Ecosystem Services in Rhode Island

Goal and objectives

The overall goal of this study is to simulate likely changes in multiple ecosystem services due to future changes in land use. To meet this goal, we first characterize the drivers of previous urbanization in Rhode Island. We seek to understand how the probability and the location of urbanization were driven by land management policies, landscape, and environmental variables. Second, we develop several alternative future scenarios for urbanization. Alternative scenarios were based on varying growth projections and different management and planning policies. Third, we simulate the changes in the flow of multiple ecosystem services, including carbon storage, habitat quality for three species of stakeholder interest, and changes in nutrient loading to the state’s watersheds.