Understanding Regional Change: A Comparison of Two Lake Districts

Abstract

E nvironmental changes are often regional in scope, involving multiple kinds of ecosystems and social systems in a changing mosaic (MA 2005). Urbanization is expanding globally (MA 2005) and, in the United States, is spurring rural residential development and the prominence of the urban-rural interface Land-use changes are altering the composition and spatial arrangement of habitats, and introducing new habitats Introductions of nonnative species, and reintroductions of native species, are altering terrestrial and aquatic communities over extensive areas (MA 2005). Biogeochemical processes are responding to the addition and redistribution of nutrients Projected trends in climate also have implications for regional biota and ecosystem processes, through modification of temperature, precipitation, and disturbance regimes (MA 2005). All of these trends not only influence contemporary ecosystems but also bestow persistent legacies Thus, understanding regional ecological change has emerged as a key goal for ecologists and other scientists. However, progress is difficult because of four fundamental features of regional change.