Estimating Historically Cleared and Forested Land in Massachusetts, USA, Using Airborne LiDAR and Archival Records

In the northeastern United States, widespread deforestation occurred during 17–19th centuries as a result of Euro-American agricultural activity. late 19th and early 20th centuries, much this landscape was reforested region experienced industrialization farmland became abandoned. Many previous studies have addressed these changes, but primary method for estimating amount distribution cleared forested land time period has been using archival records. This study estimates areas historical use features extracted from airborne LiDAR data compares to those century maps census records several towns in Massachusetts, state States. Results expand on adjacent areas, demonstrate that representative identified can be reliably used proxy estimate spatial extents area Massachusetts elsewhere also limitations methodology which mitigated through an understanding surficial geology well sources error materials.