Extensive forests in Croatia represent an important biological and economic resource in Europe. They are characterised by heterogeneity in forest management practices dating back to the socialist ...planned economy of the pre-1991 era. In this study we investigated the difference in rates of deforestation and reforestation in private- and state-owned forests during the post-socialist period and the causal drivers of change. The selected region of Northern Croatia is characterised by a high percentage of privately owned forests with minimal national monitoring and control. We used a mixed-methods approach which combines remote sensing, statistical modelling and a household-based questionnaire survey to assess the rates of forest cover change and factors influencing those changes. The results show that predominantly privately owned forests in Northern Croatia have recorded a net forest loss of 1.8 % during the 1991–2011 period, while Croatia overall is characterised by a 10 % forest cover increase in predominantly state-owned forests. Main factors influencing forest cover changes in private forests are slope, altitude, education structure, population age and population density. The results also show that the deforestation in private forests is weakening overall, mostly due to the continuation of the de-agrarisation and de-ruralisation processes which began during socialism.
Transition from forest to rubber (Hevea brasiliensis Muell. Arg.) plantation has occurred in tropical China for decades. Rubber has been planted on 1 million ha to provide raw materials to the rubber ...industry. The role of various-aged rubber plantations in carbon (C) sequestration remains unclear. The biomass C accumulation including latex C and C distribution in soil of five different-aged stands (7, 13, 19, 25 and 47 years old) were examined. The total biomass C stock (TBC) and total net primary productivity (NPPtotal), whether with or without latex C, had a close quadratic relationship with stand age. Regardless of stand age, around 68% of the C was stored in aboveground biomass, and NPPlatex contributed to approximately 18% of C sequestration. Soil organic carbon stock in the 100-cm depth remained relatively stable, but it lost about 16.8 Mg ha−1 with stand age. The total ecosystem C stock (TEC) across stands averaged 159.6, 174.4, 229.6, 238.1 and 291.9 Mg ha−1, respectively, of which more than 45% was stored in the soil. However, biomass would become the major C sink rather than soil over a maximal rubber life expectancy. Regression analysis showed that TEC for rubber plantation at 22 years is comparable to a baseline of 230.4 Mg ha−1 for tropical forest in China, and would reach the maximum value at around 54 years. Therefore, rubber plantation can be considered as alternative land use without affecting net forest ecosystem C storage. In addition to the potential C gains, a full set of ecosystem and economic properties have to be quantified in order to assess the trade-offs associated with forest-to-rubber transition.
In this article, we operationalized a sustainability framing based on the Sustainable Rural Livelihood Resources Framework (SLF), which consists of five capitals—human, physical, social, financial, ...and natural. We proposed a sustainability index (SI) for two landscapes dominated by two agricultural systems: cattle ranching and small-scale family agriculture. Farm variables within each capital were analyzed using confirmatory factor analysis. Key variables were identified and index values were calculated for each capital. These were combined through a set of simultaneous equations to estimate farm-specific capitals and SI from the observed farm variables. Principal component and cluster analyses were used to group the farms according to their index scores and to further compare their characteristics. Furthermore, with the purpose of comparing the index scoring with an independent metric, a landscape indicator, which comes from a continuous forest, was calculated. From the results, the capitals that contributed to a higher SI score the most were financial and physical. As cattle ranching was associated with higher economic returns and infrastructure investments, this livelihood was identified as the most sustainable. Yet, cattle ranching has been a deforestation driver in the region. These results are attributed to the current conceptual framework design, which gives greater weight to material and economic variables; therefore, it generates a weak sustainability measure. Although the framework allowed us to identify land-use alternatives that could improve SI scores (i.e., silvopastoral systems), corrections to the proposed framework and methodological approach will need to include additional environmental benefits currently unaccounted for. Farmers that use their farms for conservation purposes should be recognized and compensated. An improved environmentally focused SI operational framework could help to endorse and promote sustainable livelihoods and to generate a strong sustainability measure.
Assessment of biomass stocks and growth rates are essential for knowledge on carbon cycle dynamics. Being a part of an agricultural system, fallows provide two services: they contribute to food ...security and they store carbon. In this study, 3384 trees in Sarawak, Malaysia, were measured for diameter at breast height (DBH) along a chronosequence of fallow ages, and the biomass and carbon stocks of the fallows were estimated using published allometric equations. During the first 15 years following abandonment, the biomass of the shifting cultivation fallows accumulates following a logistic model reaching saturation after 6 years at 47
Mg dry matter (DM) per hectare. Using the differential equation of the logistic model to calculate biomass accumulation rates shows very high accumulation rates (up to 12.7
Mg carbon per hectare per year) when compared to standard calculations of mean annual accumulation rates.
Abstract
Forest expansion has been observed in China over the past decades, but the typically applied coarse resolution satellite data does not reveal spatial details about China’s forest transition. ...By using three decades of satellite observations at a 30-m spatial resolution, we reveal here the complex spatiotemporal patterns of individual forest stands forming the forest return history of southern China. We calculate forest age, forest densification rates, and annual forest fragmentation and show that the observed forest area surge around 2010 is a result of trees planted after 2000 that formed dense forests about a decade later. We document that old forests in the 1980s were mostly fragmented into scattered patches located on mountain tops, but forests rapidly expanded downhill by 729,540 km
2
and alleviated the clear-cut and logging pressure from old forests. Our study provides a detailed documentation of forest densification and expansion for a country that had been largely deforested three decades ago.
Land use change has generally been considered a cause and consequence of environmental change. Here, we interpreted the land cover in northern Southeast Asia (including parts of Myanmar, Thailand, ...Laos, Vietnam and China) year by year from 2000 to 2018 with the Google Earth Engine (GEE) platform. The results show that the areas of old growth forest, young growth forest and annual crops have changed dramatically in the study area. The average frequency of land use change was determined to be 5.4 times (that is, the land use changed every 3.4 years) by comparing the land use types in each year throughout the entire study period, and the frequency of land use change showed a significant agglomeration effect. In addition, there was a substantial difference between the land use change determined with an annual approach and that determined with the commonly used time-stage approach; time-stage land use change studies may overlook gradual change processes in land use change, which highlights the necessary of determining a suitable time period for studying land use change at the local scale. The results show that understanding land use volatility and agglomeration has become important to deepen the understanding of land use change and to help formulate land use policy.
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•The frequency of land use change shows clear aggregation patterns.•Land use change studies conducted on a yearly basis provide more information.•Land use policies should incorporate the characteristics of local land use changes.
In intensively farmed regions, habitat fragmentation represents a major pressure on biodiversity. Depending on its spatial setting, set-aside land can increase size and connectivity of habitats and ...thus counteract fragmentation. In 2008, the EU-wide set-aside obligation was suspended and a large proportion of set-aside land was re-cultivated. With Denmark as case we apply an indicator to measure the effect of set-aside land on spatial structure of semi-natural habitats in term of habitat size and connectivity. Furthermore, we model effects of a hypothetical spatial regulation, where set-aside land with the greatest benefit for habitat structure is retained as uncultivated, while set-aside land with the least effect is re-cultivated. The model is applied to individual farms and to farm agglomerations of increasing sizes, enabling us to explore potential effects of cross-farm regulation. The novelty of our approach is the application of observed land-uses changes for modelling a hypothetical regulation working on a range of spatial scales. Results show that after abolition of set-aside schemes the effect of set-aside land on habitat structure was more than halved. Modelled spatial regulation considerably reduces impacts. Effects increase with increasing size of farm agglomerations. However, marginal benefits become negligible at agglomeration sizes over 36
km
2.
The quantity of water required to grow our food is largely influenced by our dietary consumption habits. The following study was a data-based assessment of the water footprint of national consumption ...of agricultural products in Denmark between 2009 and 2013 in relation to three diet scenarios: The EAT diet, the Insects_REF diet, and the Insects_EAT diet. The EAT diet is a diet that follows the dietary recommendations of the EAT-Lancet Commission on food, planet, and health. The Insects_REF diet is a diet identical to the Danish diet but having all meat replaced by insects. The Insects_EAT diet is a diet identical to the EAT diet but having all meat replaced by insects. The study found that the Danish consumption compared to the EAT diet of meat, sugar, and other animal products is high whereas the consumption of pulses, nuts, oil crops and cereal products needs to be increased. The three diet scenarios result in a reduction of −26% or −682 l/cap/d for the EAT diet, −4% or −112 l/cap/d for the Insects_REF diet, and −24% or −646 l/cap/d for the Insects_EAT diet of the total water footprint with respect to the Danish diet (2651 l/cap/d). The reduction in meat and sugar contribute to most of the water footprint reduction. Coffee remains a large contributor of the total water footprint of agricultural consumption.
•Danish food consumption patterns are high in meat, dairy, and sugar.•These habits consume a lot of water on a national and international level.•Adhering to the EAT diet’s recommendations in Denmark can decrease water consumption and lead to healthier individuals.•Meat substitution by insects does not result in significant reductions in water consumption.
Artificial subsurface drainage systems (DS) exert significant impacts on agricultural production, local hydrology, and the transportation of agro-chemicals to aquatic environments. With increasing ...focus on technology driven farm management and environmental concerns, airborne and spaceborne remote sensing (RS) studies for DS detection are increasing. However, a systematic review detailing the methodologies for DS detection using RS systems is currently lacking. This study presents a comprehensive review of 19 remote sensing subsurface drainage system mapping studies, encompassing a diverse array of imagery, acquisition periods, and detection methods, with the aim of identifying best practices for detecting subsurface DS. These studies aim either to delineate the actual DS tile networks or to identify areas or fields where DS systems are likely installed. While DS detection has traditionally relied on visual interpretation by human analysts, the recent advent of machine learning and deep learning techniques in RS image analysis has enabled their application in DS detection, facilitating coverage of much larger areas. Our findings highlight the advantages of timing image acquisition in relation to rainfall and field conditions. As well as analyzing different methods for automatic detection and delineation of DS. However, disparities in or the absence of standardized evaluation methods pose challenges for robust comparisons of methodologies and datasets. Nonetheless, the integration of machine learning and deep learning holds promise for large-scale and automated DS detection. Based on our findings, we present recommendations for future research directions in the field of RS-based DS detection, emphasizing the necessity for standardized evaluation frameworks and ongoing advancements in analytical techniques.
•The progress in remote sensing based mapping of subsurface drainage systems is reviewed.•Specific focus on methods, spectral bands, field conditions and accuracy assessments.•Review of both detection of drainage system tiles and field areas is provided.•Machine learning and deep learning are novel mapping methods in the field.•Future recommendation based on multitemporal acquisition are presented.
In Malaysia, the main land change process is the establishment of oil palm plantations on logged‐over forests and areas used for shifting cultivation, which is the traditional farming system. While ...standing carbon stocks of old‐growth forest have been the focus of many studies, this is less the case for Malaysian fallow systems and oil palm plantations. Here, we collate and analyse Malaysian datasets on total carbon stocks for both above‐ and below‐ground biomass. We review the current knowledge on standing carbon stocks of 1) different forest ecosystems, 2) areas subject to shifting cultivation (fallow forests) and 3) oil palm plantations. The forest ecosystems are classified by successional stage and edaphic conditions and represent samples along a forest succession continuum spanning pioneer species in shifting cultivation fallows to climax vegetation in old‐growth forests. Total carbon stocks in tropical forests range from 4 to 384 Mg C/ha, significantly wider than the range of total carbon stocks of oil palm plantations, 2 to 60 Mg C/ha. Conversion of old‐growth forest areas to oil palm plantations leads to substantial reduction in carbon storage, while conversion of forest fallows to oil palm plantations may sustain or even increase the standing carbon stock.
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