Economic development, land use and biodiversity change in the tropical mountains of Xishuangbanna, Yunnan, Southwest China

Guo, Huijun; Padoch, Christine; Coffey, Kevin; Chen, Aiguo; Yongneng, Fu

doi:10.1016/s1462-9011(02)00093-x

Cited by 69 publications

(15 citation statements)

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“…Do they, in all cases, represent an improvement, or is there a continuing rationale for swidden cultivation in the twenty-first century? Some farmers seem to maintain some elements of swidden although they live in rapidly developing economies with ample job opportunities and lucrative markets (Hansen and Mertz 2006;Nielsen et al 2006); in other cases, farmers abandon shifting cultivation in favor of more permanent land use (Cramb 2007;Eder 2003;Guo et al 2002). Yet we have little knowledge of the current extent of swidden cultivation in Southeast Asia, and even less of the consequences for livelihoods and environment of the new social, economic, and environmental circumstances that are fast replacing swiddening (Padoch et al 2007).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Swidden Change in Southeast Asia: Understanding Causes and Consequences

et al. 2009

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Swidden Change in Southeast Asia: Understanding Causes and Consequences

et al. 2009

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“…(For a definition of swidden cultivation, please see the introduction to this issue (Mertz et al 2009, this issue). From the uplands of montane mainland Southeast Asia to the islands of Indonesia and the Philippines, swidden systems are now being replaced by a variety of permanent agricultural and non-agricultural land uses (Guo et al 2002). Driving this change, in part, has been the official view of governments throughout the region that swiddening is an unacceptable, destructive practice Fox et al 2000;this issue).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Fox et al this issue;Schmidt-Vogt 2001;Delang 2002;Fox and Vogler 2005;Thongmanivong et al 2005). Demographic, technological, and economic shifts have also helped change the crops that are planted and the ways fallows are managed, both spatially and temporally (Guo et al 2002;Rasul and Thapa 2003;Padoch et al 2007;Cairns 2007b). These rapid transformations have important implications for biodiversity in the Southeast Asia region.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Consequences of Swidden Transitions for Crop and Fallow Biodiversity in Southeast Asia

et al. 2009

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Swidden agriculture, once the dominant form of land use throughout the uplands and much of the lowlands of Southeast Asia, is being replaced by other land uses. While change and adaptation are inherent to swiddening, the current rapid and widespread transitions are unprecedented. In this paper we review some recent findings on changes in biodiversity, especially plant diversity at various scales, as swidden farming is replaced by other land uses. We focus particularly on two areas of Southeast Asia:northern Thailand and West Kalimantan. We examine actual and potential changes in the diversity of crops that characterize regional swidden systems, as well as that of the spontaneously occurring plants that appear in swidden fields and fallows. Severe declines in plant diversity have been observed in most areas and at most spatial scales when swidden is replaced by permanent land use systems. However, shifts away from swidden agriculture do not invariably result in drastic declines or losses of biological diversity, but may maintain or even enhance it, particularly at finer spatial scales. We suggest that further research is necessary to understand the effects of swidden transitions on biodiversity.

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“…The total forests cannot reflect the status of habitats regarding biodiversity since rubber plantation is included in forests by definition. Although about 12% of the total area of Xishuangbanna are built for nature reserves (Guo et al 2002), each sub-reserve had become an isolated island because most areas outside the protected area became farmlands and plantations (Fig. 1).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Clearance and fragmentation of tropical rain forest in Xishuangbanna, SW, China

Liu

et al. 2009

Biodivers Conserv

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Xishuangbanna, situated in the northern margin of the tropical zone in Southeast Asia, maintains large areas of tropical rain forest and contains rich biodiversity. However, tropical rain forests are being rapidly destroyed in this region. This paper analyzed spatial and temporal changes of forest cover and the patterns of forests fragmentation in Xishuangbanna by comparing classified satellite images from 1976, 1988 and 2003 using GIS analyses. The patterns of fragmentation and the effects of edge width were examined using selected landscape indices. The results show that forest cover declined from 69% in 1976 to less than 50% in 2003, the number of forests fragments increased from 6,096 to 8,324, and the mean patch size declined from 217 to 115 ha. It was found that fragment size distribution was strongly skewed towards small values, and fragment size and internal habitat differ strongly among forest types: less fragmented in subtropical evergreen broadleaf forest, but severe in forests that are suitable for agriculture (such as tropical seasonal rain forest and mountain rain forest). Due to fragmentation, the edge width was smaller in 2003 than that in 1976 when the total area of edge habitat exceeded core habitat in different forest types. The core area of tropical seasonal rain forest was smallest among main forest types at any edge width. Fragmentation was severe within 12.5-km buffers around roads. The current forest cover within reserves in Xishuangbanna was comparatively large and less fragmented. However, the tropical rain forest has been degraded inside reserves. For conservation purposes, the approaches to establish forest fragments networks by corridors and stepping stone fragments are proposed. The conservation efforts should be directed first toward the conservation of remaining tropical rain forests.

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Economic development, land use and biodiversity change in the tropical mountains of Xishuangbanna, Yunnan, Southwest China

Cited by 69 publications

References 3 publications

Swidden Change in Southeast Asia: Understanding Causes and Consequences

Swidden Change in Southeast Asia: Understanding Causes and Consequences

Consequences of Swidden Transitions for Crop and Fallow Biodiversity in Southeast Asia

Clearance and fragmentation of tropical rain forest in Xishuangbanna, SW, China

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