No, recent trends show that forest cover is decreasing in the watershed and therefore ecosystem services to protect water and habitat quality are diminished. Declines in forest cover are attributed to land development with more area consisting of impervious surfaces or to loss of habitat due to sea level rise and erosion amplified by severe storms. Forest cover serves as an indicator of both the healthy watershed and conserved open space objectives as habitats, like coastal forests and riparian buffer, are used to track progress.
Conducted by University of Connecticut’s Center for Land Use Education and Research, satellite imagery was evaluated to determine the portion of forest cover across the watershed. Link to additional data to be provided soon.
As of 2023, the full watershed experienced a 167,000 acre decrease in forest cover. In the lower watershed, forested land declined by 4 percent in New York and Connecticut from 1985 to 2023. However, this is not evenly distributed in the watershed as the greatest loss was observed in the Connecticut portion of the watershed with over an 81,000 acre lost in that period. This acreage lost is equivalent to 127 square miles, which is more than three times the size of Groton, CT. It is important to note that there were seven local drainage areas in Connecticut that increased forest cover between 1985 and 2023 where further protection and restoration by the Partnership will maximize benefits to the surrounding communities and ecosystems.
Changes in forest cover affects the abundance of important habitat that protects riparian buffers and coastal ecosystems. Forests and forest cover provide a multitude of different services such as reducing runoff and filtering pollutants, preventing erosion and reducing turbidity in waterways, and providing vital habitat for many different animals, birds, and invertebrates. Forest cover is also an indication of the impervious cover acreage. When land is developed, forest cover decreases, while impervious cover increases. Impervious cover is defined as land that is impermeable, meaning that when rainfall occurs, it will not be absorbed and filtered by plants or soil and likely increase runoff impacts to the lower watershed (e.g., the Long Island Sound).
The more land that is conserved across the entire watershed, the less negative impacts to the Sound and its embayments will face. The Partnerships’ focus on implementing nature-based solutions may have a positive impact on forest cover in the future. For more information, check out the story map created by University of Connecticut Center for Land Use Education and Research (CLEAR) Connections to the Long Island Sound to see how your community is doing.
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