Forests as landscapes of social inequality: tropical forest cover and land distribution among shifting cultivators
Can social inequality be seen imprinted in a forest landscape? We studied the relationship between land holding, land use, and inequality in a peasant community in the Peruvian Amazon where farmers practice swidden-fallow cultivation. Longitudinal data on land holding, land use, and land cover were...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Resilience Alliance
2016-09-01
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| Series: | Ecology and Society |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol21/iss3/art20/ |
| _version_ | 1818825080770134016 |
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| author | Oliver T. Coomes Yoshito Takasaki Jeanine M. Rhemtulla |
| author_facet | Oliver T. Coomes Yoshito Takasaki Jeanine M. Rhemtulla |
| author_sort | Oliver T. Coomes |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Can social inequality be seen imprinted in a forest landscape? We studied the relationship between land holding, land use, and inequality in a peasant community in the Peruvian Amazon where farmers practice swidden-fallow cultivation. Longitudinal data on land holding, land use, and land cover were gathered through field-level surveys (n = 316) and household interviews (n = 51) in 1994/1995 and 2007. Forest cover change between 1965 and 2007 was documented through interpretation of air photos and satellite imagery. We introduce the concept of "land use inequality" to capture differences across households in the distribution of forest fallowing and orchard raising as key land uses that affect household welfare and the sustainability of swidden-fallow agriculture. We find that land holding, land use, and forest cover distribution are correlated and that the forest today reflects social inequality a decade prior. Although initially land-poor households may catch up in terms of land holdings, their use and land cover remain impoverished. Differential land use investment through time links social inequality and forest cover. Implications are discussed for the study of forests as landscapes of inequality, the relationship between social inequality and forest composition, and the forest-poverty nexus. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-19T00:06:05Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-ce388f724e3e44059636efc90cb25206 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1708-3087 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-19T00:06:05Z |
| publishDate | 2016-09-01 |
| publisher | Resilience Alliance |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Ecology and Society |
| spelling | doaj.art-ce388f724e3e44059636efc90cb252062022-12-21T20:46:14ZengResilience AllianceEcology and Society1708-30872016-09-012132010.5751/ES-08684-2103208684Forests as landscapes of social inequality: tropical forest cover and land distribution among shifting cultivatorsOliver T. Coomes0Yoshito Takasaki1Jeanine M. Rhemtulla2Department of Geography, McGill UniversityGraduate School of Economics, University of TokyoDepartment of Forest & Conservation Sciences, University of British ColumbiaCan social inequality be seen imprinted in a forest landscape? We studied the relationship between land holding, land use, and inequality in a peasant community in the Peruvian Amazon where farmers practice swidden-fallow cultivation. Longitudinal data on land holding, land use, and land cover were gathered through field-level surveys (n = 316) and household interviews (n = 51) in 1994/1995 and 2007. Forest cover change between 1965 and 2007 was documented through interpretation of air photos and satellite imagery. We introduce the concept of "land use inequality" to capture differences across households in the distribution of forest fallowing and orchard raising as key land uses that affect household welfare and the sustainability of swidden-fallow agriculture. We find that land holding, land use, and forest cover distribution are correlated and that the forest today reflects social inequality a decade prior. Although initially land-poor households may catch up in terms of land holdings, their use and land cover remain impoverished. Differential land use investment through time links social inequality and forest cover. Implications are discussed for the study of forests as landscapes of inequality, the relationship between social inequality and forest composition, and the forest-poverty nexus.http://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol21/iss3/art20/Amazonialand inequalityland use and land cover changepath dependencysecondary forests |
| spellingShingle | Oliver T. Coomes Yoshito Takasaki Jeanine M. Rhemtulla Forests as landscapes of social inequality: tropical forest cover and land distribution among shifting cultivators Ecology and Society Amazonia land inequality land use and land cover change path dependency secondary forests |
| title | Forests as landscapes of social inequality: tropical forest cover and land distribution among shifting cultivators |
| title_full | Forests as landscapes of social inequality: tropical forest cover and land distribution among shifting cultivators |
| title_fullStr | Forests as landscapes of social inequality: tropical forest cover and land distribution among shifting cultivators |
| title_full_unstemmed | Forests as landscapes of social inequality: tropical forest cover and land distribution among shifting cultivators |
| title_short | Forests as landscapes of social inequality: tropical forest cover and land distribution among shifting cultivators |
| title_sort | forests as landscapes of social inequality tropical forest cover and land distribution among shifting cultivators |
| topic | Amazonia land inequality land use and land cover change path dependency secondary forests |
| url | http://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol21/iss3/art20/ |
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