Land grabs and labour: Vietnamese workers on rubber plantations in southern Laos

Since the early 2000s the Lao government has dramatically increased the number of large‐scale land concessions issued for agribusinesses. While studies have documented the social and environmental impacts of land dispossession, the role of Vietnamese labour on these Vietnamese‐owned rubber plantations has not previously been investigated. Taking a political ecology approach, we situate this study at the intersection between ‘land grabbing’ studies and work on ‘labour geographies’. Most of the remittances generated from Vietnamese working in Laos are used for non‐agricultural purposes, with people purposely choosing to not invest in agriculture in Vietnam. Vietnamese labour on Lao plantations still has significant spatial implications, both in Laos and in Vietnam, including through the norms, formal rules and practices introduced at rubber plantations by Vietnamese workers and management, but also through labour regime changes in Vietnam. In Laos, one of the most significant results has been to make certain spaces less welcoming to Lao labour. This study particularly points to the importance of geopolitics, as the close political relationship between Laos and Vietnam, and the fact that Vietnamese companies and managers are involved, is crucial for understanding the particular nature of the labour geographies associated with Vietnamese rubber plantations in Laos.     

Reducing topsoil salinity and raising carbon stocks through afforestation in Khorezm, Uzbekistan

Agricultural mismanagement of irrigated drylands results in severe soil degradation. Afforestation is an option for ameliorating such degraded land. We evaluated the impact afforestation has on the topsoil (0-20 cm) of salinized degraded cropland in regards to salinity, aggregate stability, and soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks in Uzbekistan, Central Asia. The effects of tree plantations established under either furrow or drip irrigation were studied four years following afforestation and two years after irrigation ceased. For comparative study we also sampled fallow land, land with 80 years of tree growth, natural forest, desert ecosystems, and paddy rice fields. Initial furrow irrigation showed to be most effective in improving soil fertility after four years of afforestation; the respective plantations of Populus euphratica and Ulmus pumila showed significant levels of reduced soil salinity and increased aggregate stability and improved SOC stocks. The comparison of the long-term afforested land with the short-term equivalent suggested a C sequestration rate of 0.09-0.15 t C ha⁻¹ year⁻¹. The SOC stocks of the long-term afforestation site exceeded those of the native forest. Hence, a rehabilitation of salt-affected cropland is feasible following the conversion into occasionally irrigated tree plantations, although it takes decades to reach steady-state conditions.     

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.     

泥石流多发干旱河谷区植被恢复研究

云南东北部东川小江流域的干旱河谷土地退化十分严重，土地表层的砾石含量已超过60％，有机质含量、全氮、有效氮、有效磷、有效钾的含量相对于残存燥红土明显下降。草坡是当地的主要植被类型，并未起到防治土地退化的应有作用。以合欢（Leucaena glauca)、马桑（Coriaria sinica)种植为主的恢复方式对土地的恢复有明显的改善作用。高密度的乔木树种合欢的种植使林下的草本物种的数量和组成发生了极大变化，较耐荫的植物占据了林分下层，且物种数量较草坡减少，群落多样性指数降低。三种马桑种植方式下，不但原有的草坡群落的物种仍有大量的生存空间，而且为一些新物种创造了生存环境，从而使物种的种类较原有草坡地增加，提高了群落的多样性指数。合欢种植的生物量最高，对解决当地薪柴严重短缺意义重大，马桑种植在增加灌木层生物量的同时，并未改变草坡的物种组成，还可兼顾解决当地的饲草和放牧，应大力推广。     

基于RS和GIS的西双版纳土地覆被动态变化

人口增加、经济发展导致滇南热带地区西双版纳土地利用/土地覆被发生显著变化,这些变化对该区的生态环境及生物多样性保护有着重要影响。基于RS和GIS方法,通过对1976、1988和2003年三个时期遥感影像解译分析,试图了解西双版纳近27 a间土地利用/土地覆被时空变化特征及影响因素。结果表明,近27 a间有林地在西双版纳分布最广、占绝对优势,其中以亚热带常绿阔叶林面积最大;但在研究时段内,有林地面积不断减少、呈现破碎化,尤其是热带季节雨林、山地雨林面积减少最为明显和破碎化最为严重。相应,橡胶园、灌木林面积不断扩大并聚集成片,其中橡胶园在1988~2003年间是面积增长最快、最多的地类,其面积扩张主要来源于对热带季节雨林的砍伐。轮歇地面积在1976~1988年是所有地类中增长最快、最多的,在1988~2003年由于向橡胶园转变而大幅度减小。粗放式的刀耕火种和橡胶种植园的不断扩大是主导本区土地利用/土地覆被变化的主要因素,土地利用变化导致了本区生态环境的退化和生物多样性的丢失。     

金衢盆地退化红砂土在不同利用方式下肥力逆转特征

以浙江省金衢盆地为例 ,探讨了我国南方山间盆地广泛分布的退化红砂土的特征 ,研究了退化红砂土在人为参与下土壤肥力的逆转及其与利用方式的关系 ,分析了各种利用方式下红砂土肥力性质的演变特征。     

Impacts of land use and fire on the loss and degradation of lowland forest in 1983–2000 in East Kutai District, East Kalimantan, Indonesia

Deforestation and forest degradation are proceeding rapidly in the lowland forests of Indonesian Borneo. Time series analysis of satellite imagery provides an ideal means of quantifying landscape change and identifying the pathways which lead to the changes. This study investigates the forest and land cover changes by classifying Landsat MSS (Multispectral Scanner), TM (Thematic Mapper) and ETM+ (Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus) images over three time periods (1983–90, 1990–98, and 1998–2000), creating land cover maps for each year and change trajectories for each year-pair. The study area chosen covers an area of 2160 km² of undulating topography and alluvial plains in the East Kutai District of East Kalimantan Province, which in the 1980s was covered mostly with lowland dipterocarp forest; today the landscape is a patchwork dominated by oil palm and timber plantations and degraded forest. We relate land cover change data to land use allocation and to fire impacts based on fire hotspot distribution and fire damage information. The multidate land cover change trajectories provide an insight into the forest loss and degradation pathways over the 17-year period spanning the first entry of commercial logging concessionaires, followed by a government-sponsored transmigration scheme, government-licensed timber and oil palm plantations and, finally, the devastating fires of 1998. The results show a mean deforestation rate of 42 km² or 6 per cent per year for 1983–2000, rising to 10 per cent per year for 1990–98; by 2000, 70 per cent of forest initially damaged by fire and drought during the 1982–83 El Niño event was classified as non-forest. Although our study area is perhaps a worst-case scenario in terms of land use planning outcomes, the lessons from this research are directly applicable to scenario prediction for informed forest and land use planning and monitoring.     

川江流域防护林区林地的保护性利用

川江流域防护林区森林地面积仅占全区林地面积的44％,而疏林地、灌木林地、未成林造林地、宜林地等尚需抚育或营造的林地占56％,其中宜林地尚有20％。在分析区内林地利用现状的同时,指出了各类林地的主要土壤类型、主要问题及造林或抚育的难易。着重从森林营造和管理角度,提出了相应的保护林地措施。     

"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.     

Cross‐border rubber cultivation between China and Laos: Regionalization by Akha and Tai rubber farmers

This paper is a multi‐sited ethnography of cross‐border rubber cultivation between China and Laos. Smallholder minority rubber farmers from Xishuangbanna (China) have forged successful informal share‐cropping arrangements to grow rubber trees on the land of relatives and friends in neighbouring Laos. By becoming rich and entrepreneurial rural citizens, Akha and Tai farmers have also, in their own eyes, raised their own ‘quality’ (suzhi) and see themselves as ‘modern’. By examining various meanings of ‘modern’ in China, and contrasting the rubber farmers' experience with Jacob Eyferth's notion of rural ‘deskilling’, this paper shows how through learning to plant, cultivate and tap rubber, these farmers have taken on the discipline and technical knowledge of ‘modern’ workers and become ‘skilled’. By rising in ‘quality’, minority farmers on China's periphery challenge the entrenched binaries of urban/rural, modern/backward, prosperous/poor and Han/minority nationality. Xishuangbanna minority farmers acknowledge that they are also ‘backward’ in the Chinese social hierarchy, but their extension of rubber cultivation to kin and others in Laos has confirmed their modernity as dispensers of development, technical know‐how and ‘superior’ Chinese culture to Lao farmers who are ‘backward and poor’. In contrast to large state rubber farms that have failed to establish rubber plantations in northern Laos, minority farmers have created regionalization.     

我国南方植物生态学研究述评

我国热带亚热带区域生态系统具有很高的潜在脆弱性,在人类干扰和全球变化的双重影响下,我国南方地区面临着严峻的生态环境问题。本文总结和评述了近年来我国南方植物生态学研究的几个重点领域,包括森林群落生物多样性维持、群落演替机制、养分循环和碳循环,山地丘陵退化生态系统的植被恢复,湿地环境修复、生物多样性保护、生物入侵机制和温室气体排放,城市植物的环境修复、热岛效应缓解及碳源汇功能等,并展望了我国南方植物生态学研究的未来方向,提出修复和重建大面积的退化生态系统,促进生物多样性保护,维护人居环境和人类健康,提高生态系统对全球变化的适应性,增强生态安全保障,是今后我国南方植物生态学研究所肩负的历史使命。     

1960-2010 年贵州省喀斯特山区陡坡土地利用变化

基于GIS 与RS技术, 以贵州省喀斯特山区坡度大于25°的区域为研究对象, 利用1960 年1:50000 地形图、1990 年Landsat TM遥感影像以及2010 年的环境减灾卫星(HJ-1A/1B)影像, 解译获取1960、1990、2010 年3 个时间点的土地利用数据, 并结合贵州省水文地质图、坡度图进行陡坡土地利用变化分析。结果表明:①1960-1990 年的30 年间, 有林地、灌木林、水体呈减少趋势, 其中灌木林减少的最多, 其次是有林地;而草地、建设用地、裸岩和耕地呈持续增长趋势, 其中草地增加的最多, 其次是耕地。②1990-2010 年的20 年间, 灌木林、裸岩、耕地呈减少趋势, 其中耕地减少的最多;而有林地、疏林地、草地、水体呈增长趋势, 其中疏林地增加的最多。③随坡度增加覆盖比例呈降低趋势的土地利用类型为有林地、疏林地、水体、建设用地和耕地;随坡度增加覆盖比例呈增加趋势的土地利用为灌木林、草地和裸岩。     

Resource Development and the Perpetuation of Poverty in Rural Laos

ABSTRACT

Government efforts to industrialise and modernise the Lao economy through intensive resource development are having adverse effects on rural livelihoods as resources are degraded and access to limited land and natural resources has intensified. In one of the country's key river basins, Nam Ngum, a series of resource developments including hydropower, mining and agricultural plantations have modified the landscape over the last four decades. Uncoordinated resource developments are putting intense pressure on increasingly scarce natural resources and affecting the lives of people who are dependent on them. Economic diversification of rural households in Feuang District in the Nam Ngum River Basin has created significant discrepancies between the rich and the poor, yet all households remain primarily dependent on agriculture. Land is of enduring importance to rural livelihoods. National development intervention has failed to secure basic livelihoods for rural households.     

中亚热带山区土地利用变化对土壤有机碳储量和质量的影响

通过对中亚热带山区天然林、人工林(用材林和经济林)、次生林、果园和坡耕地等7 种典型土地利用方式的土壤有机碳储量及质量的研究, 结果表明: 中亚热带山区天然林转变 为其他土地利用类型后, 土壤有机碳储量下降了25.6%~51.2%, 而表层0~20 cm 土壤有机碳 储量下降了45.1%~74.8%, 比底层土壤有机碳对土地利用变化的响应更为敏感。土壤轻组有机碳储量(0~60 cm) 下降了52.2%~84.2%, 轻组有机碳占总有机碳比例从13.3%降到3.0% ~10.7%, 比土壤总有机碳对土地利用变化更为敏感。天然林转变为其他土地利用类型后土壤 有机碳损失巨大的原因主要与凋落物归还数量及质量, 水土流失和经营措施对土壤(特别是表层土壤) 的扰动引起土壤有机质加速分解等因素有关。坡耕地人为干扰最严重, 土壤有机 碳下降幅度最大。中亚热带山区土地利用变化引起土壤有机碳储量下降幅度高于全球平均水平, 主要与区域降水和地貌条件有关。因此, 保护山区脆弱生态环境, 加强天然林保护和植 被恢复, 合理营造人工林, 减少耕作, 对山区土壤碳吸存、减缓大气CO₂ 浓度升高和气候变化以及促进山区可持续开发的生态服务功能发展都具有重要意义。     

改革开放40 a来新疆土地覆被变化的空间格局与特征

改革开放40 a以来,新疆土地利用和地表覆被发生了巨大变化,在产生巨大社会经济效益的同时,也产生了许多生态与环境问题。为了给未来新疆土地利用、水资源开发及社会经济可持续发展国土空间规划提供依据,通过采用分区分层的决策树方法和向量相似度的变化检测方法,完成了新疆2015年、2010年、2000年、1990年、1975年的土地覆被1∶100 000矢量数据集,准确反演了过去40 a（改革开放40 a）来新疆地表覆被变化过程,分析了新疆土地覆被变化与国家改革开放政策相互关系,从垦荒（1975—1990年）、农业资源开发（1990—2000年）、西部大开发（2000—2010年）、对口援疆（2010—2015年）4个阶段,阐述了国家政策力度和导向对土地覆被变化的影响。分析表明：新疆土地覆被变化由耕地开垦、人工表面增长的高速发展模式开始向兼顾生态文明建设的可持续发展方向转型,各主要地类的变化也由急剧发展转向基本可控。近40 a新疆耕地面积增加了128%（50 414.02 km²）,新增耕地依照水土资源配置特征,遵循空间规律分布;人工表面（建设、交通、工矿用地）面积增加了197%（7 497.11 km²）,在2000年后增速明显,2010年后南疆增加幅度很大;1990年前林地面积呈现减少趋势,1990年后呈增加的态势,新增林地广泛分布在全疆天然林封育保护范围和天保工程实施区内;湿地1990年前面积减少明显,1990—2000年保持稳定,2000年后呈增加趋势;草地和其他类型的面积呈现持续减少态势。     

1990—2010年黄河宁蒙段所处流域土地利用变化

以Landsat TM和ETM+遥感影像为基础数据源,应用地理信息系统技术,对黄河宁蒙段所处流域1990-2010年土地利用变化进行了监测,并结合气候变化、人类活动和政策因素探讨了土地利用变化的驱动力,初步分析了土地利用/覆被变化对流域水-沙关系的影响。结果表明：（1）20年来研究区建设用地面积增加了1 310.04 km²,耕地面积增加了611.15 km²,水域和草地面积分别减少了1 499.51 km²和474.93 km²;（2）20年来黄河宁蒙段所处流域土地利用变化速度经历了缓慢变化-显著变化-急剧变化的过程。各土地利用类型在后10 年（2000-2010年）的变化速度均比前10年（1990-2000年）大;（3）研究时段内草地和未利用地转化为林地,草地和耕地被开发为建设用地,未利用地和草地被开垦为耕地;（4）人类活动和政策因素是影响20年来土地利用变化的主要驱动因子,但人口数量的增加、经济的发展及环境政策的调整对研究区土地利用变化的影响更为显著;（5）1990-2010年流域耕地和林地面积分别增加了611.15 km²和543.19 km²,植被覆盖度由1990年的34.7%增加到2010年的40.8%。林地和耕地面积的增加均使得流域总蒸发量增加,灌溉用水增加,从而径流量减少,植被覆盖度的增加使得流域径流量和输沙量均降低。     

我国东北地区某些荒芜土地的景观生态建设

我国东北地区荒芜土地的主要问题是:①土地自然生产力得不到充分发挥;②土地退化。本文根据景观生态学关于人与自然共同创造的思想及生物控制共生与自然界等级组织理论,主张在东北区域的沙地上建立林、草、田复合生态系统,在沙垅间长洼地上节节修筑沙坝,控制7—8月暴雨径流,再按不同生境种植水稻、芦苇及红麻,既适应环境,又提高生产力。     

中亚热带山区土地利用变化对土壤有机碳储量和质量的影响

Land use/cover change (LUCC) is widely recognized as one of the most important driving forces of global carbon cycles. The influence of converting native forest into plantations, secondary forest, orchard and arable land on stores and quality of soil organic carbon (SOC) was investigated in mid-subtropical mountainous area of southern China. The results showed that LUCC had led to great decreases in SOC stocks and quality. Considerable SOC and light-fraction organic carbon (LFOC) had been stored in the native forest (142.2 t hm⁻² and 14.8 t hm⁻² respectively). When the native forest was converted to plantations, secondary forest, orchard and arable land, the SOC stocks decreased by 25.6%, 28.7%, 38.0%, 31.8% and 51.2%, respectively. The LFOC stocks decreased by 52.2% to 57.2% when the native forest was converted to woodland plantations and secondary forest, and by 82.1% to 84.2% when converted to economic plantation, orchard and arable land. After the conversion, the ratios of LFOC to SOC (0–60 cm) decreased from 13.3% to about 3.0% to 10.7%. The SOC and LFOC stored at the upper 20 cm were more sensitive to LUCC when compared to the subsurface soil layer. Also, the decline in carbon storage induced by LUCC was greater than the global average level, it could be explained by the vulnerable natural environment and special human management practices. Thus, it is wise to enhance soil carbon sequestration, mitigate elevated atmospheric CO₂ and develop ecological services by protecting vulnerable environment, restoring vegetation coverage, and afforesting in mountainous area in mid-subtropics. Foundation: Supported by the Key Project of Ministry of Education of China, No.JA04166 Author: Yang Yusheng (1964–), Professor, specialized in carbon and nitrogen cycles of forest.     

Assessment of biophysical properties of Royal Belum tropical forest,Malaysia

The Royal Belum forest reserve is one of the oldest tropical rainforests in the world and it is one of the largest virgin forest reserves in Malaysia. However, not many studies have been conducted to understand the ecology of this forest. In this study we estimated the aboveground biomass (AGB) of the forest using diameter at breast height (DBH) and height of trees (h ), tree species and hemispherical photographs of tree canopy. We estimated AGB using five allometric equations. Our results demonstrated that the AGB given by the one tree species specific allometric equation does not show any significant differences from the values given by the non‐tree species specific allometric equations at tree and plot levels. The AGB of Intsia bijuga species, Koompassia malaccensis species and Shorea genera were comparatively higher, owing to their greater wood density, DBH and h. This has added importance because some of these species are categorized as threatened species. Our results demonstrated that mean AGB values in this forest (293.16 t ha^‐1) are the highest compared to some studies of other areas in Malaysia, tropical Africa and tropical Bazilian Amazonia, implying that the Royal Belum forest reserve, is an important carbon reservoir.     

元谋干热河谷区土地荒漠化研究

干热河谷是我国西南地区特殊的生态类型,通过分析云南元谋干热河谷区土地荒漠的面积（海拔１３５０ｍ以下,荒漠化土地面积１００６．０２ｋｍ＾２,占该区总面积的７０．１５％）,表现特征（地形破碎,劣地广布,以肉质常绿灌丛为代表的类似荒漠植被,地表水分条件恶化,土壤贫瘠）及形成原因（自然原因：地质基础稳定性差,地貌类型多样,气候炎热干燥;人为原因：人口激增增加环境压力,垦荒,乱滥伐,过度放牧）,提出了土地荒