Urban-Rural Interfaces

What is the urban–rural interface? Is it a visual phenomenon, a place where country gives way to neighborhoods and shopping areas in a startling way? Is it a simple factor of population density? There is nothing simple about the urban–rural interface—editors David Laband, Graeme Lockaby, and Wayne Zipperer present the broad spectrum of interdisciplinary complexities at play. Organized into three sections on changing ecosystems, changing human dimensions, and the dynamic integration of human and natural systems, this book is a must read for anyone who works in the real world, where natural and human systems are joined. This is the new sustainability science, an emerging discipline that integrates social and economic values with the physical, chemical, and ecological functions of ecosystems. The goal is optimal management, since our human impact is often significant and far-reaching in both space and time.

Foreword | vii Introduction: Defining Urban–Rural Interfaces | ix Contributors | xiii 1 The Growing Importance of Urban–Rural Interfaces: Current Demographics and Their Future Implications |1 Susana Adamo Changing Ecosystems 2 Landscape Dynamics in the Wildland–Urban Interface | 17 Wayne C. Zipperer 3 Water Quantity and Quality at the Urban–Rural Interface | 29 Ge Sun and B. Graeme Lockaby 4 Forests on the Edge: The Influence of Increased Housing Density on Forest Systems and Services | 49 Susan Stein, Mary Carr, Ronald E. McRoberts, and Lisa G. Mahal 5 Nonnative Invasive Plants: Maintaining Biotic and Socioeconomic Integrity Along the Urban–Rural–Natural Area Gradient | 71 Cynthia D. Huebner, David J. Nowak, Richard V. Pouyat, and Allison R. Bodine 6 Faunal Biodiversity at the Urban–Rural Interface: Current Knowledge, Research Priorities, and Planning Strategies | 99 Sarah E. Reed, Heidi E. Kretser, Michale J. Glennon, Liba Pejchar, and Adina M. Merenlender Changing Human Dimensions 7 Forest Ownership Patterns | 117 Brett J. Butler 8 The Changing Importance of Ecosystem Services Across the Landscape Gradient | 127 Kathleen L. Wolf 9 Politics in America: Urban versus Rural Interests | 147 William L. Anderson 10 Economic Aspects and Issues along an Urban–Rural Gradient | 165 David N. Laband and Francisco Escobedo 11 Social Vulnerability and Environmental Change Along Urban–Rural Interfaces | 185 John Schelhas, Sarah Hitchner, and Cassandra Johnson 12 Changing Stakeholders and the Planning Process | 201 Wayde Morse 13 Land Conservation in the United States: Evolution and Innovation Across the Urban–Rural Interface | 225 Spencer R. Meyer, Michelle L. Johnson, and Robert J. Lilieholm 14 Importance of Integrated Approaches and Perspectives | 259 Steward T.A. Pickett, Mary L. Cadenasso, Peter M. Groffman, and J. Morgan Grove 15 Linking Human and Natural Systems in the Planning Process | 275 Susan I. Stewart, Miranda H. Mockrin, and Roger B. Hammer 16 Fire in the Wildland–Urban Interface | 287 D. Evan Mercer and Wayne C. Zipperer 17 Final Thoughts | 305 David N. Laband, B. Graeme Lockaby, and Wayne C. Zipperer Subject Index | 311