Land use policies and deforestation in Brazilian tropical dry forests between 2000 and 2015
Tropical Dry Forests (TDFs) have been broadly converted into pastures and crops, with direct consequences to biodiversity, ecosystem services, and social welfare. Such land use and cover changes (LUCC) usually are strongly influenced by government environmental and development policies. The present...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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IOP Publishing
2018-01-01
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| Series: | Environmental Research Letters |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/aaadea |
| _version_ | 1797748309108981760 |
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| author | Mariana G V Dupin Mário M Espírito-Santo Marcos E Leite Jhonathan O Silva André M Rocha Rômulo S Barbosa Felisa C Anaya |
| author_facet | Mariana G V Dupin Mário M Espírito-Santo Marcos E Leite Jhonathan O Silva André M Rocha Rômulo S Barbosa Felisa C Anaya |
| author_sort | Mariana G V Dupin |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Tropical Dry Forests (TDFs) have been broadly converted into pastures and crops, with direct consequences to biodiversity, ecosystem services, and social welfare. Such land use and cover changes (LUCC) usually are strongly influenced by government environmental and development policies. The present study aimed at analyzing LUCC in Brazilian TDFs between 2000 and 2015, using the north of Minas Gerais state (128 000 km ^2 ) as a case study. We evaluated the potential biophysical and social-economic drivers of TDF loss, natural regeneration and net area change at the county level. Further, we determined the effects of these LUCC variables on socioeconomic indicators. We identified a considerable change in TDF cover, expressed as 9825 km ^2 of deforestation and 6523 km ^2 of regeneration, which resulted in a net loss of 3302 km ^2 . The annual rate of TDF cover change was −1.2%, which is extremely high for a vegetation type that is protected as part of the Atlantic Rain Forest biome since 1993. TDF deforestation was directly affected by county area and by the increase in cattle density, and inversely affected by terrain declivity, indicating that land conversion is mostly driven by cattle ranching in flat regions. TDF regeneration was directly affected by county area and inversely affected by the increase in population density and terrain declivity. LUCC variables did not affect welfare indicators, undermining claims from rural sectors that TDF protection would cause a socioeconomic burden for northern Minas Gerais. Our results highlight the importance of naturally regenerating secondary forests to the maintenance of ecosystem integrity and its services, which are frequently neglected in conservation strategies. Hegemonic macroeconomic policies affecting TDFs have been deeply rooted in deforestation for commodities production, and need urgent review because they cause long-term environmental impacts without evidence of welfare gains. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T16:04:04Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-dd22c4cfa7f84b7f9fc6c8a4b9ae9823 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1748-9326 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T16:04:04Z |
| publishDate | 2018-01-01 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Environmental Research Letters |
| spelling | doaj.art-dd22c4cfa7f84b7f9fc6c8a4b9ae98232023-08-09T14:31:23ZengIOP PublishingEnvironmental Research Letters1748-93262018-01-0113303500810.1088/1748-9326/aaadeaLand use policies and deforestation in Brazilian tropical dry forests between 2000 and 2015Mariana G V Dupin0Mário M Espírito-Santo1https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8274-3075Marcos E Leite2Jhonathan O Silva3André M Rocha4Rômulo S Barbosa5Felisa C Anaya6Departamento de Biologia Geral , Universidade Estadual de Montes Claros, CP 126, CEP 39401-089, Montes Claros, MG, BrazilDepartamento de Biologia Geral , Universidade Estadual de Montes Claros, CP 126, CEP 39401-089, Montes Claros, MG, Brazil; Author to whom any correspondence should be addressed.Departamento de Geografia , Universidade Estadual de Montes Claros, CP 126, CEP 39401-089, Montes Claros, MG, BrazilColegiado de Ecologia , Universidade Federal do Vale do São Francisco—Senhor do Bonfim, Bahia, 48970-000, BrazilDepartamento de Geografia , Universidade Estadual de Montes Claros, CP 126, CEP 39401-089, Montes Claros, MG, BrazilDepartamento de Ciências Sociais , Universidade Estadual de Montes Claros, CP 126, CEP 39401-089, Montes Claros, MG, BrazilDepartamento de Saúde Mental e Coletiva , Universidade Estadual de Montes Claros, CP 126, CEP 39401-089, Montes Claros, MG, BrazilTropical Dry Forests (TDFs) have been broadly converted into pastures and crops, with direct consequences to biodiversity, ecosystem services, and social welfare. Such land use and cover changes (LUCC) usually are strongly influenced by government environmental and development policies. The present study aimed at analyzing LUCC in Brazilian TDFs between 2000 and 2015, using the north of Minas Gerais state (128 000 km ^2 ) as a case study. We evaluated the potential biophysical and social-economic drivers of TDF loss, natural regeneration and net area change at the county level. Further, we determined the effects of these LUCC variables on socioeconomic indicators. We identified a considerable change in TDF cover, expressed as 9825 km ^2 of deforestation and 6523 km ^2 of regeneration, which resulted in a net loss of 3302 km ^2 . The annual rate of TDF cover change was −1.2%, which is extremely high for a vegetation type that is protected as part of the Atlantic Rain Forest biome since 1993. TDF deforestation was directly affected by county area and by the increase in cattle density, and inversely affected by terrain declivity, indicating that land conversion is mostly driven by cattle ranching in flat regions. TDF regeneration was directly affected by county area and inversely affected by the increase in population density and terrain declivity. LUCC variables did not affect welfare indicators, undermining claims from rural sectors that TDF protection would cause a socioeconomic burden for northern Minas Gerais. Our results highlight the importance of naturally regenerating secondary forests to the maintenance of ecosystem integrity and its services, which are frequently neglected in conservation strategies. Hegemonic macroeconomic policies affecting TDFs have been deeply rooted in deforestation for commodities production, and need urgent review because they cause long-term environmental impacts without evidence of welfare gains.https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/aaadeaLand cover changesdeforestationnatural regenerationhuman welfareconservation strategiesenvironmental policies |
| spellingShingle | Mariana G V Dupin Mário M Espírito-Santo Marcos E Leite Jhonathan O Silva André M Rocha Rômulo S Barbosa Felisa C Anaya Land use policies and deforestation in Brazilian tropical dry forests between 2000 and 2015 Environmental Research Letters Land cover changes deforestation natural regeneration human welfare conservation strategies environmental policies |
| title | Land use policies and deforestation in Brazilian tropical dry forests between 2000 and 2015 |
| title_full | Land use policies and deforestation in Brazilian tropical dry forests between 2000 and 2015 |
| title_fullStr | Land use policies and deforestation in Brazilian tropical dry forests between 2000 and 2015 |
| title_full_unstemmed | Land use policies and deforestation in Brazilian tropical dry forests between 2000 and 2015 |
| title_short | Land use policies and deforestation in Brazilian tropical dry forests between 2000 and 2015 |
| title_sort | land use policies and deforestation in brazilian tropical dry forests between 2000 and 2015 |
| topic | Land cover changes deforestation natural regeneration human welfare conservation strategies environmental policies |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/aaadea |
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