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Article
Recent Afforestation in the Iowa River and Vorskla River Basins: A Comparative Trends Analysis
Forests
  • Yury G. Chendev, Belgorod State University
  • Jason A. Hubbart, West Virginia University
  • Edgar A. Terekhin, Belgorod State University
  • Anthony R. Lupo, Belgorod State University
  • Tom J. Sauer, United States Department of Agriculture
  • C. Lee Burras, Iowa State University
Document Type
Article
Publication Version
Published Version
Publication Date
1-1-2016
DOI
10.3390/f7110278
Abstract

Afforestation trends were compared between two continentally-distinct, yet similar ecoregions to characterize similarities or differences in forest advancement due to natural and anthropogenic forcings. Temporal changes in forest cover were analyzed using high resolution aerial and satellite photographs for Southeast Iowa, USA, and satellite photographs for the western Belgorod Oblast, Russia. An increase in forested area was shown to occur over a 44-year period from 1970–2014 in Iowa where afforestation was reflected by the aggregation of smaller forest units. In the Belgorod region the opposite occurred in that there was an increase in the number of smaller forested units. The rate of forest expansion into open grassland areas, previously used as haying lands and pastures, was 14 m decade−1 and 8 m decade−1 in Iowa and the Belgorod Oblast, respectively. Based on current trends, predicted times for complete forest coverage in the study areas was estimated to be 80 years in Iowa and 300 years in the Belgorod Oblast. In both the Iowa and Belgorod Oblast, there was an increase in annual precipitation at the end of the 20th and the beginning of the 21st centuries, thus providing a contributing mechanism to forest advancement in the study regions and implications for future management practices.

Comments

This article is published as Chendev, Yury G., Jason A. Hubbart, Edgar A. Terekhin, Anthony R. Lupo, Tom J. Sauer, and C. Lee Burras. "Recent Afforestation in the Iowa River and Vorskla River Basins: A Comparative Trends Analysis." Forests 7, no. 11 (2016): 278. doi: 10.3390/f7110278.

Rights
Works produced by employees of the U.S. Government as part of their official duties are not copyrighted within the U.S. The content of this document is not copyrighted.
Language
en
File Format
application/pdf
Citation Information
Yury G. Chendev, Jason A. Hubbart, Edgar A. Terekhin, Anthony R. Lupo, et al.. "Recent Afforestation in the Iowa River and Vorskla River Basins: A Comparative Trends Analysis" Forests Vol. 7 Iss. 11 (2016) p. 278
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/c_burras/29/