Lakes, wetlands, and streams as dynamic drivers of land use/cover pattern and change: A unique view of aquatic ecosystems in the landscape

Most research linking aquatic ecosystems to their surrounding environment has focused on how terrestrial processes affect lakes, wetlands, and streams. However, it is equally as important to examine how aquatic ecosystems alter terrestrial systems. I examined spatial patterns of rural residential development and land use/cover around lakes, nonforested depressional wetlands, and streams in the Huron River watershed in southeast Michigan, USA. Specifically, I found that urban land use/cover occurs closer to lakes than depressional wetlands or streams compared to the watershed. Agriculture occurs proportionally less around lakes and streams, but more around depressional wetlands than in the watershed. Additionally, forested land is found proportionally more often around all three types of aquatic ecosystems than watershed average. These patterns are not static and show changes between 1938 and 1992. This research has revealed that a more complete understanding of how aquatic ecosystems drive patterns in landscape patterns is important and could potentially be useful to incorporate into predictive models of land use/cover change.