Local variations in land use history have influenced the nature and intensity of boundary effects along the park border Different sections of the park border vary greatly in both spatial patterns and temporal trends in landscape heterogeneity. The results of the study point to the limited utility of the island biogeographic model in predicting management problems in this park.