Private-land control and deforestation dynamics in the context of implementing the Native Forest Law in the Northern Argentinian Dry Chaco

SummarySubtropical dry forests are among the largest and most threatened terrestrial biomes worldwide. In Argentina, the Native Forest Law (NFL) was passed in 2007 to regulate deforestation by mandating the provincial zonation of forested areas, while the erection of fences has been an increasingly common mechanism of private-land control reinforcement in the region; this is mainly fuelled by imminent land-use changes, recent land transactions or subsidies from the NFL. We explored the dynamics between the erection of fences and deforestation in the Northern Argentinian Dry Chaco (NADC) during the implementation of the NFL. We found that a third of land deforested during 2000–2017 had been previously fenced, with the highest percentage (44%) occurring during the sanction of the NFL (2007) and the completion of the forest-zonation maps (2011). Only 34% of deforestation within fenced areas occurred in zones where deforestation was legally permitted. In total, 327 386 ha of forests had been fenced within NADC by 2017, representing areas of potential access restriction for local people, who historically used forest resources for survival. Additionally, 57% of the fenced area occurred in zones where deforestation was restricted. A novel remote-sensing application can serve as an early-warning tool for deforestation.

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The snake community of Serra do Mendanha, in Rio de Janeiro State, southeastern Brazil: composition, abundance, richness and diversity in areas with different conservation degrees

Brazilian Journal of Biology ◽

10.1590/s1519-69842009000400006 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 69 (3) ◽

pp. 795-804 ◽

Cited By ~ 14

Author(s):

JAL. Pontes ◽

RC. Pontes ◽

CFD. Rocha

Keyword(s):

Rio De Janeiro ◽

Secondary Forest ◽

Southeastern Brazil ◽

Future Research ◽

Native Forest ◽

Abundance Distribution ◽

Forested Areas ◽

Undisturbed Forest ◽

Banana Plantations ◽

Janeiro State

We studied and compared parameters of the snake community of the Serra do Mendanha, Rio de Janeiro State, southeastern Brazil (22º 48'-22º 51' S and 43º 31'-43º 28' W), such as: abundance distribution, richness, species diversity and biomass, between forested areas, areas under regeneration and agriculture areas (banana plantations); to obtain information about the natural history and facilitate the development of future research. For capturing the snakes we used: pitfall traps, drift-fences and visual search (diurnal and nocturnal) along four transects for each habitat. The captured snakes were measured with a tape and caliper, weighed with dynamometers and sexed with the use of a catheter. The animals marked (with ventral scales cut) were released for posterior recapture. One individual per species was fixed and deposited at the Museu Nacional, Rio de Janeiro. We undertook an effort of 840 man/hour, and captured a total of 207 snakes belonging to 25 species (Colubridae 80.2%, Elapidae 12.6%, Viperidae 6.3% and Boidae 0.9%). The most abundant were: Liophis miliaris (n = 33), Micrurus corallinus and Chironius fuscus (both with n = 26); the least abundant: Elapomorphus quinquelineatus, Siphlophis compressus and Tropidodryas serra (all with n = 1). The species that contributed the greatest biomass were Spilotes pullatus (7,925 g), Chironius laevicollis (4,694 g), Liophis miliaris (3,675 g) and Pseustes sulphureus (3,050 g); those that contributed the lowest biomass were: Siphlophis compressus, Tropidodryas serra (both with 4 g) and Elapomorphus quinquelineatus (3 g). We found significant differences between the sampled habitats at the Serra do Mendanha (undisturbed forest, secondary forest and banana plantations). The results showed that a great reduction in the abundance, richness, diversity and biomass of the snakes occurs when the native forest is replaced by banana plantations.

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Effect of deforestation and subsequent land-use management on soil carbon stocks in the South American Chaco

10.5194/soil-2017-34 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Natalia Andrea Osinaga ◽

Carina Rosa Álvarez ◽

Miguel Angel Taboada

Keyword(s):

Land Use ◽

Land Use Changes ◽

Warm Season ◽

Native Forest ◽

Continuous Cropping ◽

Organic C ◽

Soil C ◽

C Stocks ◽

Chaco Region ◽

The Impact

Abstract. Abstract. The sub-humid Chaco region of Argentina, originally covered by dry sclerophyll forest, has been subjected to clearing since the end of the '70 and replacement of the forest by no till farming. Land use changes produced a decrease in aboveground carbon stored in forests, but little is known about the impact on soil organic C stocks. The aim of this study was to evaluate soil C stocks and C fractions up to 1 m depth in soils under different land use: 20 yr continuous cropping, warm season grass pasture and native forest in 32 sites distributed over the Chaco region. The organic C stock content up to 1 m depth expressed as equivalent mass varied as follows: forest (119.3 Mg ha−1) > pasture (87.9 Mg ha−1) > continuous cropping (71.9 and 77.3 Mg ha−1), with no impact of the number of years under cropping. The most sensitive organic carbon fraction was the coarse particle fraction (2000 μm–212 μm) at 0–5 cm and 5–20 cm depth layers. Resistant carbon (

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A Nested Land Uses–Landscapes–Livelihoods Approach to Assess the Real Costs of Land-Use Transitions: Insights from Southeast Asia

Land ◽

10.3390/land8010011 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 8 (1) ◽

pp. 11 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Guillaume Lestrelin ◽

Jean-Christophe Castella ◽

Qiaohong Li ◽

Thoumthone Vongvisouk ◽

Nguyen Dinh Tien ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Land Use ◽

Land Use Changes ◽

Forest Degradation ◽

Economic Benefits ◽

Opportunity Costs ◽

Costs And Benefits ◽

Wide Range ◽

Forested Areas ◽

Mitigate Climate Change ◽

The Cost

Reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD+) is viewed as an effective way to mitigate climate change by compensating stewards of forested areas for minimizing forestland conversion and protecting forest services. Opportunity costs assess the cost of foregone opportunity when preserving the forest instead of investing in an alternative activity or resource use. This paper questions the calculation method of opportunity costs using averaged economic benefits and co-benefits of different land-use transitions. We propose a nested approach to land-use transitions at the interface between landscapes and livelihoods and assessing a wide range of potential socio-ecological costs and benefits. Combining household surveys and focus groups with participatory mapping, we applied the approach in villages of Laos, Vietnam and China positioned along a broad transition trajectory from subsistence shifting cultivation to intensive commercial agriculture. By looking beyond the economics of land use, we highlight important linkages between land-use changes and livelihood differentiation, vulnerability and inequalities. Our results show the importance of addressing the impacts of land-use transitions on a wide range of potential ecological and socioeconomic costs and benefits at multiple levels.

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Combined deep sampling and mass-based approaches to assess soil carbon and nitrogen losses due to land-use changes in karst area of Southwestern China

10.5194/se-2016-57 ◽

2016 ◽

Author(s):

Yecui Hu ◽

Zhangliu Du ◽

Qibing Wang ◽

Guichun Li

Keyword(s):

Land Use ◽

Land Use Changes ◽

Soil Mass ◽

Karst Area ◽

Southwestern China ◽

Native Forest ◽

Eucalyptus Plantation ◽

Carbon And Nitrogen ◽

Managed Ecosystems ◽

Effect Magnitude

Abstract. The conversion of natural vegetation to managed ecosystems may negatively influence soil organic carbon (SOC) and total nitrogen (TN) stocks, particularly in the fragile ecosystems. The objective of present study was to assess SOC and TN stocks losses by combining deep sampling with mass-based calculations upon land-use changes in a typical karst area of Southwestern China. We quantified the changes from native forest to grassland, secondary shrub, eucalyptus plantation, sugarcane and corn fields (both defined as croplands), on the SOC and TN stocks down to 100 cm depth using fixed-depth (FD) and equivalent soil mass (ESM) approaches. The results showed that converting forest to cropland and other types significantly led to SOC and TN losses, although the effect magnitude partly depended on both sampling depths and soil mass considered. On average, the shifting from native forest to cropland led to SOC losses by 19.1 %, 25.1 %, 30.6 %, 36.8 % and 37.9 % for the soil depths of 0–10, 0–20, 0–40, 0–60 and 0–100 cm, respectively, which highlighted that shallow sampling underestimated SOC losses. Moreover, the FD method underestimated SOC and TN losses for the upper 40 cm layer, but overestimated the losses in the deeper profiles. We suggest that the ESM together with deep sampling should be encouraged to detect the differences in SOC stocks. In conclusion, the conversion of forest to managed systems, in particular croplands significantly decreased in SOC and TN stocks, although the effect magnitude to some extent depended on sampling depth and calculation approach selected.

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Conservation Policies in the Royal Forests of Medieval England

Albion A Quarterly Journal Concerned with British Studies ◽

10.2307/4048336 ◽

1978 ◽

Vol 10 (2) ◽

pp. 95-103 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Charles R. Young

Keyword(s):

Middle Ages ◽

Anglo Saxon ◽

Norman Conquest ◽

Robin Hood ◽

Conservation Policies ◽

Complete Destruction ◽

The Face ◽

Forested Areas ◽

Forest Law ◽

Royal Forest

The whole subject of forests, especially forests in the Middle Ages, is overlaid with a great deal of romanticism. The picture of a heavily-wooded England with primeval forests dotted here and there with villages connected by meandering tracks to relieve their isolation is fixed. Only a handful of Robin Hood bands lived within the depths of the forest itself. The present concern for man's destruction of his environment has caused this idyllic picture to be contrasted with the denuded landscape of large areas today, and the pathetic remnants of Sherwood Forest can be used as a cautionary lesson on industrialization since the eighteenth century. In fact, that lesson needs to be extended backward in time and the picture of the untouched medieval forest abandoned, for the reality was that men in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries made heavy use of the forests and encroached upon them just as man had done since he first came to the island or, more emphatically, since the Anglo-Saxon invaders began to make drastic changes in forested areas by their farming practices. However, after the Norman Conquest, the policies adopted for the royal forests did serve as some protection for the trees, even though the Norman kings no more had this as their purpose than had their predecessors. The thesis of this article is that the medieval English kings from the Normans on were conservationists in spite of themselves, even in the face of continuous demands from their own barons for disafforestment. Royal forest regulations enforced within the extensive areas under forest law protected the trees from complete destruction and slowed the inevitable encroachment of field upon forest.

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Impact of Land Use On The Variability of Soil Attributes Within Distinct Amazonian Environments

10.21203/rs.3.rs-490140/v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Renato Eleotério de Aquino ◽

José Marques Júnior ◽

Milton César Costa Campos ◽

Laércio Santos Silva ◽

Romário Pimenta Gomes ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Land Use ◽

Total Porosity ◽

Tropical Soils ◽

Amazon Region ◽

Native Forest ◽

Amazon Forest ◽

Soil Attributes ◽

Forested Areas ◽

Physical And Chemical ◽

The Impact

Abstract Changes in soil attributes caused by the conversion of native forest for agricultural use in the Amazon region is an area of research because of current uncertainties regarding land use and occupation processes. These uncertainties are significant for tropical soils. Understanding changes in soil attributes is vital for developing strategies to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions in the Amazon region. The objective of this study was to investigate the impact of land use on soil attribute variability occurring in distinctly Amazonian environments. This study was conducted using five meshes in Southern Amazonas: Forest 1, cassava, sugarcane, Forest 2, and Archeological Dark Earth (ADE). Descriptive statistical, geostatistical, and multivariate analyses were performed on data obtained from local measurements of CO2 emissions and data obtained from physical and chemical analysis of soil layers up to a depth of 20 cm. Most physical, chemical, and biological attributes of the soil were related to land use classifications. The similarity between cultivated and forested areas yielded no evidence of land degradation resulting from land use. Increasing certain physical attributes total porosity (PT), soil moisture (SM), and Macroporosity (Macro) yielded a greater increase in the CO2 efflux for ADE and Amazon forest environments than for cultivated regions.

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Of Catholicism, Forest and Management: An Analysis of Imaginaries in the Discussion of the Native Forest Law in Chile

Environmental Communication ◽

10.1080/17524032.2018.1546200 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 13 (2) ◽

pp. 165-178 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Daniela Manuschevich ◽

Bruno Takahashi ◽

Carlos A. Ramirez-Pascualli ◽

Yadira Nieves-Pizarro

Keyword(s):

Native Forest ◽

Forest Law

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Deforestation in Australia: drivers, trends and policy responses

Pacific Conservation Biology ◽

10.1071/pc15052 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 22 (2) ◽

pp. 130 ◽

Cited By ~ 53

Author(s):

Megan C. Evans

Keyword(s):

Industrial Development ◽

Forest Cover ◽

Policy Instruments ◽

Native Forest ◽

Private Land ◽

Terrestrial Environment ◽

Policy Responses ◽

Deforestation Rates ◽

Biodiversity Offsets ◽

Legislative Amendments

Australia’s terrestrial environment has been dramatically modified since European colonisation. Deforestation – the clearing and modification of native forest for agricultural, urban and industrial development – remains a significant threat to Australia’s biodiversity. Substantial policy reform over the last 40 years has delivered a range of policy instruments aimed to control deforestation across all Australian States and Territories. Despite these policy efforts – as well as strong governance and high institutional capacity – deforestation rates in Australia were nonetheless globally significant at the turn of this century. Legislation introduced in Queensland and New South Wales during the mid-2000s was at the time seen to have effectively ended broad-scale clearing; however, recent policy changes have raised concerns that Australia may again become a global hotspot for deforestation. Here, I describe the deforestation trends, drivers and policy responses in Australia over the last four decades. Using satellite imagery of forest cover and deforestation events across Australia between 1972 and 2014, I present a comprehensive analysis of deforestation rates at a fine resolution. I discuss trends in deforestation with reference to the institutional, macroeconomic and environmental conditions that are associated with human-induced forest loss in Australia. I provide a detailed history and critique of the native vegetation policies introduced across Australia over the last 40 years, including recent legislative amendments and reviews. Finally, I comment on future prospects for curbing deforestation in Australia, including the role of incentive-based policies such as carbon farming, private land conservation and biodiversity offsets. Despite being a highly active policy space, very little is known of the effectiveness of policy responses to deforestation in Australia, and whether the recent shift away from ‘command and control’ policies will necessarily lead to better outcomes. My analysis demonstrates the need for an effective policy mix to curb deforestation in Australia, including a greater focus on monitoring, evaluation and policy learning.

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Land-use and the conservation of Sharpe's Longclaw Macronyx sharpei in central Kenya

Bird Conservation International ◽

10.1017/s0959270902002071 ◽

2001 ◽

Vol 12 (2) ◽

pp. 107-121 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Muchane Muchai ◽

Leon Bennun ◽

Luc Lens ◽

Matthew Rayment ◽

Giovanna Pisano

Keyword(s):

Land Use ◽

Agricultural Development ◽

Conservation Status ◽

Land Use Changes ◽

Bird Species ◽

Dairy Farming ◽

Private Land ◽

Land Use Patterns ◽

Livestock Farming ◽

Central Kenya

The highland grasslands of central Kenya hold a suite of restricted-range bird species, including several of global conservation concern. These grasslands occur almost entirely on private land with no formal protection, and have received little conservation attention. This paper describes land-use change on the Kinangop Plateau, Kenya, and considers the implications for grassland bird species, especially Sharpe's Longclaw Macronyx sharpei. The Kinangop Plateau is an area of montane grassland east of the Rift Valley, used primarily for dairy farming since human settlement in 1964. However, dairy farming (which retains grassland as pasture) has given way to other forms of land-use, especially cultivation of crops. In March 1996, a questionnaire was administered to 50 landowners to investigate community attitudes towards birds and their conser vation, the extent of present land-use changes and likely future land-use patterns. The mean acreage of landholding was decreasing, and more grassland was rapidly being converted into cultivated land, with 3.2% being ploughed up during the six months from November 1995 to May 1996. Farmers expressed a preference for crop farming (66%) over livestock farming (26%) or other land uses. Thirty-two per cent expressed a positive attitude, and 60% were indifferent, towards birds. Most (76%) were not aware of biodiversity values or conservation. Though 64% were aware of declining bird populations around them, 82% of this group did not realize that their activities might be contributing to this decline. Sixty-eight per cent of landowners planned to convert all or part of their grassland holdings. Although landowners' interests seemed generally incompatible with grassland conservation, a substantial proportion (44%) were prepared to consider opportunities to enhance the area's conservation value. An informal follow-up survey in March 1999 concluded that prospects for the dairy industry and for grassland habitats on Kinangop were not as bleak as the initial survey suggested, but confirmed the delicate conservation status of Sharpe's Longclaw and its habitat. We suggest a variety of actions that might help to secure the future of Sharpe's Longclaw while promoting sustainable agricultural development on Kinangop, and propose several topics where further research is needed. Species such as Sharpe's Longclaw will only survive if we can develop ways of managing their habitats in a manner that is consistent, rather than in conflict, with the needs of the agricultural community.

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Land use and climate change effects on water yield from East African forested water towers

Hydrology and Earth System Sciences ◽

10.5194/hess-25-5641-2021 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 25 (11) ◽

pp. 5641-5665

Author(s):

Charles Nduhiu Wamucii ◽

Pieter R. van Oel ◽

Arend Ligtenberg ◽

John Mwangi Gathenya ◽

Adriaan J. Teuling

Keyword(s):

Land Use ◽

Water Resources ◽

Potential Evapotranspiration ◽

Land Use Changes ◽

Water Yield ◽

East African ◽

Strong Shift ◽

Climate Change Effects ◽

Forested Areas ◽

Effects Of Land Use

Abstract. East African forested mountain regions are vital in generating and supplying water resources to adjacent arid and semi-arid lowlands. However, these ecosystems are under pressure from both climate and land use changes. This study aimed to analyze the effects of climate and land use changes on water yield using the Budyko framework as a first-order conceptual framework assuming steady-state for pristine/protected forested areas. For nine selected forested water towers in East Africa, the amount and distribution of water resources and their decadal changes were analyzed. Results show that most areas inside and outside the water towers are under pressure from human influences. Water yield was more sensitive to climate changes compared to land use changes within the selected East African water towers themselves. However, for the surrounding lowlands, the effects of land use changes had greater impacts on water yield. We conclude that the East African water towers have seen a strong shift towards wetter conditions, especially in the period of 2011–2019, while, at the same time, the potential evapotranspiration is gradually increasing. Given that most of the water towers were identified as non-resilient to these changes, future water yield is likely to also experience more extreme variations.

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