Misinterpretation of Asian savannas as degraded forest can mislead management and conservation policy under climate change

Kumar, Dushyant; Pfeiffer, Mirjam; Gaillard, Camille; Langan, Liam; Martens, Carola; Scheiter, Simon

doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2019.108293

Cited by 42 publications

(58 citation statements)

References 61 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Second, human use also maintains ecosystems. For example, grazing and browsing by ruminants is essential for maintaining many savanna ecosystems (Ratnam et al 2011, Bond et al 2019, Kumar et al 2020. Thus, the loss of Gaddi livestock could result in degradation of ecosystems that are dependent on Gaddi livestock for preventing ingrowth of woody plants by grazing and/or for redistributing nutrients.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Plantations and pastoralists: afforestation activities make pastoralists in the Indian Himalaya vulnerable

Ramprasad

Joglekar²,

Fleischman³

2020

E&S

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Global policies to mitigate climate change and protect forests are increasingly incentivizing the large-scale planting of trees. Yet tree planting poses a potential threat to the well-being of migratory pastoralists who depend on fodder across landscapes. With this research we seek to understand the impact of decades of afforestation activities in Himachal Pradesh, India, on the livelihoods of Gaddi pastoralists who have herded sheep and goats in the Himalayas for generations. Based on interviews with Gaddi herders, community leaders, and government officials, and case studies in three villages with large Gaddi populations in Kangra district, we find that plantations increase vulnerability. We show that plantations have decreased the availability of fodder, contributed to increased incidence of invasive species, disrupted migratory routes, and changed access to land. We develop a generalizable integrated vulnerability framework that focuses on pastoral livelihoods, and helps make a distinction between the vulnerability of livelihood activities and the vulnerability of individual people. Our framework anchors the causal pathway from plantation activity to livelihood vulnerability and the push toward more secure, but nonpastoral livelihoods. Plantation-driven challenges add to pre-existing stressors and accelerate declines in the number of pastoral households and size of migratory herds. However, many Gaddi households remain prosperous because they are able to diversify into alternative livelihoods. We underline the fact that the ability to adapt to alternative livelihoods and income streams differentiates vulnerable Gaddi herders from those who are not. In addition to increasing forest cover, plantations have an opportunity to serve a larger purpose of increasing resilience of vulnerable livelihoods; but they must be designed differently than they have been in the past in order to achieve this goal. They present an easier solution to sustain pastoralism compared to other important, but recalcitrant drivers of livelihood change.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Plantations and pastoralists: afforestation activities make pastoralists in the Indian Himalaya vulnerable

Ramprasad

Joglekar²,

Fleischman³

2020

E&S

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…We argue that biome classification schemes should be tailored to specific research questions to ensure that they reflect targeted vegetation states and ecosystem functions. Inappropriate classification of vegetation may misguide decision-making (Kumar, Pfeiffer, Gaillard, Langan, Martens, et al, 2020). Future high-resolution and region-specific modelling studies can help to identify migration corridors for different vegetation types and inform planning of protected areas, human-assisted migration (Corlett, 2009), and the establishment or restoration of habitat connectivity (Corlett & Westcott, 2013), while accounting for climate change impacts on vegetation.…”

Section: Anthropogenic Impacts and Implications For Managementmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…One feature in this regard is the Asian savanna. These ecosystems are often misinterpreted as degraded forest, with afforestation being considered as appropriate conservation policy (Kumar, Pfeiffer, Gaillard, Langan, Martens, et al, 2020; Ratnam, Tomlinson, Rasquinha, & Sankaran, 2016). Models often simulate savanna areas as forest (Kumar & Scheiter, 2019).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Climate change promotes transitions to tall evergreen vegetation in tropical Asia

Scheiter

Kumar

Corlett

et al. 2020

Global Change Biology

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Since large areas of savannas are misclassified as degraded forest, they are targeted by inappropriate restoration and fire suppression policies that cause large areas of savannas to be lost through woody encroachment, forest expansion and plantation forestry (Veldman et al, 2015c;Ratnam et al, 2016;Joshi et al, 2018;Buisson et al, 2019;Kumar et al, 2020). Woody encroachment is a widespread global phenomenon that leads to substantial losses in livestock productivity in rangelands (Archer et al, 2017;Stevens et al, 2017;Venter et al, 2018).…”

Section: Drylands and Grassy Biomes: Misunderstood Ecologiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Colonial policies widely promoted "reforestation" of grassy biomes to "restore" their climate and productivity, and these ideas and practices are still prominent in FLR today. As in the drylands, this is a legacy of colonial interpretations of these landscapes rooted in 19th century European understandings of vegetation ecology (Joshi et al, 2018;Pausas and Bond, 2019;Kumar et al, 2020). Forest "restoration" often involves fast-growing exotic tree species (including eucalyptus, pine and wattle) that have been the source of well-documented species invasions and other ecological impacts.…”

Section: Drylands and Grassy Biomes: Misunderstood Ecologiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

With Power Comes Responsibility – A Rangelands Perspective on Forest Landscape Restoration

Vetter

2020

Front. Sustain. Food Syst.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Misinterpretation of Asian savannas as degraded forest can mislead management and conservation policy under climate change

Cited by 42 publications

References 61 publications

Plantations and pastoralists: afforestation activities make pastoralists in the Indian Himalaya vulnerable

Plantations and pastoralists: afforestation activities make pastoralists in the Indian Himalaya vulnerable

Climate change promotes transitions to tall evergreen vegetation in tropical Asia

With Power Comes Responsibility – A Rangelands Perspective on Forest Landscape Restoration

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About