Classifying land-ownership motivations in central, Texas, USA: A first step in understanding drivers of large-scale land cover change

Factors Influencing Land Management Practices on Conservation Easement Protected Landscapes

“…We hypothesize that landowners owning property for amenity purposes (e.g., recreation or hunting=fishing) will manage their property differently than owners primarily interested in production or land as an investment Cross et al 2011;Petrzelka, Malin, and Gentry 2012). Previous studies have shown landowner views about their property affect land use, management preferences, land cover, and ultimately ecosystem processes (Gosnell et al 2006;Sorice et al 2012;Abrams and Bliss 2013). Because of this, we expect that management actions will closely track landownership motivations.…”

Valuing Environmental Assets on Rural Lifestyle Properties

“…The increasing number of lifestyle landowners in some rural areas is likely to have a significant impact on future land uses and land covers since owners' approaches to the land will drive their land-management preferences (Sorice et al 2012). Because lifestyle landowners do not derive income primarily from agriculture and often have limited local knowledge and experience, there is a risk that their land use decisions could result in damage to natural resources (e.g., soil erosion or overgrazing) (Sengupta and Osgood 2003).…”

“…Little attention has been paid to engaging lifestyle landowners in such practices (Pannell and Wilkinson 2009). Research has provided a good understanding of the spatial extent and trajectory of demographic changes in rural landscapes (Barr, Karunaratne, andWilkinson 2005, Luck, Black, andRace 2011) and the diversity of motivations and preferences of lifestyle landowners (Sorice et al 2012). However, studies have not endeavored to quantify the benefits that lifestyle landowners derive from on-property and off-property environmental assets (Sengupta and Osgood 2003).…”

Demographic Changes Drive Woody Plant Cover Trends—An Example from the Great Plains

“…Similar rebounds have been noted in rural areas throughout the United States and other developed nations (Jordan-Bychkov et al, 1984;Johnson and Cromartie, 2006;Gosnell and Abrams, 2011). However, instead of relocating farm families, these were new rural landowners-occupying more and smaller farms-with limited or no agricultural background, seeking recreational opportunities and natural resource amenities (Snow, 2000;Sorice et al, 2012). Our findings suggest this transition in landowner identities has had major effects on woody plant cover.…”

“…Though data on amenity landowners remain rare worldwide, some information does exist for portions of adjacent river basins (Gosnell et al, 2006;Sorice et al, 2012;Sorice et al, 2014). Additional studies of the objectives and motivations of individual landowners would provide valuable insight on the specific causes of landscape change in this and other areas.…”