Grand Theory and Context‐Specificity in the Study of Forest Dynamics: Forest Transition Theory and Other Directions

This article critically reviews forest transition theory, which posits a decline in forest cover followed by expansion during the course of development. Whereas case studies in advanced industrial nations provided an empirical foundation, more recent cross‐national modeling efforts and studies in developing regions have raised doubts. Forest transition theory has limitations in its concept of forests, its treatment of forest dynamics, its explanation for forest transitions, and its generalizability. This critique provides the basis for research needs to link studies of forest dynamics on various timescales to other land use/land cover research, as via historical‐comparative methods and interdisciplinary theoretical frameworks.     

Land Changes Fostering Atlantic Forest Transition in Brazil: Evidence from the Paraíba Valley

The Atlantic Forest biome has only 13 percent of its pristine vegetation cover left. This article analyzes the consequences of land changes on forest cover in the Paraíba Valley, São Paulo state, Brazil, from 1985 to 2011. Multitemporal satellite image classifications were carried out to map eight land use and land cover classes. The forest cover increased from 2,696 km² in 1985 to 4,704 km² in 2011, mostly over areas of degraded pastures. The highest rates of afforestation were observed within protected areas around eucalyptus plantations. On the other hand, deforestation processes were concentrated on areas covered by secondary forests. Socioeconomic changes taking place in particular Brazilian settings, such as industrialization and agricultural modernization, allied to the Paraíba Valley's natural biophysical constraints for agricultural production, have led the region to experience a remarkable case of forest transition.     

LAND‐USE CHANGE IN THE ATLANTIC COASTAL PINE BARRENS ECOREGION

Information on the rates, characteristics, and drivers of land‐use change are vital for addressing the impacts and feedbacks of change on environmental processes. The U.S. Geological Survey's Land Cover Trends project is conducting a consistent, national analysis of the rates, causes, and consequences of land‐use change. In this article we assess change in the Atlantic Coastal Pine Barrens ecoregion from 1973 to 2000. Urban lands expanded by more than 900 square kilometers during the study period. Land‐use change in the ecoregion followed the tenets of “Forest Transition Theory” (ftt ) prior to the study period, but forest lands experienced consistent declines from 1973 to 2000. Increasing government regulation during the study period, consistent with concept of the “Quiet Revolution” (qr ), mitigated forest loss during the latter half of the study period. Generalized theories, including ftt and the qr , are valuable, but local and regional determinants of comparative land rents ultimately drive land‐use change at this scale.     

Degraded forest,degraded land and the development of industrial tree plantations in Laos

The concepts of degraded forest (pa mai xout xom) and degraded land (din seuam xom) have been variously applied in official Lao government policy narratives and law over the last couple of decades. In this article I focus on the concepts of degraded forest and land, and the relationship with industrial tree plantations, using two examples from southern Laos. I argue that the concepts have been significant in both facilitating and obstructing the development of large‐scale industrial tree plantations in different times and spaces, thus significantly influencing access and exclusion, as well as the spatialization of tree plantations. I provide a tentative genealogy regarding the emergence of these concepts in land and forestry policy in Laos, and briefly explain the links between degradation and ‘the land rush’ presently affecting Laos.     

Soy,Cotton, and the Final Atlantic Forest Frontier

From 1945 to 2000, the extent of Paraguay's Atlantic Forest was reduced from 73,000 to 12,000 square kilometers. Deforestation rates were exceptionally high from the late 1960s through to the end of the century. During this period, dual agricultural frontiers pushed into the region from both east and west, resulting in a production landscape defined by two principal commodities: soybeans and cotton. This article considers the expansion and contraction of these industries and addresses their impacts on the region's forest cover. Findings suggest that the role of cotton and smallholder agriculture has been greatly diminished as a driver of land cover change in the region since 1990. High rates of forest loss were sustained, however, partly as a result of continued pressure for agricultural expansion for soy production.     

"VALUING THE TROPICS": DISCOURSES OF DEVELOPMENT IN THE FARM AND FOREST SECTORS OF FRENCH INDOCHINA, circa 1900–40

The paper examines how land and forest management policies were elaborated in French Indochina circa 1900–40. It places their development in the context of a scientific and economic discourse about the value of land and forest resources, the most appropriate ways in which they might be exploited and the relationship between colonial science and indigenous knowledge. By focusing on debates and laws relating to the development of small‐scale and plantation farming systems (Land Code legislations) and forest management and exploitation (Forest Code legislations) the paper seeks to ground arguments about Western conceptions of the “tropics” within a discussion of national policy development and impacts. Focusing primarily on Cochinchina and Annam (southern and central Vietnam) and drawing on materials from French archives, the paper shows how changes in both attitudes and legislation have had lasting consequences on systems of property rights in forest management and on the place and status of indigenous peoples in Indochina.     

Tracking a Governance Transition: Identifying and Measuring Indicators of Social Forestry on the Willamette National Forest

Abstract

National Forests in the United States have undergone a spatially and temporally uneven governance transition in response to social and economic pressures and contemporary policy changes, with many national forest units moving from a wholly government-led “dominant federal” model to a more collaborative “social forestry” model in which nonfederal actors have greater influence and authority. Here we report on an effort to develop a suite of indicators designed to capture some of the most tangible elements of a transition from dominant federal to social forestry modes of governance. We pilot test these data on the Willamette National Forest using data from a variety of sources internal and external to the USDA Forest Service. We assess the suitability of these indicators for tracking governance transitions and discuss their applicability to other national forest units nationwide.     

Forest transitions in tropical landscapes: A test in the Atlantic Forest biodiversity hotspot

Analyzing temporal changes in forest amount and configuration is paramount to better design future forest management interventions. Such analyses are especially required for tropical biomes, which are usually subject to dynamic and heterogeneous land uses. Recent studies have suggested that many tropical biomes are passing through the process of “forest transition”, i.e. an overall change from forest loss to forest gain. However, this hypothesis remains scarcely tested, due to the difficulty of obtaining detailed, quantitative historical records of forest cover. In this study, we investigate 38 years of land use change in Brazil's Atlantic Forest, a biodiversity hotspot, from 1976 to 2014, using multitemporal datasets from aerial photographs and satellite images. We classified the historical series to produce land use maps and calculated a set of landscape metrics, including total forest cover, patch size, patch shape and patch connectivity. Our results indicated non-linear changes through time in forest loss and gain and also in landscape structure, which can be classified into two distinct periods. The first period (1976–1996) was marked by expressive forest loss and fragmentation, whereas the second (1996–2014) was characterized by a much less intense forest dynamics, with little deforestation being balanced by forest regeneration. We attribute the forest dynamics observed to temporal changes in socioeconomic factors, such as increasing human settlements and changes in environmental protection policies. Our results show that current forests are a heterogeneous mosaic of forests with different ages, and support the hypothesis that forest transition is occurring in Atlantic Forest landscapes.     

EDAPHIC LIMITATION OF A BRAZILIAN RAINFOREST PALM: THE ROLE OF ENERGY ALLOCATION AND COMPETITION FOR SUNLIGHT

Tropical forest palms are often associated with specific soil conditions, yet the ecological role of edaphic limitation in Palmae has seldom been considered. In the Atlantic Coastal Forest Biome of eastern Bahia, Brazil, the piassava palm (Attalea funifera) inhabits coastal podzolic soils but not nearby latosols. This paper examines the role of changing edaphic conditions and access to sunlight in the restriction of this species to tropical podzols.     

Forest Transitions in Mexico: Institutions and Forests in a Globalized Countryside*

Forest‐transition theory suggests that economic development eventually leads to forest recovery, but there is great uncertainty about the existence, the characteristics, and the mechanisms of forest transitions that might be occurring under current socioeconomic conditions. A case study in a small region of highland Mexico finds agricultural abandonment and forest regeneration, but also forest degradation due to woodcutting. A discussion locates those findings in the international political economy of agriculture and emigration in Mexico, which are substantially different from the conditions associated with forest recovery in developed countries. Although regional forest transitions are possible in marginal agricultural areas such as that studied here, their environmental implications depend on the evolution of social institutions coordinating rural people's environmental actions.     

Paraguay's Atlantic Forest cover loss – Satellite-based change detection and fragmentation analysis between 2003 and 2013

The subtropical Atlantic Forest is a highly diverse ecosystem in South America and one of the most endangered rain forests in the world. The present study focuses specifically on the Paraguayan part of the tri-national Atlantic Forest. Over the last decades, the Paraguayan Atlantic Forest presented one of the highest deforestation rates in the world, and today, only a small share remains. Hence, forest loss in Paraguay's Atlantic Forest was detected and analysed through remote sensing and GIS methodologies based on Landsat images obtained in 2003 and 2013. The objective of this study was to examine the spatial impact of forest loss in Paraguay's Atlantic Forest over the past decade with a special focus on biodiversity conservation. Classifications results obtained overall accuracies above 83% and revealed that over 6000 km² of forest was cleared during the study period. The forest landscape and its fragmentation level were characterised through a set of landscape metrics, in particular the proximity analysis which support the identification of forest priority areas for nature conservation and potential biological corridors. In summary, the study revealed that deforestation and fragmentation of the Atlantic Forest area continued, but at a slower pace than that in the previous decade. Protected areas were conserved very effectively; however, forest core areas without any protection status require further attention. Intact forest patches and their connectivity are a crucial prerequisite to biodiversity conservation in a highly fragmented forest area. The combination of different remote sensing and GIS methods provides valuable information for sustainable forest management in the region.     

Whose Norms Prevail? Policy Networks,International Organizations and “Sustainable Forest Management”

This article investigates the origin of international norms, arguing that one pathway is via the strategic action of sector-specific policy networks. Evidence is adduced from an examination of the contested norm of sustainable forest management (SFM). It is argued that a Canadian forestry policy network, under pressure internally and externally to demonstrate its environmental and social credentials, promoted an “economistic” SFM norm in regional negotiations known as the Montreal Process. The article outlines the policy network approach, applies it to the Canadian forest sector, and analyzes how a policy network centered in the Canadian Forest Service and the Canadian Council of Forest Ministers worked to have the network's preferred conception of SFM internationally endorsed. The article highlights the importance of investigating which social actors champion which international norms and encourages reflexive policymaking by calling into question the degree to which international norms actually reflect a genuine global consensus.     

京津冀地区1985–2000期间林地变化的时空格局及其影响因素（英文）

林地是维护生态安全,实现区域可持续发展的根本基础资源。林地变化可能导致一些生态环境问题,包括土壤侵蚀,水资源短缺,干旱加剧以及生物多样性的丧失。本文以景观生态学和逻辑回归模型为基础,探讨了京津冀地区1985-2000期间林地变化的时空格局及其影响因素。格局分析结果表明,林地景观破碎化正在下降和林地形状变得越来越规则。通过建立Logistic回归模型,这项研究旨在探讨这一区域1985-2000期间林地变化的重要变量。对于京津冀地区1985-2000期间林地变化而言,土壤有机质含量,坡度(5°),到最近村庄的距离以及人均国内生产总值是最重要的解释变量。研究表明,空间异质性会影响到林地变化的逻辑回归模型的可预测性。     

2000—2020年印度土地利用的时空演化及驱动因素分析

印度已成为全球十大经济体之一,也是全球增长最快的新兴经济体。作为世界耕地大国和农业大国,印度的土地利用格局演化对全球粮食安全和可持续发展意义重大。收集了印度2000、2010和2020年3期土地利用数据,借助景观格局指数、土地利用动态度模型、土地利用转移图谱等方法刻画了印度土地利用的规模、组成、形态、格局及时空演化特征,研究发现：①印度的土地利用类型中,耕地占比最高,2020年占总面积的62.91%。斑块形态较复杂,其面积加权平均斑块分维数为1.37。耕地总面积保持相对稳定,与其他用地类型的转入转出整体保持平衡,但耕地转为建设用地的比率近年来快速增加,2010—2020年建设用地成为耕地主转出类型,反映了快速城市化与人口增长的影响。②林地为印度第二大用地类型,空间集聚特征明显。林地面积持续而缓慢地减少,2000—2010年主要退化为未利用地（转出比率19.73%）,2010—2020年主要与草地相互转换（转入转出比率分别为17.94%、18.17%）。③印度草地分布破碎离散,因转入大于转出,总面积持续小幅度增加,2000—2010年、2010—2020年草地新增面积分别占所有用地新增面积的28.31%、28.64%,新增用地多由林地转入（分别为18.91%、18.17%）。④建设用地主要分布于首都新德里及印度东部的西孟加拉邦和阿萨姆邦,斑块相对规则。近年来,印度建设用地面积不断扩张,2010—2020动态度达2.51%,主要由耕地转入。⑤构建地理加权回归模型,发现极端温度、高程、人口、GDP与政策是印度耕地与建设用地演化的主要驱动因子。     

Forests in Limbo: Assessing Costa Rica's Forest and Land Reform Policies

In this article, we consider the stalled implementation of two state policies among recipients of land reform in Costa Rica: the transfer of authority over forests on state agrarian reform lands over to the Ministry of the Environment, and the Rural Development Institute’s requirement to issue land title to the recipients of its land reform projects. To date, neither of these policies is even partially implemented, resulting in both forests and marginalized landholders existing in a state of dual tenure limbo. In this article we draw on document analysis, interviews with policymakers, and interviews with recipients of land reform to determine why these policies have not been implemented. In addition, we assess the potential consequences for forest conservation that this situation has produced by mapping the extent and characteristics of forests that occupy this state of uncertainty.     

长春市不同土地利用生境土壤甲虫群落结构特征

在长春市郊区天然次生林、农田、防护林和市区公园绿地等典型土地利用生境共捕获土壤甲虫32科598只,其中幼虫13科312只,成虫25科286只。应用个体密度、类群数量、群落多样性、丰富度和均匀度等指数,研究土壤甲虫的群落生态结构特征,了解土地利用差异对土壤甲虫群落结构的影响。研究结果表明:长春市不同土地利用生境凋落物的移除对土壤甲虫群落结构没有产生显著影响;农田土壤甲虫群落类群数、个体密度和多样性的降低源于生境作物品种单一和周期性的农田生产活动,防护林在空间上起着相邻农田物种交流廊道的作用;提高生境土壤甲虫群落类群数、个体密度和多样性的关键之一是保持生境类型的复杂性。     

Unravelling property relations around forest carbon

Market‐based interventions to Reduce Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) enable the carbon stored in land and forests to be traded as a new and intangible form of property. Using examples from Cambodia, the Philippines and Papua New Guinea, we examine the property negotiations underpinning this new forest carbon economy. We show that the institutions and land use negotiations needed to ‘produce’ forest carbon interact recursively with existing property claims over land and forests. Even where customary rights are formally recognized (PNG, Philippines), claims to forest carbon are still complicated by ambiguities and complexities surrounding rights to forested land. Meanwhile the new value attached to forest carbon can stimulate efforts to appropriate land and forest resources associated with it, creating new power relations and property dynamics. This interplay between forest carbon and underlying contested property claims in rural forest settings creates an unstable basis for forest carbon markets and raises questions about future access to forested land.     

A pollen-based record of late glacial–Holocene climatic variability in the southern lake district, Chile

A pollen record from Puyehue area (40°S; 72°W) in the southern Lake District, Chile, indicates that prior to 13,410 ¹⁴C yr BP (ca. 16,500–15,200 cal yr BP), cold resistant and hygrophilous vegetation, particularly Nothofagus forest and myricaceous vegetation, covered the area. From ca. 15,000 cal yr BP onward, the forest became increasingly dense. Between 10,010 and 7450 ¹⁴C yr BP (ca. 11,000–8000 cal yr BP), the expansion of Nothofagus obliqua and the spread of grasses suggests the climate became warmer and semi-arid. Lowland deciduous forest (Nothofagus obliqua, Aextoxicon punctatum, Laurelia sempervirens) and Valdivian rainforest (Nothofagus dombeyi, Eucryphia cordifolia, Caldcluvia paniculata, Aextoxicon punctatum, Laureliopsis philippiana) were abundant. During the next two thousand years, stable warm climatic conditions prevailed, and the diversity of the vegetation increased. From 5760 to 1040 ¹⁴C yr BP (ca. 6500–900 cal yr BP), the North Patagonian rainforest expanded. The presence of Pilgerodendron/Fitzroya, together with Nothofagus forest, suggests that humid conditions prevailed. During the last millennium, human impact intensified and regional vegetation was disturbed, particularly the lowland deciduous forest and Valdivian rainforest. North-Patagonian and subantartic taxa, such as Podocarpus nubigena, Pilgerodendron/Fitzroya, Nothofagus dombeyi type, Austrocedrus chilensis and Drimys winteri, occupied the low and high-altitude parts of the Cordillera. Five hundred years ago, shrub and grasses expanded in the Nothofagus forest, suggesting that forest became more open under cool–cold, and humid climatic conditions. These conditions prevail to the present day. This is the fourth in a series of eight papers published in this special issue dedicated to the 17,900 year multi-proxy lacustrine record of Lago Puyehue, Chilean Lake District. The papers in this special issue were collected by M. De Batist, N. Fagel, M.-F. Loutre and E. Chapron.     

Promises and Perils of Decentralized Forest Governance: The Case of Indonesia's Forest Management Units in Reducing Emission from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+)

Indonesia's forest management unit (Kesatuan Pengelolaan Hutan or KPH) system can be a promising mechanism for balancing international and national interests for global carbon mitigation initiatives with local interests in project implementation. We discuss the potential role of the KPH system in implementing REDD+ (Reducing Emission from Deforestation and Forest Degradation) projects and improving decentralized forest governance. Substantial financial gains from international initiatives like REDD+ and others can provide appropriate motivation for the central government to ensure successful decentralization of forest management. Development and implementation of REDD+ activities can also support the KPHs in performing their basic functions: conducting forest inventory, developing and implementing forest management plans, and strengthening communication and coordination with local communities. However, engaging indigenous peoples and local communities, which is a legal mandate for the system, will require building some measure of democratic process that can hold the KPHs accountable to local people.