02369nas a2200301   4500008004100000245009400041210006900135300001300204490000700217520150300224653001901727653002301746653002101769653001801790100001501808700001701823700001601840700001401856700002301870700001701893700001401910700001301924700001801937700001401955700001701969700001501986856006602001       2011                        eng d00aLand fragmentation under rapid urbanization: A cross-site analysis of Southwestern cities0 aLand fragmentation under rapid urbanization A crosssite analysis  a429 -4550 v143 a<p>Explosive population growth and increasing demand for rural homes and lifestyles fueled exurbanization and urbanization in the western USA over the past decades. Using National Land Cover Data we analyzed land fragmentation trends from 1992 to 2001 in five southwestern cities associated with Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) sites. We observed two general fragmentation trends: expansion of the urbanized area leading to fragmentation in the exurban and peri-urban regions and decreased fragmentation associated with infill in the previously developed urban areas. We identified three fragmentation patterns, riparian, polycentric, and monocentric, that reflect the recent western experience with growth and urbanization. From the literature and local expert opinion, we identified five relevant drivers &ndash; water provisioning, population dynamics, transportation, topography, and institutions &ndash; that shape land use decision-making and fragmentation in the southwest. In order to assess the relative importance of each driver on urbanization, we linked historical site-specific driver information obtained through literature reviews and archival analyses to the observed fragmentation patterns. Our work highlights the importance of understanding land use decision-making drivers in concert and throughout time, as historic decisions leave legacies on landscapes that continue to affect land form and function, a process often forgotten in a region and era of blinding change.</p>10aExurbanization10aLand fragmentation10aThe US Southwest10aUrban ecology1 aYork, A.M.1 aShrestha, M.1 aBoone, C.G.1 aZhang, S.1 aHarrington, J., A.1 aPrebyl, T.J.1 aSwann, A.1 aAgar, M.1 aAntolin, M.F.1 aNolen, B.1 aWright, J.B.1 aSkaggs, R.  uhttps://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs11252-011-0157-8