The impact of shifting cultivation on a rainforest landscape in West Kalimantan: spatial and temporal dynamics (original) (raw)
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Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2012
Industrial agricultural plantations are a rapidly increasing yet largely unmeasured source of tropical land cover change. Here, we evaluate impacts of oil palm plantation development on land cover, carbon flux, and agrarian community lands in West Kalimantan, Indonesian Borneo. With a spatially explicit land change/carbon bookkeeping model, parameterized using high-resolution satellite time series and informed by socioeconomic surveys, we assess previous and project future plantation expansion under five scenarios. Although fire was the primary proximate cause of 1989-2008 deforestation (93%) and net carbon emissions (69%), by 2007-2008, oil palm directly caused 27% of total and 40% of peatland deforestation. Plantation land sources exhibited distinctive temporal dynamics, comprising 81% forests on mineral soils (1994)(1995)(1996)(1997)(1998)(1999)(2000)(2001), shifting to 69% peatlands (2008)(2009)(2010)(2011). Plantation leases reveal vast development potential. In 2008, leases spanned ∼65% of the region, including 62% on peatlands and 59% of community-managed lands, yet <10% of lease area was planted. Projecting business as usual (BAU), by 2020 ∼40% of regional and 35% of community lands are cleared for oil palm, generating 26% of net carbon emissions. Intact forest cover declines to 4%, and the proportion of emissions sourced from peatlands increases 38%. Prohibiting intact and logged forest and peatland conversion to oil palm reduces emissions only 4% below BAU, because of continued uncontrolled fire. Protecting logged forests achieves greater carbon emissions reductions (21%) than protecting intact forests alone (9%) and is critical for mitigating carbon emissions. Extensive allocated leases constrain land management options, requiring trade-offs among oil palm production, carbon emissions mitigation, and maintaining community landholdings. greenhouse gas emissions | agribusiness | Elaeis guineensis | moratorium | REDD+ G lobal demand for food, biofuels, and natural resources drives capitalized agricultural development, especially for tropical plantations (1-4). Forest and peatland conversion to plantation agriculture may be a substantial source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from land cover change (5, 6), which generates 10-20% of net global GHG emissions (7). By acquiring extensive arable lands, plantations also affect land availability for smallholder farmers and communities, potentially altering local livelihood options (8, 9). Whereas environmental degradation from tropical agribusiness may overwhelm benefits of high-yield plantations for world food security (6, 10), impacts on carbon (C) flux and livelihoods are highly uncertain because locations and land sources for plantations remain largely undocumented.
Ecological and socio-economic functions across tropical land use systems after rainforest conversion
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 2016
Tropical lowland rainforests are increasingly threatened by the expansion of agriculture and the extraction of natural resources. In Jambi Province, Indonesia, the interdisciplinary EFForTS project focuses on the ecological and socio-economic dimensions of rainforest conversion to jungle rubber agroforests and monoculture plantations of rubber and oil palm. Our data confirm that rainforest transformation and land use intensification lead to substantial losses in biodiversity and related ecosystem functions, such as decreased above- and below-ground carbon stocks. Owing to rapid step-wise transformation from forests to agroforests to monoculture plantations and renewal of each plantation type every few decades, the converted land use systems are continuously dynamic, thus hampering the adaptation of animal and plant communities. On the other hand, agricultural rainforest transformation systems provide increased income and access to education, especially for migrant smallholders. Jung...
Forest Land Use Dynamics in Indonesia
2012
Alternative land use remains a controversial issue in Indonesia, particularly with regard to regions outside Java. This paper aims to highlight forest land use dynamics in Indonesia, and particularly the difficulties of resolving the conflicts between conservation, the need to preserve local livelihoods, the demands of the logging industry, both legal and illegal, and the pressures to convert land from forest use to other uses, mainly agriculture, plantations and mining. The paper also stresses the importance of more research into who benefits ...
2017
Protected forests have drawn international attention. This research aims to determine scenarios of land-use change in Protected Forest of Wosi Rendani (PFWR). The study was conducted using land evaluation approach to the land unit, determination and alternative land use change, based on the potential and the level of threat for PFWR. The results showed that PFWR should remain as a protected forest although the total score of forest modeling was 130. This forest serves to protect soil, water, and danger from floods and landslides. This region has springs, caves, and waterfalls, which can be further developed into eco-tourism and environmental services. As a city forest, PFWR makes Manokwari's weather cooler, enhances the quality of air, reduces environmental pollution, and adds catchment areas. As a community forest, PFWR has forest plants, agricultural crops, and fruits, in which people are only allowed to take flowers, fruits, and seeds they have planted. As a buffer zone, P...
2009
Gunung Palung National Park (GPNP) represents the biodiversity of tropical forests remain in Kalimantan Island. However, the natural ecosystem has been threatened by human impact. This study aimed (1) to identify the deforestation process inside the national park by imagery analysis of Landsat TM (1992), Landsat ETM+ (1999), and SPOT5 (2004), and (2) to find the driving forces behind agricultural expansions. The results showed that forest cover of GPNP decreased by 18.7% (equal with 18,675) at an average rate of 1.6% per year from 1992 to 2004. Land use changes by illegal logging were accelerated after decentralization (1,064 ha in 1992-1999 to 3,781 ha in 1999-2004). In the other side, increase of mix garden/bush area inside GPNP was relatively constant (4,555 ha in 1992-1999 to 9,040 ha in 1999-2004). Results also showed tendency on increasing areas for dry-rice cultivation and rubber plantation (averagely 2.0 ha per household). The study also revealed that secondary forest...
Environmental Science & Policy
Shifting cultivation has been attributed to causing large-scale deforestation and forest degradation in tropical forest-agriculture frontiers. This view has been embedded in many policy documents in the tropics, although, there are conflicting views within the literature as to the impacts of shifting cultivation. In part, this may be due to the complex nature of this land use making generalizations challenging. Here we provided a systematic map of research conducted on shifting cultivation in tropics. We first developed a literature search protocol using ISI Web of Science that identified 401 documents which met the search criteria. The spatial and temporal distribution of research related to shifting cultivation was mapped according to research focus. We then conducted a meta-analysis of studies (n=73) that focused on forest dynamics following shifting cultivation. A bias in research on anthropology/human ecology was evident, with most research reported from the tropical Asia Pacific region (215 studies). Other key research foci were – soil nutrients and chemistry (72 studies), plant ecology (62 studies), agricultural production/management (57 studies), agroforestry (35 studies), geography/land-use transitions (26 studies). Our meta-analysis revealed a great variability in findings on selected forest and environmental parameters from the studies examined. Studies on ecology were mainly concentrated on plant diversity and successional development, while conservation biology related studies were focused on birds. Limited impacts of shifting cultivation on some soil essential nutrients were also apparent. Apart from the intensity of past usage site spatial attributes seems critical for the successful development of fallow landscapes to secondary forests. Further research is needed to help ascertain the environmental consequences of this traditional land-use on tropical forests. Scientists and policy makers also need to be cautious when making generalizations about the impacts of shifting cultivation and to the both the social and environmental context in which shifting cultivation is being undertaken.
Tropics, 1995
Land-use changes in the period bet'ween 1969 and 1988 of 38,480 sq km areas in South Sumatra were examined. Those two periods of land-use map were digitized and input as Geographical Information System (GIS) data base using Arcflnfo software packages. Quantitative analysis ofland-use changes was carried out by overlay technique. Other related factors such as timber concession, and land tenure system changes, were also examined. It has been believed that the deforestation in South Sumatra was caused by timber concession exploitation that have mostly been started in 1968. Our observation, however, shows that most deforestation had occurred before 1968. In 1969, forest area only covered about 357o, while regrowth and cultivated land accounted for 37Vo and26%o ofthe total area, respectively. Therefore, the loss of forest might be related to other factors such as cash crop inEoduction in the early nineteenth century and road construction for oil exploration in the beginning of twentieth century. There was clear evidence that in South Sumatra, timber concessions'exploitation that was started in 1968, had less impact on forest cover than other land uses. This was demonstrated by the fact that during 1969-1988, in concession area about 74Vo of forest areas still remained unchanged, in comparison with only 42Vo in non concession. Moreover, there was much more forest regeneration from regrowth and cultivated land. In total, during 19 years period, forest cover area decreased by less than 107o. This was partially explained by forest regeneration, and the changes of land tenure system (marga system) that made farmers difficult to access forest land.
Deforestation issues are more problematic when indigenous (adat) communities, living within a forest, have lived there for many generations. These adat communities, who employ traditional land-use, are frequently accused of encroaching on the forest. To understand existing and future trends in the spatial patterns of the expansion of traditional land-use and deforestation, we conducted a case study in the Kandilo Subwatershed using mixed methods with image interpretation, spatial modelling and sociocultural surveys to examine the interrelationships between physical conditions, community characteristics and traditional land-use expansion. We investigated community characteristics through household interviews, communication with key informants, and discussions with focus groups. By using an area production model, we were able to analyze the effect of improved farming systems, policy intervention and law enforcement on traditional land-use expansion and deforestation. Based on our examination of a 20-year period of traditional land-use activities in adat forests, the evidence indicated that the steeper the slope of the land and the farther the distance from the village, the lower the rate of deforestation. Our study found that customary law, regulating traditional land-use, played an important role in controlling deforestation and land degradation. We conclude that the integration of land allocation, improved farming practices and enforcement of customary law are effective measures to improve traditional land productivity while avoiding deforestation and land degradation.