Geospatial Assessment of the Impacts of Changing Agricultural Landscape in Louisiana

Agriculture is essential in the economy and environment of Louisiana. However in the last several years, notwithstanding these benefits, the study area of south Louisiana has been experiencing a changing agricultural landscape coupled with growing environmental impacts on the surrounding estuaries and basins attributed to numerous factors. To assess these trends, the paper adopts a mix scale approach involving descriptive statistics, census data and geospatial technology of Geographic Information Systems (GIS). While regional statistics showed recurrent changes in the area of farmland, cropland, and a host of other variables located within the agricultural landscape. The results of the environmental analysis point to intense use of agrochemicals and pesticides to boost productivity. Their impacts on the built environment and natural systems such as estuaries continue to amplify with threats to water quality, and the surrounding ecology. Notwithstanding visible hurricane and climate change threats and related impacts on the landscape, the GIS assessment shows a spatial diffusion of the trends associated with agricultural landscape change in the parishes and the projected land loss in the study area. Considering the severity of the problems and the risks posed to the ecological health of river systems by numerous stressors and factors. The paper identified current efforts at the Federal and state levels to deal with the issues impeding the marine environments. The future lines of action in terms of recommendations ranged from improvement in Federal assistance to the continuous monitoring of water quality and the environment.