scholarly journals Land Use Changes and Impacts on Livelihoods of the Communities Adjacent to Mt Elgon Forest Ecosystem

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
Nelly Masayi ◽  
Mugatsia Tsingalia ◽  
Paul Omondi
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Forest Ecosystem ◽  
Land Use Changes ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Remote Sensing Data ◽  
Forest Products ◽  
Forest Resources ◽  
Land Uses ◽  
Wild Fruits ◽  
High Dependency

Forests play a critical role in providing essential goods and services to forest adjacent communities. There is, however, insufficient information on how land uses affect the availability and use of forest products and services by forest adjacent communities. This study analysed the impacts of land use changes on the livelihoods of Mt Elgon forests adjacent communities. Land use changes were assessed for the period 1977-2019 segmented into four time periods corresponding to remote sensing data obtained for the years 1977, 1986, 1999 and 2019. Household surveys were conducted using structured questionnaires administered to 387 respondents. The questionnaires assessed how changes in land uses has impacted livelihoods. Analysis of data revealed that between 1977 and 2019, the size of land under natural forest has declined by 18%, bamboo declined by 15% while grasslands declined by 13%. On the contrary, the size of land under mixed farming and fallow increased by 30% and 27% respectively. Majority of the households (91%) were affirmative that they obtained products from Mt Elgon forest pointing to the importance of the forest to the communities living adjacent to the forest. Households closer to the forest were more reliant on the forest than those that lived farther away. The use of forest resources has been declining from 1970s with herbal medicine, game meat and wild fruits experiencing the highest decline of 28%, 27% and 24% respectively. The high dependency of the forest-adjacent communities on the Mt. Elgon forests call for enhanced conservation of the forest ecosystem and sustainable utilization of forest resources.

scholarly journals Changes in Coastal Agricultural Land Use in Response to Climate Change: An Assessment Using Satellite Remote Sensing and Household Survey Data in Tien Hai District, Thai Binh Province, Vietnam

Land ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. 627
Author(s):  
Duong H. Nong ◽  
An T. Ngo ◽  
Hoa P. T. Nguyen ◽  
Thuy T. Nguyen ◽  
Lan T. Nguyen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Land Use ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Land Use Changes ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Household Survey ◽  
Extreme Weather Events ◽  
Agricultural Land Use ◽  
Landsat 8 ◽  
Land Uses

We analyzed the agricultural land-use changes in the coastal areas of Tien Hai district, Thai Binh province, in 2005, 2010, 2015, and 2020, using Landsat 5 and Landsat 8 data. We used the object-oriented classification method with the maximum likelihood algorithm to classify six types of land uses. The series of land-use maps we produced had an overall accuracy of more than 80%. We then conducted a spatial analysis of the 5-year land-use change using ArcGIS software. In addition, we surveyed 150 farm households using a structured questionnaire regarding the impacts of climate change on agricultural productivity and land uses, as well as farmers’ adaptation and responses. The results showed that from 2005 to 2020, cropland decreased, while aquaculture land and forest land increased. We observed that the most remarkable decreases were in the area of rice (485.58 ha), the area of perennial crops (109.7 ha), and the area of non-agricultural land (747.35 ha). The area of land used for aquaculture and forest increased by 566.88 ha and 772.60 ha, respectively. We found that the manifestations of climate change, such as extreme weather events, saltwater intrusion, drought, and floods, have had a profound impact on agricultural production and land uses in the district, especially for annual crops and aquaculture. The results provide useful information for state authorities to design land-management strategies and solutions that are economic and effective in adapting to climate change.

scholarly journals Analyzing the Patterns, Trends and Dynamics of the Land-Use Changes in Azores Region: From 1990 to 2018

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (10) ◽  
pp. 5433
Author(s):  
Rui Alexandre Castanho ◽  
José Manuel Naranjo Gómez ◽  
Gualter Couto ◽  
Pedro Pimentel ◽  
Áurea Sousa ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Development Strategy ◽  
Land Use Changes ◽  
Regional Government ◽  
Land Uses ◽  
Comprehensive Planning ◽  
Sustainability Planning ◽  
The Enlightenment ◽  
Planning Strategies ◽  
Agricultural Areas

The remarkable richness and singularity of the Azorean Region (located 38° North) and its landscapes require a sharp, well-defined, and comprehensive planning policy. Bearing in mind the significance of this issue in the enlightenment of sustainability, planning strategies should be based and supported by different studies and thematic domains to understand the problem thoroughly. Using GIS (Geographic Information Systems), the present article enables us to identify the dynamics and patterns of the evolution of the Land-Use Changes in the Azores Region from 1990 to 2018. In aggregate, the Azores islands showed growth in artificial surfaces and forest and seminatural land-uses by essentially decreasing agricultural areas—most resulting from the economic and social development strategy pursued by several Azorean governments. Moreover, this study permits us to reinforce that the Azores Archipelago’s land-uses has undergone multiple changes—marked by increasing and decreasing periods. In fact, some of these reducing dynamics are disturbing. They require closer monitorization by regional government actors to give protection, preservation, and conservation to these incomparable ultra-peripheral landscapes, environments, ecosystems, and the region as a whole.

scholarly journals Hedgerows and Enclosures in Rural Areas: Traditional vs. Modern Land Use in Mediterranean Mountains

Land ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 57
Author(s):  
Fernando Allende Álvarez ◽  
Gillian Gómez-Mediavilla ◽  
Nieves López-Estébanez ◽  
Pedro Molina Holgado ◽  
Judith Ares Barajas
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Land Use Changes ◽  
Economic Benefits ◽  
Main Role ◽  
Land Uses ◽  
Social Ecological ◽  
The Social ◽  
Mediterranean Mountains ◽  
Agroforestry Practices

The present paper highlights the importance of hedgerows and enclosures in the mountains of Central Spain. Now, these landscapes have suffered profound variations in terms of agroforestry practices, especially in the Mediterranean mountains where the characteristic multifunctional has largely been lost. The article analyzes land uses changes, dynamics, and their morphological features between the first half of the 20th Century (1956) and the second decade of the present time (2019). The paper was divided into three sections. First, the identification of land uses using orthophotograph and aerial photograph; after that the info was checked with fieldwork. Eleven categories were identified according to the dominant use and land use changes and size of land parcels were taken into consideration. Second, the configuration and the information collected through the type and intensity of change in land uses made it possible to recognise and quantify their distribution and trend between these two dates. Also, the kernel density algorithm available in the Arcgis 10.5 software was used to obtain density and changes in land parcels. Finally, an overview is given of the main role that this agroforestry plays due to the social, ecological, and economic benefits that they provide for allowing sustainable development.

scholarly journals Research on Land Use Changes in Panjin City Basing on Remote Sensing Data

2018 ◽  
Vol 153 ◽  
pp. 062050
Author(s):  
Hua Ding ◽  
Ru Ren Li ◽  
Li Shuang Sun ◽  
Xin Wang ◽  
Yu Mei Liu
Keyword(s):  
Remote Sensing ◽  
Land Use ◽  
Land Use Changes ◽  
Remote Sensing Data ◽  
Sensing Data

scholarly journals Study on Coastline Changes of Xiamen City Based on Remote Sensing Images

2019 ◽  
Vol 136 ◽  
pp. 05003
Author(s):  
Yanfang Qin ◽  
Lin Ye ◽  
Siming Chen
Keyword(s):  
Remote Sensing ◽  
Land Use ◽  
Land Use Changes ◽  
Remote Sensing Data ◽  
Length Change ◽  
Vector Data ◽  
Remote Sensing Images ◽  
Change Rate ◽  
Xiamen City ◽  
Spatio Temporal

Based on the Landsat remote sensing data, this paper had monitored the coastline changes of Xiamen city in recent 20 years. By extracting the coastline vector data of 1999, 2005, 2011 and 2017 respectively, the spatio-temporal characteristics of coastline changes on coastline length, change rate and land change area were analyzed, and the main driving factors were analyzed combined with the land use changes in the coastal swing area. The results show that: the total length of Xiamen's coastline increased from 235.16 km to 264.98 km during 1999-2017, and the land area increased from 1558.84 km2 to 1594.29 km2. The most significant changes occurred in Xiang'an district and Huli district with the coastline length increased by 16.38% during 2011-2017 and 22.14% during 1999-2005 respectively, while the changes were not very conspicuous in other areas. According to the land use changes in the coastal areas, the coastline changes in Xiamen City were mainly related to the expansion of construction land and port constructions in Haicang district, Xiang'an district and Huli district, as well as the expansion of aquaculture in the Xiang'an district.

scholarly journals Land–Use Changes Influencing C Sequestration and Quality in Topsoil and Subsoil

Agronomy ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (9) ◽  
pp. 520 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benjapon Kunlanit ◽  
Somchai Butnan ◽  
Patma Vityakon
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Humic Acid ◽  
Humic Acids ◽  
Soil Depth ◽  
Land Use Changes ◽  
Rice Paddy ◽  
C Sequestration ◽  
Land Uses ◽  
Intergovernmental Panel ◽  
Soc Stocks

Soil capacity as a major carbon (C) sink is influenced by land use. Estimates of soil organic carbon (SOC) sequestration have mostly focused on topsoils [0–30 cm official Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) soil depth]. We investigated SOC stocks and their quality as influenced by land-use changes. Soil samples were collected from five soil depths down to 100 cm of three adjacent fields each representing a different land use—forest, cassava, and rice paddy—in Northeast Thailand. Sequestration of SOC in topsoils under all land uses was higher, as indicated by SOC stocks (59.0–82.0 Mg ha−1) than subsoils (30–100 cm) (27.0–33.0 Mg ha−1). The soil profile (0–100 cm) of the forest had higher stocks of SOC and humic acid (115.0 and 6.8 Mg ha−1, respectively) than those of cultivated land uses [paddy (100.0 and 4.8 Mg ha−1, respectively) and cassava (87.0 and 2.3 Mg ha−1, respectively)], which accounted for an average 30% increase in SOC sequestration over those with only topsoil. Topsoils of the forest had higher humic acid content but narrower E4:E6 ratio [the ratio of absorbances at 465 nm (E4) and at 665 nm (E6)] of humic acids (2.8), indicating a higher degree of humification and stabilization than the cultivated soils (3.2–3.6). Subsoil C was higher quality, as indicated by the lower E4:E6 ratio of humic acids than topsoils in all land uses.

scholarly journals Local Perspectives on Ecosystem Service Trade-Offs in a Forest Frontier Landscape in Myanmar

Land ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 45 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melanie Feurer ◽  
Andreas Heinimann ◽  
Flurina Schneider ◽  
Christine Jurt ◽  
Win Myint ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Oil Palm ◽  
Land Use Changes ◽  
Forest Products ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Rubber Plantations ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Land User ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Local Perspectives

Extensive land use changes in forest frontier landscapes are leading to trade-offs in the supply of ecosystem services (ES) with, in many cases, as yet unknown effects on human well-being. In the Tanintharyi Region of Myanmar, a forest frontier landscape facing oil palm and rubber expansion, little is known about local perspectives on ES and the direct impact of trade-offs from land use change. This study assessed the trade-offs experienced with respect to 10 locally important ES from land user perspectives using social valuation techniques. The results show that while intact forests provide the most highly valued ES bundle, the conversion to rubber plantations entails fewer negative trade-offs than that to oil palm. Rubber plantations offer income, fuelwood, a good microclimate, and even new cultural identities. By contrast, oil palm concessions have caused environmental pollution, and, most decisively, have restricted local people’s access to the respective lands. The ES water flow regulation is seen as the most critical if more forest is converted; other ES, such as non-timber forest products, can be more easily substituted. We conclude that, from local perspectives, the impact of ES trade-offs highly depends on access to land and opportunities to adapt to change.

scholarly journals A social and ecological assessment of tropical land uses at multiple scales: the Sustainable Amazon Network

2013 ◽  
Vol 368 (1619) ◽  
pp. 20120166 ◽  
Author(s):  
Toby A. Gardner ◽  
Joice Ferreira ◽  
Jos Barlow ◽  
Alexander C. Lees ◽  
Luke Parry ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Multiple Scales ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Land Uses ◽  
Research Initiative ◽  
Sustainability Problems ◽  
Socioeconomic Data ◽  
The Tropics ◽  
Development Trajectories

Science has a critical role to play in guiding more sustainable development trajectories. Here, we present the Sustainable Amazon Network ( Rede Amazônia Sustentável , RAS): a multidisciplinary research initiative involving more than 30 partner organizations working to assess both social and ecological dimensions of land-use sustainability in eastern Brazilian Amazonia. The research approach adopted by RAS offers three advantages for addressing land-use sustainability problems: (i) the collection of synchronized and co-located ecological and socioeconomic data across broad gradients of past and present human use; (ii) a nested sampling design to aid comparison of ecological and socioeconomic conditions associated with different land uses across local, landscape and regional scales; and (iii) a strong engagement with a wide variety of actors and non-research institutions. Here, we elaborate on these key features, and identify the ways in which RAS can help in highlighting those problems in most urgent need of attention, and in guiding improvements in land-use sustainability in Amazonia and elsewhere in the tropics. We also discuss some of the practical lessons, limitations and realities faced during the development of the RAS initiative so far.

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