2012 LAND GRANT AND SEA GRANT NATIONAL WATER CONFERENCE Portland, OR

In the counties of South Georgia where numerous farmlands are under intense farming operation in the last several years, agriculture remains an integral part of the economy. Notwithstanding the environmental benefits anchored in aesthetic appeal, green space, habitat functions and pristine riparian corridors that are typical of a healthy agricultural landscape. The recurrent growth patterns and the intensity of farming in the region continue to fuel landscape disturbance. In other words, the rising farming activity evident in the region has been impacting the surrounding ecology. Accordingly, regional statistics show that numerous ecological indicators associated with farm landscape of the region such as cropland area, harvested land areas, the number of farms and irrigated land, have experienced numerous changes. Aside from the extent and nature of these changes, very little effort has been made in the literature to track the trends spatially along with the contributing factors. This is compounded by the absence of geospatial mapping of the trends in the region. In the absence of an integrated geospatial analysis using GIS, land resource managers not only risk basing their blueprints on faulty assumptions, but limited access to a vital decision support tool may likely deepen. This research would fill that void in the literature by using GIS in analyzing the changing agricultural landscape of South Georgia. Emphasis is on the issues, the current efforts to deal with the problem and factors influencing change. Other components of the paper include environmental analysis of the trends involving GIS and descriptive statistical analysis and future lines of action. In terms of methods, the paper uses census data built on a mix scale approach connected to descriptive statistics and GIS. While the preliminary results point to a growing change in the agricultural landscape of the area in terms of size of farm land and land in crops, the GIS mapping shows a gradual diffusion of change in the counties of the study area. This may be attributed to socio-economic and physical variables in the area. To deal with the problems, the