Chapter 1 Minimum Flows and Levels - Southwest Florida Water ...

Table 2-1. Land use and land cover percentages in the 53,487-acre (84 square miles)
Braden River watershed for three time periods: 1972, 1990 and 1999.
Braden River Watershed 1972 1990 1999 1999 % of Total
Urban 2649 11311 18060 33.8
Citrus 1562 1039 838 1.6
Other Agriculture 20390 16545 14028 26.2
Uplands 24350 13590 9537 17.8
Wetlands 3757 7440 6615 12.4
Mines 88 1506 1508 2.8
Water 692 2056 2901 5.4
Totals 53487 53487 53487 100.0
Land Use/Land Cover - Braden River Watershed
30000
Area 25000 (acres)
20000
15000
10000
5000
0
Urban Citrus Other
Agriculture
Uplands Wetlands Mines Water
1972 1990 1999
Figure 2-5. Land use/cover acreage in the Braden River watershed in 1972, 1990 and 1999.
2.3.2 Upper Braden River Sub-Basin
The predominant land use in the Upper Braden River sub-basin is agriculture,
although the amount of land in this use category has declined between 1972 and
1999 (Table 2-2, Figures 2-6 through 2-8). Clearly, the single greatest increase
in land use during this time period was urban, which increased from 546 acres to
10,550 acres by 1999. What appears to be an increase in wetland area is
probably largely an artifact attributable to the coarser resolution of the earlier land
use map (i.e., 1972); the actual decline in acreage between 1990 and 1999 is
believed to be real and amounts to 525 acres. The increase in urbanized area
between 1972 and 1999 of slightly greater than 10,000 acres was essentially offset
by the total decrease in natural lands (i.e., uplands + wetlands) of over
11,000 acres. Although agriculture remains a significant land use in the upper
basin (26% of total area), it should be noted that this land use has declined by
slightly over 1,000 acres since 1972.
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