A landscape-based analysis of temporal and spatial variation of deforestation and carbon budgets an approach for multi-project baselines

Human activities in forests do not always lead to deforestation, but also may affect the forest architecture and species composition, without removing permanently the forest cover. Land uses that can activate forest degradation include extensive and intensive extraction of wood for timber and fuelwood, intensive grazing, and slash-and-burn agriculture. Any of these activities would only be considered as deforestation, if it leads to a permanent or long-term removal of more than 90% of the forest cover (FAO 1997), e.g. if traditional slash-and-burn agriculture with long fallow periods shifts to permanent or short-fallow agriculture. Tracking the change of forest fragments in a case study carried out in Chiapas, Mexico, revealed that of the 213,000 ha of mature forests that were present in 1974, in 1996 79% were converted to other land-covers, such as secondary forest (=forest degradation, 46%), degraded forest (= forest degradation, 24%), and open areas (= deforestation, 9%). During the two decades, three major processes could be distinguished: (i) closed forests were transformed to degraded or secondary forest, (ii) tree and shrub fallow were converted to more permanent open areas, and (iii) open areas present in 1974 did not change to forested classes. As such, closed forests were either incorporated into the slash-and-burn system or degraded due to extraction of forest products and/or grazing of cattle. Traditional slash-and-burn systems with long fallow and short production periods were converted to permanent or short-fallow agriculture.

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: De Jong, Bernardus Hendricus Jozeph Doctor autor 2038
Format: Texto biblioteca
Language:eng
Subjects:Deforestación, Captura de carbono, Cambio de uso de la tierra, Ordenación forestal, Artfrosur,
Online Access:https://www.tfri.gov.tw/main/download.aspx?dlfn=%E6%9E%97%E8%91%89%E5%8F%A2%E5%88%8A153.pdf
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Summary:Human activities in forests do not always lead to deforestation, but also may affect the forest architecture and species composition, without removing permanently the forest cover. Land uses that can activate forest degradation include extensive and intensive extraction of wood for timber and fuelwood, intensive grazing, and slash-and-burn agriculture. Any of these activities would only be considered as deforestation, if it leads to a permanent or long-term removal of more than 90% of the forest cover (FAO 1997), e.g. if traditional slash-and-burn agriculture with long fallow periods shifts to permanent or short-fallow agriculture. Tracking the change of forest fragments in a case study carried out in Chiapas, Mexico, revealed that of the 213,000 ha of mature forests that were present in 1974, in 1996 79% were converted to other land-covers, such as secondary forest (=forest degradation, 46%), degraded forest (= forest degradation, 24%), and open areas (= deforestation, 9%). During the two decades, three major processes could be distinguished: (i) closed forests were transformed to degraded or secondary forest, (ii) tree and shrub fallow were converted to more permanent open areas, and (iii) open areas present in 1974 did not change to forested classes. As such, closed forests were either incorporated into the slash-and-burn system or degraded due to extraction of forest products and/or grazing of cattle. Traditional slash-and-burn systems with long fallow and short production periods were converted to permanent or short-fallow agriculture.