Description:
Nathalie
van
Vliet
,
Ole
Mertz
,
Andreas
Heinimann
,
Tobias
Langanke
,
Unai
Pascual
,
,
Birgit
Schmook
,
Cristina
Adams
,
Dietrich
Schmidt-Vogt
,
Peter
Messerli
,
Stephen
Leisz
,
Jean-Christophe
Castella
,
Lars
Jørgensen
,
Torben
Birch-Thomsen
,
Cornelia
Hett
,
Thilde
Bech-Bruun
,
Amy
Ickowitz
,
Kim
Chi
Vu
,
Kono
Yasuyuki
,
Jefferson
Fox
,
Christine
Padoch
,
Wolfram
Dressler
,
Alan
D.
Ziegler.....Abstract: "This
meta-analysis
of
land-cover
transformations
of
the
past
10?15
years
in
tropical
forest-agriculture
frontiers
world-wide
shows
that
swidden
agriculture
decreases
in
landscapes
with
access
to
local,
national
and
international
markets
that
encourage
cattle
production
and
cash
cropping,
including
biofuels.
Conservation
policies
and
practices
also
accelerate
changes
in
swidden
by
restricting
forest
clearing
and
encouraging
commercial
agriculture.
However,
swidden
remains
important
in
many
frontier
areas
where
farmers
have
unequal
or
insecure
access
to
investment
and
market
opportunities,
or
where
multi-
functionality
of
land
uses
has
been
preserved
as
a
strategy
to
adapt
to
current
ecological,
economic
and
political
circumstances.
In
some
areas
swidden
remains
important
simply
because
intensification
is
not
a
viable
choice,
for
example
when
population
densities
and/or
food
market
demands
are
low.
The
transformation
of
swidden
landscapes
into
more
intensive
land
uses
has
generally
increased
household
incomes,
but
has
also
led
to
negative
effects
on
the
social
and
human
capital
of
local
communities
to
varying
degrees.From
an
environmentalperspective,
the
transition
from
swidden
to
other
land
uses
oftencontributes
to
permanent
deforestation,
loss
of
biodiversity,
increased
weed
pressure,
declines
in
soil
fertility,
and
accelerated
soil
erosion.
Our
prognosis
is
that,
despite
the
global
trend
towards
land
use
intensification,
in
many
areas
swidden
will
remain
part
of
rural
landscapes
as
the
safety
component
of
diversified
systems,
particularly
in
response
to
risks
and
uncertainties
associated
with
more
intensive
land
use
systems."
Source/publisher:
"Global Environmental Change" 22 (2012) 418-429
Date of Publication:
2012-00-00
Date of entry:
2015-05-22
Grouping:
- Individual Documents
Category:
Language:
English