Land use history at multiple scales: implications for conservation planning

To better understand the dynamics of development and to illustrate the tran sition of a region from a natural to an agricultural environment, we develo ped a regional land use history of the Palouse bioregion of southeastern Wa shington and westcentral Idaho. We traced the history of European-American settlement and changes in biodiversity in the region, used this to understa nd how human activities have altered land cover and ecological integrity of the Palouse bioregion, and illustrated how this can assist local managers. We compiled and interpreted available information on people, plants, anima ls and physical resources over a period of time. Multiple spatial and tempo ral scales incorporating both sociological and ecological data were used to examine changes in the bioregion as a result of agricultural development a nd human settlement. Understanding the biophysical changes that have occurr ed provides a useful starting point for outlining future research needs, es tablishing conservation goals and targeting ecological restoration efforts, and can be used immediately in local land use planning efforts. (C) 1998 P ublished by Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.