Land Use Change and Trends
The Bigger Picture: Tropical Forest Change in Context, Concept and PracticebackgroundThis article discusses differing concepts of reforestation between the fields of forest science and land change science. Most data from the field of forest science is small in scale and evaluates growth and production from the perspective of use of wood products. Available with subscription or purchase |
The Causes of the Reforestation in VietnambackgroundWood exploitation and agricultural expansion led to large-scale deforestation in Vietnam. Since the mid-1990s, forest cover in many areas has increased both in the form of natural regeneration and tree plantations. Policies such as the 1993 Land Law offered households rights to forestland and tree planting campaigns such as the Five Million Hectare Reforestation Programme made people responsible for owning and protecting forest land. Available with subscription or purchase |
Forest Transition in Vietnam and Bhutan: Causes and Environmental ImpactsbackgroundThe authors evaluate the history of forest transition Vietnam and Bhutan. Goals & MethodsIn order to determine the change in forest cover in Vietnam, the authors collected all available land cover maps, which were then compared to official government records. Using statistical analysis, they then determined the causes of reforestation in the 1990s. For Bhutan, there was no official data analysis. The authords do provide preliminary findings using available data and literature. Available with subscription or purchase |
A Tri-Partite Framework of Forest Dynamics: Hierarchy, Panarchy, and Heterarchy in the Study of Secondary GrowthBackgroundAs tropical forests continue to experience high levels of land use and land cover change (LULCC) as well as returning secondary growth, the literature is expanding to provide theoretical explanations for these processes. This report presents a three-part framework of forest dynamics that integrates multiple theoretical explanations for LULCC and secondary growth. Available with subscription or purchase |
Reforestation: Conclusions and ImplicationsBackgroundAs the final chapter of the Reforesting Landscapes: Linking Pattern and Process (2010), this paper evaluates and reflects on the major research findings of the volume. It utilizes the case studies in preceeding chapters to evaluate commonalities in reforestation and to develop an interdisciplinary framework for future studies on reforestation. Available with subscription or purchase |
A Re-emerging Atlantic Forest? Urbanization, Industrialization and the Forest Transition in Santa Catarina, Southern BrazilbackgroundThe Atlantic Forest region of southern Brazil has experienced rapid urbanization and industrialization in the second half of the 20th century. Trends in other regions of the world might suggest this would lead to increased forest cover in rural areas, however a developing country such as Brazil may present a different scenario. research & methodsThis research presents an analysis of forest cover change in the Atlantic forest of Santa Catarina, Brazil between 1975 and 1995/1996. Available with subscription or purchase |
Forest Expansion in Northwest Costa Rica: Conjuncture of the Global Market, Land-Use Intensification, and Forest ProtectionbackgroundThis article examines the land cover conversion trends in Costa Rica, a topic that is widely studied in developed coutries but less so in developing. Available with subscription or purchase |
Importance of Input Classification to Graph Automata Simulations of Forest Cover Change in the Peruvian AmazonBackgroundIn an area of Peru difficult for remote sensing imaging of deforestation and regeneration, the authors evaluate landcover and detect changes in landuse using novel data simulation techniques. Research goals & MethodsThe authors aim to compensate for remote assessments of deforestation or reforestation that may be strongly dependent on the seasonality of input images. To do this, they ran graph automata simulations while varying forest cover inputs to model land cover change. Open access copy available |
Influence of Overstory Composition on Understory Colonization by Native Species in Plantations on a Degraded Tropical SitebackgroundThis study evaluates forest understory regeneration in a 4.5 year-old plantation in Puerto Rico. The plantations, established in 1989, were planted on abandoned pasture in mixtures or monocultures of three exotic species: Casuarina equisetifolia, Eucalyptus robusta, and Leucaena leucocephala. Available with subscription or purchase |
Globalization, Forest Resurgence, and Environmental Politics in El SalvadorBackgroundEl Salvador was seen as a classic case study of population growth, deforestation, and loss of biodiversity, yet contemporary studies have not supported these claims. Instead, it has been found that forest cover in El Salvador today is actually greater than previously estimated, including remnant forest, reforested areas, plantations, smallholder and NTFP plantations. This resource explores the potential drivers for this unsuspected reforestation. Open access copy available |
