New Landowners, New Ecosystem? Relating Land-Ownership Motivations to Land Cover Change.

The proliferation of trees and shrubs at the expense of perennial grasses is one of the most striking land-cover changes on rangelands worldwide. Historical causes of this woody plant encroachment (WPE) include overgrazing, fire suppression, and increased CO₂. WPE is perpetuated by the social forces that drive land use. Migration of urban and suburban residents to rural areas leads to increased diversity in land-ownership motivations. Questions exist about the potential for these “new” landowners to affect ecosystem structure, the flow of ecosystem services, and the sustainability of rural livelihoods. We explored the potential for land-ownership motivation to influence future land cover by examining the prevalence of the “new” landowner type on the landscape and their employment of best-management practices (BMPs) to maintain healthy grasslands in central Texas, USA. We expected landowners with lower resource dependency to be less likely to use BMPs on their land.

Using a mail survey of landowners we identified six land-ownership motivations: agricultural production, profit-orientation, recreation/lifestyle, financial investment, mineral extraction, and wildlife enterprise. We classified landowners into three groups: agricultural production (26%), multiple-objective (35%), and lifestyle-oriented (39%) and validated them using socio-demographic indicators. Finally, we examined these groups regarding their use of BMPs. Lifestyle-oriented landowners were less likely use BMPs related to grazing. Few differences were found for controlling WPE except for herbicide use. No differences were detected between groups for mechanical brush control or prescribed burning.

Land-ownership motivation may be a useful proxy for cultural drivers of land use and land cover change. Questions remain regarding the role particular landowner groups may play in enhancing resiliency of current social-ecological systems and/or guiding transformation to new systems. This is a first step for land-use planning, policy, and education that will enhance the resiliency of rural communities in the face of global change.