I Believe in Science

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I believe in science and statistical data. While neither science or statistics can tell us whether something is right or wrong, or definitively tell us causation in many cases, it can inform our decisions with facts.

Late afternoon

Land Use, 2016 vs 2011 in New York State

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I have been experimenting with the National Land Cover Dataset to get a better idea of how much land is developed in New York and changes in land use patterns in New York. Over the past five years, there has been a notable up-tick in mixed forest, replacing shrub and scrub from abandoned farmland. Woody wetlands are alos increasing – this might be some of shrub and scrub that has grown up from abandoned farms.

2016 Sq Mi 2016 Acres % of NY state   2011 Sq Mi 2011 Acres % of NY state   Chg Sq Mi Chg Acres % Change
Barren Land 137 87,670 0.3% 121 77,706 0.2% 16 9,965 0.0%
Developed, High Intensity 337 215,865 0.6% 333 213,123 0.6% 4 2,741 0.0%
Herbaceuous 355 227,180 0.6% 440 281,667 0.8% -85 -54,486 -0.2%
Emergent Herbaceuous Wetlands 416 266,550 0.8% 483 309,090 0.9% -66 -42,540 -0.1%
Shrub/Scrub 417 266,874 0.8% 1,506 964,081 2.8% -1,089 -697,207 -2.0%
Developed, Medium Intensity 710 454,218 1.3% 689 440,979 1.3% 21 13,239 0.0%
Developed, Low Intensity 1,226 784,919 2.2% 1,168 747,255 2.1% 59 37,664 0.1%
Developed, Open Space 2,601 1,664,794 4.8% 2,357 1,508,726 4.3% 244 156,068 0.4%
Woody Wetlands 3,670 2,348,698 6.7% 3,015 1,929,762 5.5% 655 418,936 1.2%
Cultivated Crops 3,879 2,482,645 7.1% 3,977 2,545,311 7.3% -98 -62,667 -0.2%
Evergreen Forest 3,986 2,550,989 7.3% 4,498 2,878,713 8.2% -512 -327,724 -0.9%
Mixed Forest 5,293 3,387,748 9.7% 3,576 2,288,606 6.5% 1,717 1,099,142 3.1%
Hay/Pasture 6,343 4,059,320 11.6% 6,676 4,272,694 12.2% -333 -213,374 -0.6%
Open Water 7,445 4,765,120 13.6% 7,509 4,805,808 13.7% -64 -40,689 -0.1%
Deciduous Forest 17,827 11,409,298 32.6% 18,297 11,709,980 33.5% -470 -300,682 -0.9%
New York State 54,644 34,971,887 100.0%   54,646 34,971,887 100.0%   -3 -1,613