Running head: LAND USE CHANGES IN NEW JERSEY

Land Use Changes in New Jersey and in Cumberland County 1986-2007

Jin Chen
ENVL 4300-Environmental Issues
The Richard Stockton College of New Jersey

Running head: LAND USE CHANGES IN NEW JERSEY

Table of Contents
Abstract3
Introduction:
Impacts of Urban Sprawl3
Importance of Monitoring Land Use Changes.3
Land Management Plans In New Jersey..4
Objectives.4
Results:
Statewide Land Use Net Change 2002-2007...4
Land Use Change in Cumberland County...6
Land Use Change in Vineland, Cumberland County...8
Discussion:
Statewide Land Use Net Changes:...9
Cumberland County Land Use Changes9
Conclusion..10
References..11
Appendices:

Appendix A: Data Table of Land Use Changes of NJ and Cumberland County.12

Appendix B: Land Use Type proportions in NJ Counties..14
Appendix C: Cumberland County Land Use Changes 1986-2007..16

Running head: LAND USE CHANGES IN NEW JERSEY

Abstract
Land use changes of New Jersey and Cumberland County shown substantial increase of urban
development, and decreases of agriculture, water, and wetlands. Land use and land cover (LULC)
datasets of 2002-2007 and 1986-2007 were used in ArcGIS to analyze land use changes of NJ over the
last two decades. Six categories of land use type were analyzed and they were agriculture, barren land,
forest, urban, water, and wetlands. Across the state of NJ, urban land displayed a significant LULC
increase of 5.53% from 2002-2007. Counties with top increase of urban land use were Monmouth,
Ocean, Burlington, Gloucester, and Atlantic. Water had a minimal increase of 0.86% in land use, and the
increase could be associated with rising sea level. In Cumberland County, urban land use had increased
by 2626 acres or 6.54%. Land uses of agriculture, forest, and wetlands declined by -2.04%, -1.82%, and 0.08%, respectively. The decline of these land use types was likely associated with increasing urban
development. A closer look at land use change in Cumberland was done by looking at the digital
orthophoto quadrangles (DOQs) from 1995/97, 2002, 2007, and 2012 of Vineland City. Vineland had
increased on housing development and decrease of forest area as a result of urban land use. By
examining the land use changes of New Jersey over the last two decades, we are able to see a trend of
land use and land cover. This will be helpful to regulate land development and set up plans to prevent or
solve issues with land use changes.

Introduction
Impacts of Urban Sprawl: Rapid urban development influenced by mass production of affordable
vehicles, cheap mortgages, and population demography have changed the landscape of New Jersey and
other places throughout America. Urban sprawl has substantially contributed to loss of open space, and
decreased other land use types such as wetlands, forests, and agriculture in NJ (Hasse et al., 2010).
Based on the 2010 US Census, the population of NJ is nearly 9 million and the land area is 7,354.22
square miles (US Census, 2010). The state of NJ has a diversity of landscapes, natural resources, and
cultural values. Some of the distinctive geographic features and natural resources include the Valley and
Ridge region, highland forests, the Pinelands, Kirkwood-Cohansey Aquifer, and wetlands. However, the
unsustainable development of urban sprawl has resulted environmental issues and potential human
health impacts. For example, in the past two decades the rate of urbanism exceeded population growth,
while the land use of agriculture, wetlands, and forests declined (Hasse et al., 2010). Moreover, urban
development such as large single housing units, impervious surfaces, and highways often contributed to
deforestation, fragmentation, air and water pollution, loss of habitats, invasion of insects and diseases,
and loss of biodiversity (NJDEP, 2013). A disturbance to the environment such as groundwater
contamination will not only threaten the clean water supply to the people, but will also impose human
and environmental health issues.
Importance of Monitoring Land Use Changes: In order to manage the negative effects of urbanism, the
monitoring plans for land use changes are significant. In the study of (Hasse et al., 2010), the land
use/land cover datasets from 2007 was analyzed and reported an increase of 5.3% urban growth while
population growth was only 1.2% for years 2002-2007. Moreover, deforestation increased continuously
from 1986-2007 with maximum rate of 8490 acres per year for time period 2002-2007 (Hasse et al.,
2010). The loss of forests due to urban development could result a loss of habitat and biodiversity as
well as contaminating water quality on nearby streams, lakes, and groundwater. When land use changes
are being monitored, there will be data available to examine the causes of the changes. Some of the
changes could be resulted from population growth, climate change, or unsustainable development.

Running head: LAND USE CHANGES IN NEW JERSEY

Moreover, a trend of the land use changes could be analyzed through monitoring, and used for land use
management.
Land Management Plans in New Jersey: In New Jersey, the Pinelands Comprehensive Management Plan
(PCMP) and the NJ State Development and Redevelopment Plan have regulations and standards set up
for land use and development. The PCMP is designed by the Pinelands Commission to regulate the
development of the Pinelands to protect and conserve natural, cultural, historical and other resources
valuable to the Pinelands. The Pinelands is divided into Preservation Areas (295,000 acres) and
Protection Areas (705,000 acres). The Preservation Area and its subareas are limited to development,
and the Protection Area and its subareas are designated for different development (NJ Pinelands
Commission, 2007). The PCMP is set up with the purpose of protecting the natural resources in the
Pinelands while allowing sustainable development. In comparison, the NJ Development and
Redevelopment Plan to ensure adequate and sustainable development through initiatives such as
implementing smart growth, providing housing for all income levels, and cross-acceptance between
state and local governments. These land management plans were established due to increases of
development and the negative effects of ineffective and unsustainable development. And, the plans are
significant in protecting the natural resources and also human welfare.
Objectives
The primary objective of this study was to understand the land use changes in New Jersey over times.
Land use and land cover datasets from 1986-2007 and 2002-2007 were downloaded from ArcGIS online
and NJDEP NJ GeoWeb Resource. Then, the datasets had to be transferred into ArcGIS to make maps
that would detail the land use changes in NJ. Afterward, New Jersey statewide land use changes and the
land use changes of my county, Cumberland County, were analyzed in the following section. Moreover,
digital orthophoto quadrangles from four different years for my town, Vineland, were downloaded and
compared to examine land use changes over time.
Results
Statewide Land Use Net Changes: Based on the overall result from 21 counties of New Jersey, the land
use types with positive land use net change in acres from 2002-2007 were water and urban land (Chart
1). Water was only accounted for a minimal of +0.86% in net change, but urban land was +5.53% in net
change (Table 1, Appendix A). The top five counties with the greatest net change in urban land were
Monmouth, Ocean, Burlington, Gloucester, and Atlantic (Chart 2). The remaining land use types
(agriculture, barren land, forest, and wetlands) had negative net changes in land use. Barren land had
the lowest net change of -12.61% (Table 1, Appendix A). Monmouth was the county with the lowest
barren land net change shown in Chart 2. Counties with the lowest net change for agriculture and forest
were Gloucester and Ocean Counties, respectively (Chart 2). The only county with no net change of
agriculture land use was Hudson (Table 3, Appendix A). Counties like Hudson, Passaic, Union, Bergen,
and Mercer in the central and northeast of NJ shown relatively larger proportional of forest net change
(Fig. 11, Appendix B). Then, northeast counties of NJ had the least net change in urban land use;
counties such as Burlington, Ocean, and Monmouth toward southern Jersey had a greater proportion in
urban land use (Fig. 12, Appendix B). The proportion of net changes for other four land use types can be
found in Appendix B.

Running head: LAND USE CHANGES IN NEW JERSEY

Chart 1: NJ Statewide Land Use Changes 2002-2007

1,800,000

NJ Statewide Land Use Changes 2002-2007

1,600,000

Land Area (acre)

1,400,000
1,200,000
1,000,000

2002

800,000

2007

600,000

Net Change

400,000
200,000
0
-200,000

Agriculture

Barren
Land

Forest

Urban Land

Water

Wetlands

Land Use Type

Chart 1: Urban land and water were the only two land use types with positive net change of area; urban
land had greater net change than water.

Chart 2: NJ Counties Land Use Net Change 2002-2007

10000

NJ Counties Land Use Net Change 2002-2007

8000

4000
2000

Warren

Union

Sussex

Somerset

Salem

Passaic

Ocean

Morris

Monmouth

Middlesex

Mercer

Hunterdon

Hudson

Gloucester

Essex

Cumberland

Camden

Cape May

-4000

Bergen

-2000

Burlington

Atlantic

Land Use Net Change (acre)

6000
Agriculture
Barren Land
Forest
Urban Land
Water
Wetland

-6000
-8000

NJ County

Chart 2: The highest net change of land use was urban land, and the lowest net changes of land use were
agriculture and forest

Running head: LAND USE CHANGES IN NEW JERSEY

Land Use Change in Cumberland County: Barren land, urban land, and water were the three land use
types that had positive net changes in acres for years 2002-2007. Barren land accounted for the highest
net change in 315 acres or 9.31% (Table 2, Appendix A). The remaining land use types, agriculture,
forest, and wetlands, had negative net changes shown in Chart 3. In Figures 1 and 2, urban-land land use
shown increases in southeast and northwest regions. However, in Figures 3 and 4, some of the farm
lands were lost to urban development from 1986-2007. The land use changes for other land types from
1986-2007 can be examined in Appendix C. In Table 2 (Appendix A), Agriculture accounted for the
lowest net change of -1234 acres or -2.04% ; and Cumberland was one of the eleven counties to lose
over 1000acres of farm lands (Table 3, Appendix A). While the net gain of urban land from 2002-2007
was 2626 acres, forest land was lost by 1873 acres (Table 3, Appendix A). Moreover, Cumberland County
lost 77 acres of wetlands, but it is second to the first place for the least wetland loss among 21 counties
in NJ.
Chart 3: Cumberland County Land Use Change 2002-2007

Cumberland County Land Use Change 2002-2007

120,000

Land Area (acre)

100,000
80,000
2002

60,000

2007
40,000

Net Change

20,000
0
Agriculture
-20,000

Barren
Land

Forest

Urban Land

Water

Wetlands

Land Use Type

Chart 3: Forest, agriculture, and wetlands were losing land use/land over in Cumberland from 20022007.

Running head: LAND USE CHANGES IN NEW JERSEY

Figure 1

Figure 1: 1986 Cumberland urban-land

land use and land cover

Figure 3

Figure 3: 1986 Cumberland agriculture

land use and land cover

7
Figure 2

Figure 2: 2007 Cumberland urban-land

land use and land cover

Figure 4

Figure 2: 2007 Cumberland agriulture

land use and land cover

Running head: LAND USE CHANGES IN NEW JERSEY

Land Use Change in Vineland, Cumberland County: An increase of urban-land land use was observed
by using digital orthophoto quadrangles (DOQs) from 1995/97, 2002, 2007, and 2012. in Figures 5-8. The
southeast area of Vineland in Figures 5-8 was developed into a residential area starting in 2007 (Figure
7). No much changes of land use could be observed from 1995/97-2002 in Figures 5 and 6, respectively.
Figure 5

Figure 5: Vineland 1995/97 DOQ; boxed region

Corresponds to DOQs in Figures 6-8.
Figure 7

Figure 7: Vineland 2007 DOQ; development of

residential area boxed in blue (forest area cleared)

Figure 6

Figure 6: Vineland 2002 DOQ; future develpment

area boxed in blue.
Figure 8

Figure 8: Vineland 2012 DOQ; trees/vegetation

grew back after residential development.

Running head: LAND USE CHANGES IN NEW JERSEY

Discussion
Statewide Land Use Net Changes: New Jersey has 21 counties, and the land use/land cover datasets
from 2002-2007 were utilized to analyze the land use changes across NJ. Overall, urban land
development increased substantially while agriculture, wetlands, forests and barren land decreased in
land uses (Table 1, Appendix A). One of the possible reasons for urban land growth might be the
geographic location of New Jersey. New Jersey is near two largest metropolitan cities of New York and
Pennsylvania. Thus, many NJ counties would be susceptible to urban growth as people are moving in
from NY, PA and other places. In the land use change study done by Hasse et al (2010), counties with
critical urban growth and open space loss were Atlantic, Monmouth, Ocean, Burlington, Gloucester, and
Middlesex. For example, Ocean County is located in the Coastal Plain region of NJ, and its population has
grown by 1644% from 1930-2010 (Ocean County Planning Board, 2011). In the other hand, counties
examined as agriculture loss hotspots were Burlington, Gloucester, Hunterdon, Middlesex, and
Monmouth (Hasse et al., 2010). This exemplifies the trend of urban growth and decline of other land use
types such as agriculture. Hudson was the only county without any changes in agriculture; there was
zero land utilized for agriculture shown in Table 3 (Appendix A). Hudson is the most populated county in
NJ with 13,731.4 persons per square mile (Giarratana et al., 2012). The county is close to NY and its
economy is powered mostly by trade, transportation, finance, manufacturing, and other nonfarm
businesses (Giarratana et al., 2012). Both forest and wetland land uses declined overall, and could be
related to urban growth such as housing establishment. The land use of water had a total of positive net
change, and counties in the southern Jersey close to the east coast had larger proportions of increase of
water land use/land cover. This might be caused by climate change such as rising sea level; and Atlantic
County has an estimated rate of sea level rise of 3.98 0.11 mm/yr or 0.1592 0.0043in/yr (USEPA,
2014).

Cumberland County Land Use Changes: Land use and land cover datasets from 1986-2007 and 20022007 were used in ArcGIS to map out land use changes in Cumberland County, NJ. There were some
errors (a low percentage) generated when combing land use/land cover datasets. This is because 1986
data was based on county while 1995-2007 datasets were recorded based on watershed management
areas. The land use change of Cumberland County was similar to the trend of NJ with an increase of
urban land and water, and decrease of agriculture, forest, and wetlands. Barren land use in Cumberland
increased while the statewide barren land use decreased. One of the possible causes could be the
increase of urban land use in counties such as Monmouth and Ocean (Table 3, Appendix A).

Cumberland Urban Land and Agriculture Land Use Changes: Cumberland is known for its
agriculture, and is called the Golden Spot of the Garden City (Cumberland Country, 2015). But
there was a loss of 1234 acres of agriculture land from 2002-2007 (Table 2, Appendix A). In
Figures 3 and 4, farm lands are more concentrated at the north and northwest regions of
Cumberland for years 2002 and 2007. Fewer farms were scattered in south, southeast, and
southwest regions. A clear loss of farm land can be observed on the southeast area of
Cumberland from 1986-2007 (Fig. 3 & 4). The loss of farmlands is likely to be influenced by the
urban development which had an increase of 2626 acres of land use/land cover (Table 2,
Appendix A). From 1930-2010, Cumberland population growth has increased by 124% (Ocean
County Planning Board, 2011), and the overall change in population is 7.1% from 2000-2010
(Cumberland County, 2015). Based on the statewide trend of urban development exceeding
population growth (Hasse et al., 2001 & Hasse et al., 2010), the rate of urban development
might be exceeding population growth in Vineland. In Figures 1 and 2, X and Y, theres a clear

Running head: LAND USE CHANGES IN NEW JERSEY

10
expansion of urban development in the east and northeast regions from between 1986 and
2007. Less and scattered urban development is displayed in the west, south, and southeast
areas of Cumberland (Fig. 1 and 2).
Conclusion
Land use changes in New Jersey and Cumberland for the past two decades were analyzed by using land
use and land cover datasets from ArcGIS online resource and NJ Department of Environmental
Protection. Both statewide and Cumberland land use changes indicated growth of urban-land and water
land uses. Agriculture, wetlands, and forest were having declines in land use from 1986-2007. Barren
land had an overall decline of land use statewide, but Cumberland had an increase of 315 acres. Due to
New Jerseys close vicinity to metropolitan cities like New York and Pennsylvania, the rate of population
growth and urban development increased over the years. Counties such as Hudson, Ocean, and
Monmouth were the top counties with highest urban development. The land use change of water had a
minimal increase; and it could be influenced by rising sea level especially for counties in coastal region
like Atlantic County. In Cumberland, urban land use had increased and could be the major influence of
the decline of land uses of agriculture, forest, and wetlands. Agriculture is prominent in Cumberland, but
its land use/land cover has declined by 1234 acres from 2002-2007. Due to many negative effects of
rapid land development to both human and the natural world, monitoring land use changes is
important. From monitoring land uses, management plans can be developed to protect and preserve
valuable lands such as farm lands, forests and wetlands.

Running head: LAND USE CHANGES IN NEW JERSEY

11
References
Cumberland Country. (2015). About Cumberland County. Retrieved February 17, 2015, from
http://www.co.cumberland.nj.us/content/161/
Dalton, R. (2003). Physiographic Provinces of New Jersey. Retrieved February 17, 2015, from
http://www.nj.gov/dep/njgs/enviroed/infocirc/provinces.pdf
Giarratana, F., Ginsberg, D., & Koperweis, S. (2012). Hudson County Comprehensive Economic
Development Strategy. Retrieved February 17, 2015, from http://togethernorthjersey.com/wpcontent/uploads/2013/02/CEDS_2012_Update.pdf
Hasse, J., & Lathrop, R. (2001). Measuring Urban Growth in New Jersey. Retrieved February 17, 2015,
from http://crssa.rutgers.edu/projects/lc/urbangrowth8695/nj_urban_growth.pdf
Hasse, J., & Lathrop, R. (2010). Changing Landscapes in the Garden City: Urban Growth and Open
Space Loss in NJ 1986-2007. Retrieved February 17, 2015, from
http://gis.rowan.edu/projects/luc/changinglandscapes2010.pdf
NJDEP. (2013). Land Use and Land Cover. Retrieved February 17, 2015, from
http://www.nj.gov/dep/dsr/trends/pdfs/landuse.pdf
Ocean County Planning Board. (2011). Ocean CountyPlanning Board Comprehensive Master Plan.
Retrieved February 18, 2015, from
http://www.planning.co.ocean.nj.us/final_master_plan_2012.pdf
The Pinelands Commission. (2007). New Jersey Pinelands Commission: CMP Summary. Retrieved
February 17, 2015, from http://www.state.nj.us/pinelands/cmp/summary/
US Census. (2015). United States Census Bureau. Retrieved February 17, 2015, from
http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/34000.html
USEPA. (2014). The Impact of Climate Change on the Mid-Atlantic Region. Retrieved February 18,
2015, from http://www.epa.gov/reg3artd/globclimate/ccimpact.html

Running head: LAND USE CHANGES IN NEW JERSEY

12
Appendix A
1) Data Table for NJ Statewide Land Use Changes
Table 1: NJ Statewide Land Use Changes 2002-2007
Land Use Type

2002

2007

Net Change

% Change

Agriculture

594,599

566,045

-28,554

-4.802228056

Barren Land

59,138

51,678

-7,460

-12.61456255

Forest

1,568,809

1,526,367

-42,442

-2.705364388

Urban Land

1,452,077

1,532,364

80,287

5.529114503

803,611

810,541

6,930

0.862357534

Water

Wetlands
1,005,735
996,675
-8,760 -0.871004788
Table 1: Water and Urban land use across NJ were the only two land use types with positive net change
in acres; and urban land had an approximately 5.53% in net change from 2002-2007.

2) Data Table for Cumberland County Land Use Changes

Table 2: Cumberland County Land Use Change 2002-2007

Cumberland Land Use Type

2002

2007

Net Change

% Change

Agriculture

60,402

59,168

-1,234

-2.04297871

Barren Land

3,384

3,699

315

9.308510638

102,663

100,790

-1,873

-1.82441581

Urban Land

40,161

42,787

2,626

6.538681806

Water

18,814

19,056

242

1.286276177

Forest

Wetlands
95,725
95,648
-77
-0.08043876
Table 2: Three land use types with positive net change in acres were barren land, urban land, and water.

Running head: LAND USE CHANGES IN NEW JERSEY

13
Appedix A (Cont.)
3) Data Table for Cumberland County Land Use Net Changes
Table 3: Cumberland County vs. NJ Counties for Land Use Changes 2002-2007
County/Land
Use Type
Agriculture
Barren_Land
Forest
Urban_Land Water
Wetlands
ATLANTIC
-583.00
-1147.00 -4276.00
5514.00 1056.00
-571.00
BERGEN
-82.00
419.00 -1591.00
1418.00
53.00
-214.00
BURLINGTON
-2989.00
455.00 -3006.00
7066.00
535.00
-1151.00
CAMDEN
-697.00
-1.00 -2080.00
2869.00
156.00
-249.00
CAPE MAY
-652.00
-411.00 -1091.00
1755.00
579.00
-135.00
CUMBERLAND
-1234.00
315.00 -1873.00
2626.00
242.00
-77.00
ESSEX
-17.00
-107.00
-670.00
836.00
67.00
-110.00
GLOUCESTER
-6129.00
673.00 -2109.00
7652.00
606.00
-692.00
HUDSON
0.00
62.00
-469.00
450.00
52.00
-94.00
HUNTERDON
-2253.00
-477.00 -1835.00
4799.00
88.00
-320.00
MERCER
-2215.00
-427.00
-479.00
3460.00
16.00
-356.00
MIDDLESEX
-2418.00
-259.00 -1984.00
5644.00
123.00
-1105.00
MONMOUTH
-2909.00
-2224.00 -3215.00
8769.00
797.00
-1216.00
MORRIS
-612.00
-528.00 -3434.00
4649.00
13.00
-349.00
OCEAN
-493.00
-1228.00 -7077.00
7835.00 1511.00
-549.00
PASSAIC
-1.00
-152.00
-792.00
954.00
71.00
-84.00
SALEM
-1062.00
-237.00
-301.00
1633.00
489.00
-522.00
SOMERSET
-1715.00
-788.00 -1559.00
4539.00
91.00
-569.00
SUSSEX
-1308.00
-211.00 -2913.00
4370.00
452.00
-390.00
UNION
-14.00
-33.00
-234.00
295.00
13.00
-29.00
WARREN
-1164.00
-574.00 -1451.00
3151.00
271.00
-141.00
Table 3: A comparison between Cumberland County land use changes 2002-2007 and other NJ counties
with selective values highlighted.

Running head: LAND USE CHANGES IN NEW JERSEY

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Appendix B
Figure 9

Figure 9: statewide agriculture land use

net change. Counties in southeast region had
less loss of agriculture land use.
Figure 11

Figure 11: Statewide forest land use net change.

North and southwest counties shown larger
Proportions.

Figure 10

Figure 10: statewide barren-land land use.

East and southeast counties along the coast
exhibited low urban-land land use net change.
Figure 12

Figure 12: Statewide urban-land land use

Burlington, Monmouth, and Ocean
Counties had large increase of urban land use

Running head: LAND USE CHANGES IN NEW JERSEY

15
Appendix B (Cont.)

Figure 13

Figure 13: Statewide water land use net change.

Coastal counties such as Atlantic and Ocean had
Increases of water land use..

Figure 14

Figure 14: Statewide wetland land use net

change. Counties shown large decreases of
wetlands were Atlantic, Ocean, Burlington,
and Monmouth.

Running head: LAND USE CHANGES IN NEW JERSEY

16
Appendix C

Figure 15

Figure 15: 1986 Cumberland barren land

land use and land cover.

Figure 17

Figure 17: 1986 Cumberland forest

land use and land cover.

Figure 16

Figure 16: 2007 Cumberland barren land

land use and land cover.

Figure 18

Figure 18: 2007 Cumberland forest

land use and land cover.

Running head: LAND USE CHANGES IN NEW JERSEY

17
Appendix C (Cont.)
Figure 19

Figure 19: 1986 Cumberland wetland

land use and land cover.

Figure 21

Figure 21: 1986 Cumberland water

land use and land cover.

Figure 20

Figure 20: 2007 Cumberland wetland

land use and land cover.

Figure 22

Figure 22: 2007 Cumberland water

land use and land cover.