Footprints from the Dust Bowl: Using Historical Geographic Information Systems to Explore Land and Resource Access, Use, and Survivability in “No Man’s Land,” Cimarron County, Oklahoma

Abstract

Despite the importance of land legacy effects on land use/land cover change (LULCC), historical data remain underutilized in analyses of social–environmental systems (SES). Drought, a slow-onset disaster, serves as an ideal case study to examine how multitemporal LULCC provides context for contemporary land use patterns. We use historical geographic information systems (HGIS) to analyze land ownership change, resource access, and land use in Cimarron County, Oklahoma, the epicenter of the Dust Bowl. We digitize archival county plats covering 1931 through 2014 into an HGIS. Through analysis of ownership information, we trace changes in familial and corporate landholdings during this period, exploring how different landowner types have changed over time. Aerial photography analysis helps to quantify the adoption of irrigation in relation to family survivability. Results show that families with larger landholdings in the 1930s were significantly more likely to persist through the Dust Bowl and continue owning land in the present. Access to the Ogallala Aquifer also increased the duration of land ownership. Corporate operators were most aggressive in adopting irrigation. Results raise questions of sustainability and uneven access to resources. We argue that land legacy has profound impacts nearly a century later. Further, SES studies can benefit from incorporating HGIS into their repertoire.

尽管土地遗产对土地利用/土地覆盖变化（LULCC）具有重要影响, 但在社会环境系统（SES）分析中, 历史数据仍然没有得到充分利用。干旱是一种缓慢发生的灾害, 是研究多时相LULCC如何为当代土地利用模式提供背景的理想案例。我们使用历史地理信息系统（HGIS）, 分析了位于沙尘暴中心的美国俄克拉荷马州西马龙县的土地所有权变化、资源获取和土地利用。我们将1931至2014年的县档案地图, 数字化为HGIS。通过分析所有权信息, 追踪了这一时期家族和企业土地所有权的变化, 探讨了土地所有者的类型随着时间的变化。采用航空摄影分析, 量化了灌溉与家庭生存能力的关系。研究结果显示, 在20世纪30年代, 拥有大量土地的家庭, 更有可能在沙尘暴中生存下来, 并至今仍然拥有土地。拥有奥加拉拉地下水层也延长了土地所有权的时间长度。企业经营者在采用灌溉方式上最积极。研究结果提出了可持续性和资源获取不平均的问题。我们认为, 土地遗产的影响, 在近一个世纪后仍然深远。此外, HGIS有助于SES研究。

Pese a la importancia de los efectos de los legados de tierra en el cambio del uso de la tierra/cobertura de la tierra (LULCC), los datos históricos siguen subutilizados en los análisis de los sistemas socio–ambientales (SES). La sequía, que es un desastre de lento desenvolvimiento, sirve como caso de estudio ideal para examinar cómo el LULCC multitemporal provee contexto a los patrones contemporáneos de uso de la tierra. Nosotros usamos sistemas de información geográfica históricos (HSIG) para analizar el cambio de propiedad de la tierra, acceso a los recursos y uso de la tierra en el Condado Cimarrón, Oklahoma, el epicentro del Dust Bowl. Digitalizamos en un HSIG los registros archivados de parcelas de condado que van de 1931 a 2014. Por medio del análisis de información sobre propiedad, rastreamos los cambios en terrenos de propiedad familiar y corporativa durante este período, explorando el modo como han cambiado los diferentes tipos de propietarios de la tierra a través del tiempo. El análisis de fotografía aérea ayuda a cuantificar la adopción de la irrigación en relación con la capacidad de supervivencia familiar. Los resultados muestran que las familias poseedoras de los lotes de terreno más grandes en la década de 1930 estuvieron significativamente más propensas a persistir después del Dust Bowl y a continuar poseyendo la tierra en la actualidad. El acceso al acuífero Ogallala también incrementó la duración de la propiedad de la tierra. Los operarios corporativos fueron más decididos en adoptar la irrigación. Los resultados generan interrogantes sobre sustentabilidad y acceso desigual a los recursos. Sostenemos que la herencia de la tierra tiene impactos profundos cerca de un siglo después. También, que los estudios de los SES pueden beneficiarse mucho si incorporan los HSIG en su repertorio.

Key Words:

• Dust Bowl
• historic GIS
• land legacy
• land use/land cover change
• social–environmental systems

关键词:

• 沙尘暴
• 历史地理信息系统
• 土地遗产
• 土地利用/土地覆盖变化
• 社会环境系统。

Palabras clave:

• cambio en uso de la tierra/cobertura de la tierra
• Dust Bowl
• herencia de la tierra
• SIG histórico
• sistemas socio–ambientales

Acknowledgments

We are grateful to students Teddy Breig, Kathryn Wenger, and Amy Graham for assistance on this project. We also thank the Cimarron Heritage Museum and Oklahoma State University Library for help with historic documents. We are grateful to family farmers and ranchers for sharing their stories. Finally, we thank the editor, James McCarthy, and the anonymous reviewers for their many thoughtful and insightful comments.

Additional information

Funding

Jacqueline M. Vadjunec’s work on this article was supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF) while she was working at the Foundation. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed here are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.

This research was generously funded by an NSF research grant (CMMI-1266381, Vadjunec, Phillips, and Fagin) and by an Oklahoma State University College of Arts and Sciences Community Engagement Grant (Vadjunec and Kedron; see https://uok.maps.arcgis.com/apps/MapSeries/index.html?appid=9685b2ba48434ad7a7c27464b086ebf1 for accompanying story map).

Notes on contributors

Jacqueline M. Vadjunec

JACQUELINE M. VADJUNEC is a Professor in the Department of Geography at Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK 74078. E-mail: [email protected]. Her research interests include mixed and participatory methods, land system science, governance, and smallholder and family farming adaptive issues in the Americas.

Austin L. Boardman

AUSTIN L. BOARDMAN received a Master’s of Science in Geography from the Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK 74078. E-mail: [email protected]. His research interests include GIScience, unoccupied aerial systems, land system science, and wildlife ecology.

Todd D. Fagin

TODD D. FAGIN is a Conservation Data Analyst with the Oklahoma Natural Heritage Inventory, a program of the Oklahoma Biological Survey at the University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK 73019. E-mail: [email protected]. His research interests include land use/land cover change, socioecological resilience, and geographic education.

Michael P. Larson

MICHAEL P. LARSON is the Manager of Geospatial Systems for OSU Cartography Services in the Department of Geography at Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK 74078. E-mail: [email protected]. His research interests include cartography and map communication, GIS, and emerging geospatial technologies, among other cultural and physical topics.

Peter Kedron

PETER KEDRON is an Assistant Professor in the School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85281. E-mail: [email protected]. He is interested in developing new spatial analytical methods and using them to understand pressing social and environmental problems.

Brian Birchler

BRIAN BIRCHLER is a Graduate Student in the Department of Geography at Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK 74078. E-mail: [email protected]. His research interests include the use of smart technologies for sustainable development and community-driven GIS.