MAPPING STONE WALLS IN LIDAR AND INVESTIGATING 300+ YEARS OF LAND USE CHANGES IN THE NORTHEAST US FOLLOWING EUROPEAN SETTLEMENT

Airborne laser-scanners (e.g., LiDAR) provide high-resolution, three-dimensional images of topographic and archaeological features that are hidden by the forest canopy, such as stone walls, charcoal hearths, building foundations, mill dams, and abandoned roads and pathways. This talk explores the use of LiDAR throughout southern New England as a platform of mapping and scientific investigation into the geologic history of the region, with particular focus on the extent of stone walls and legacy of 300 years of changing land use in northeast US following European settlement. Mapping to date, focused throughout Connecticut and Massachusetts, indicates that cumulatively >90% of the total area of some study towns were deforested and cleared, but that the distribution and intensity of historic land use practices was highly variable. Overall, LiDAR-based maps of historic forest cover provide a foundation for understanding changes to soils, forest structures and ecology, erosion and sediment transport, and historic climatology. Furthermore, dataset of historic features created through LiDAR analysis aid preservation and conservation efforts by enabling scientists, archaeologists, and concerned groups to locate, research, catalogue and demarcate the features.