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193 11 Developed Lands Developed lands are those which have been highly modified by human activities to create urban areas and transportation systems. Their general locations were established by the late 1800s and have expanded to cover around 2 million acres today (see Map 2.4). As with agriculture, development creates new but often ecologically compromised habitats, and diminishes and fragments previously existing habitats. Following a general overview of developed lands, we will review 8 sub-habitats or structures: urban and suburban forested areas; industrial lands; commercial areas; roads, railroads, and airports; rightsof -way (roadside, railway, utility line); golf courses, soccer fields, and other recreational areas; towers for communication and wind-power generation; and storm-water retention ponds and borrow pits. 1800. Developed lands were limited to a few villages , such as Vincennes and New Harmony. The villages and trails of Native Americans were also present across the state. 1900. In 1901, the Ninth Biennial Report of the Indiana Department of Statistics reported that cities and incorporated towns comprised at least 173,976 acres (Table G-11). Another source, the 1876 atlas of Indiana, provides maps of developed lands late in the nineteenth century, although they have not been digitized to quantify the coverage. Most of today’s roads and urban areas were present at this time, but were much smaller in area. The non-farmed land was partly in urban areas, partly in transportation systems , and partly held by private individuals as timber land or other non-farm land. The percentage of land in a natural region that was not in private farms (thus potentially “developed”) varied from only 4% in the Central Till Plain to 19% in the Northwestern Morainal region. 2000. The National Land Cover Data of 1992 (Table G-1) indicate 911,147 developed acres, mainly in the categories of low- and high-intensity residential areas, commercial and industrial areas, transportation systems, and urban or recreational grasslands (Map 11.1). Urban habitat varied from 4,284 acres in the Black Swamp region to 443,774 acres in the Central Till Plain region. Lands in roads, railroads, and airports are given in Table G-12. Flora Developed lands have resulted from human activities that alter the landscape from its original vegetation. In most cases, vegetation associated with developed lands consists of exotic species that have either naturalized into the site or been planted. Much of the developed land has a flora that’s more like a European meadow than any community indigenous to North America. Species in this mix have been both intentionally and accidentally introduced. The number of introductions continues to increase, presenting an ever-greater threat to the native flora. 1800. Only a small fraction of the state’s landscape was developed, mainly near trails, trade routes, and military forts. Perhaps a few exotics had become established in these areas, but for the most part they were an insignificant part of the flora. 1900. A considerable portion of the state was developed . Land had been cleared for agricultural pursuits , housing, and commerce, and roads and rail lines were built for intra- and interstate travel. The number of exotic species of plants in the state was significant , perhaps over 250. Deam (1940) recorded 302 exotic species by 1940. Most species were innocuous, but some, such as Hungarian brome and Japanese honeysuckle, were just beginning their invasion of the landscape. In addition to Eurasian species, many from western North America were spreading eastward along the railroads and highway rights-of-way. A list of exotics is in Table P-12. 2000. With ever-increasing development on the landscape, particularly urban sprawl, there is a correspondingly smaller area of land for native vegetation. The introduction of more exotic species adds to the threats to native species, given the competition they provide for space and nutrients. The increased use of wide spectrum and broad-leaf spectrum herbicides in vegetation management also has reduced the occurrence of native species. Some of the common invasive exotic plants in developed lands include common teasel , wild parsnip, crown vetch, Kentucky bluegrass, tall fescue, Hungarian brome, Queen Anne’s lace, and Japanese chess. See Table P-12 for many more exotics. Amphibians and Reptiles In general, the conversion of natural areas for human use removes their value for herpetofauna. Since amphibians and reptiles cannot fly, they are exposed to predators in open areas, and thus are hesitant to use them. On the other hand, because of thermoregulatory requirements, reptiles seek areas with an open...

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