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Reforesting Landscapes pp 175–203Cite as

Threats to the Forest Transition in the Midwest United States

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Part of the book series: Landscape Series ((LAEC,volume 10))

Abstract

South-Central Indiana (Midwest United States) has experienced dramatic land cover change over the last two centuries. In fact, Indiana experienced the most dramatic deforestation of any state in the United States with the exception of Ohio. Forest cover prior to major European-based settlement was 85% (circa 1800) and declined to ∼17% by the start of the twentieth century. Since this period of peak deforestation, south-central Indiana has experienced slow but steady reforestation. Notably, this forest recovery occurred during a period of population increase in many counties and much of this reforestation occurred in gaps between existing forest patches resulting in an overall decrease in forest fragmentation in many areas. Despite the trajectory of reforestation observed during the twentieth century, there are a number of potential driving forces that may move the state from a trajectory of net reforestation to one of deforestation in the near future. In this chapter, we examine these land change processes at multiple spatial scales of analysis to highlight the disparate factors that collectively contribute to the reforestation process and prospects for future land cover changes.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for the Study of Institutions, Population and Environmental Change, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, USA

    Tom P. Evans, Shanon Donnelly & Sean Sweeney

  2. Department of Geography, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, USA

    Tom P. Evans

  3. Department of Geography and Planning, University of Akron, Akron, OH, USA

    Shanon Donnelly

Authors
  1. Tom P. Evans
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  2. Shanon Donnelly
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  3. Sean Sweeney
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Tom P. Evans .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Ecology & the Environment (ATREE), Ashoka Trust for Research in, Royal Enclave, Srirampura, Bangalore, 560064, India

    Harini Nagendra

  2. Dept. Geography, University of Florida, Turlington Hall 3141, Gainesville, 32611-7315, U.S.A.

    Jane Southworth

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Evans, T.P., Donnelly, S., Sweeney, S. (2009). Threats to the Forest Transition in the Midwest United States. In: Nagendra, H., Southworth, J. (eds) Reforesting Landscapes. Landscape Series, vol 10. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-9656-3_8

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