The Experts below are selected from a list of 32439 Experts worldwide ranked by ideXlab platform
Camilo J Fagua - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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drivers of forest cover changes in the choco darien global ecoregion of south america
Ecosphere, 2019Co-Authors: Camilo J Fagua, Jacopo A Baggio, Douglas R RamseyAbstract:Tropical rain forests are suffering the highest deforestation and Reforestation ever recorded. Interactions between direct (proximate or direct causes) and indirect (underling or indirect causes) drivers could cluster these forest cover changes forming hotspots (areas that exhibit significant spatial correlation of deforestation or Reforestation transitions). Using land use–land cover maps and global (I) and local (Iᵢ) Moran's tests, we identified these hotspots in the Choco‐Darien Global Ecoregion (CGE) of South America, a natural region that was declared one of the top 25 hotspots for conservation priorities in the world. Subsequently, we tested and studied the effects and interactions between deforestation and Reforestation hotspots and their direct and indirect drivers using Bayesian Structural Equation Modeling (Bayesian SEM). We found that deforestation and Reforestation were spatially auto‐correlated forming hotspots (I = 0.49, P = 0.001 for deforestation transitions and I = 0.48, P = 0.001 for Reforestation transitions). Also, hotspots of deforestation and Reforestation were auto‐correlated within municipality borders (I = 0.5, P = 0.001 for deforestation transitions; I = 0.49, P = 0.001 for Reforestation transitions). Eighteen municipalities located on the border between Colombia and Ecuador showed significant aggregations of deforestation hotspots, while thirty‐four municipalities in three areas of Colombia and the area between the Colombian and Ecuadorian border showed significant clustering of Reforestation hotspots. Eleven of these municipalities presented significant clustering of both Reforestation and deforestation hotspots. The Bayesian SEM for deforestation showed that population growth and road density were indirect drivers of deforestation hotspots (0.191 and 0.127 standard deviation units). The Bayesian SEM for Reforestation found that armed conflicts, Gross Domestic Product, and average annual rain were indirect drivers related to Reforestation hotspots (0.228, 0.076, and 0.081 standard deviation units, respectively). Our assessment shows a novel methodology to study interactions among direct and indirect drivers of forest change and their potential dissimilar effects on forest transitions.
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Geospatial modeling of land cover change in the Chocó-Darien global ecoregion of South America; One of most biodiverse and rainy areas in the world
2019Co-Authors: Camilo J Fagua, Douglas R RamseyAbstract:The tropical rain forests of northwest South America fall within the Chocó-Darien Global Ecoregion (CGE). The CGE is one of 25 global biodiversity hotspots prioritized for conservation due to its high biodiversity and endemism as well as threats due to deforestation. The analysis of land-use and land-cover (LULC) change within the CGE using remotely sensed imagery is challenging because this area is considered to be one of the rainiest places on the planet (hence high frequency of cloud cover). Furthermore, the availability of high-resolution remotely sensed data is low for developing countries before 2015. Using the Random Forest ensemble learning classification tree system, we developed annual LULC maps in the CGE from 2002 to 2015 using a time series of cloud-free MODIS vegetation index products. The MODIS imagery was processed through a Gaussian weighted filter to further correct for cloud pollution and matched to visual interpretations of land cover and land use from available high spatial resolution imagery (WorldView-2, Quick Bird, Ikonos and GeoEye-1). Validation of LULC maps resulted in a Kappa of 0.87 (Sd = 0.008). We detected a gradual replacement of forested areas with agriculture (mainly grassland planted to support livestock grazing), and secondary vegetation (agriculture reverting to forest) across the CGE. Forest loss was higher between 2010–2015 when compared to 2002–2010. LULC change trends, deforestation drivers, and Reforestation transitions varied according to administrative organization (countries: Panamanian CGE, Colombian CGE, and Ecuadorian CGE).
Patrick Meyfroidt - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Whither the forest transition? Climate change, policy responses, and redistributed forests in the twenty-first century
Ambio, 2019Co-Authors: Thomas K. Rudel, Patrick Meyfroidt, Robin Chazdon, H. Ricardo Grau, Tracy Holt, Sean Sloan, Frans Bongers, Laura SchneiderAbstract:Forest transitions occur when net Reforestation replaces net deforestation in places. Because forest transitions can increase biodiversity and augment carbon sequestration, they appeal to policymakers contending with the degrading effects of forest loss and climate change. What then can policymakers do to trigger forest transitions? The historical record over the last two centuries provides insights into the precipitating conditions. The early transitions often occurred passively, through the spontaneous regeneration of trees on abandoned agricultural lands. Later forest transitions occurred more frequently after large-scale crisis narratives emerged and spurred governments to take action, often by planting trees on degraded, sloped lands. To a greater degree than their predecessors, latecomer forest transitions exhibit centralized loci of power, leaders with clearly articulated goals, and rapid changes in forest cover. These historical shifts in forest transitions reflect our growing appreciation of their utility for countering droughts, floods, land degradation, and climate change.
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global forest transition prospects for an end to deforestation
Annual Review of Environment and Resources, 2011Co-Authors: Patrick Meyfroidt, Eric F LambinAbstract:Although global rates of tropical deforestation remain alarmingly high, they have decreased over the period 2000–2010, and a handful of tropical developing countries have recently been through a forest transition—a shift from net deforestation to net Reforestation. This review synthesizes existing knowledge on the occurrence, causes, and ecological impacts of forest transitions and examines the prospects and policy options for a global forest transition. The ecological quality of forest transitions depends on multiple factors, including the importance of natural forest regeneration versus plantations. Given an increased competition for productive land between different land uses, a global forest transition will require major technological and policy innovations to supply wood and agricultural products. In the globalization era, national strategies aimed at forest protection and sustainable use of forest resources may have unintended effects abroad owing to a displacement of land use across countries. Decisions by consumers combined with certification schemes and moratoriums have an increasing influence on the fate of forests.
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forest transitions trade and the global displacement of land use
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2010Co-Authors: Patrick Meyfroidt, Thomas K. Rudel, Eric F LambinAbstract:Reducing tropical deforestation is an international priority, given its impacts on carbon emissions and biodiversity. We examined whether recent forest transitions—a shift from net deforestation to net Reforestation—involved a geographic displacement of forest clearing across countries through trade in agricultural and forest products. In most of the seven developing countries that recently experienced a forest transition, displacement of land use abroad accompanied local Reforestation. Additional global land-use change embodied in their net wood trade offset 74% of their total reforested area. Because the reforesting countries continued to export more agricultural goods than they imported, this net displacement offset 22% of their total reforested area when both agriculture and forestry sectors are included. However, this net displacement increased to 52% during the last 5 y. These countries thus have contributed to a net global Reforestation and/or decrease in the pressure on forests, but this global environmental benefit has been shrinking during recent years. The net decrease in the pressure on forests does not account for differences in their ecological quality. Assessments of the impacts of international policies aimed at reducing global deforestation should integrate international trade in agricultural and forest commodities.
Douglas R Ramsey - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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drivers of forest cover changes in the choco darien global ecoregion of south america
Ecosphere, 2019Co-Authors: Camilo J Fagua, Jacopo A Baggio, Douglas R RamseyAbstract:Tropical rain forests are suffering the highest deforestation and Reforestation ever recorded. Interactions between direct (proximate or direct causes) and indirect (underling or indirect causes) drivers could cluster these forest cover changes forming hotspots (areas that exhibit significant spatial correlation of deforestation or Reforestation transitions). Using land use–land cover maps and global (I) and local (Iᵢ) Moran's tests, we identified these hotspots in the Choco‐Darien Global Ecoregion (CGE) of South America, a natural region that was declared one of the top 25 hotspots for conservation priorities in the world. Subsequently, we tested and studied the effects and interactions between deforestation and Reforestation hotspots and their direct and indirect drivers using Bayesian Structural Equation Modeling (Bayesian SEM). We found that deforestation and Reforestation were spatially auto‐correlated forming hotspots (I = 0.49, P = 0.001 for deforestation transitions and I = 0.48, P = 0.001 for Reforestation transitions). Also, hotspots of deforestation and Reforestation were auto‐correlated within municipality borders (I = 0.5, P = 0.001 for deforestation transitions; I = 0.49, P = 0.001 for Reforestation transitions). Eighteen municipalities located on the border between Colombia and Ecuador showed significant aggregations of deforestation hotspots, while thirty‐four municipalities in three areas of Colombia and the area between the Colombian and Ecuadorian border showed significant clustering of Reforestation hotspots. Eleven of these municipalities presented significant clustering of both Reforestation and deforestation hotspots. The Bayesian SEM for deforestation showed that population growth and road density were indirect drivers of deforestation hotspots (0.191 and 0.127 standard deviation units). The Bayesian SEM for Reforestation found that armed conflicts, Gross Domestic Product, and average annual rain were indirect drivers related to Reforestation hotspots (0.228, 0.076, and 0.081 standard deviation units, respectively). Our assessment shows a novel methodology to study interactions among direct and indirect drivers of forest change and their potential dissimilar effects on forest transitions.
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Geospatial modeling of land cover change in the Chocó-Darien global ecoregion of South America; One of most biodiverse and rainy areas in the world
2019Co-Authors: Camilo J Fagua, Douglas R RamseyAbstract:The tropical rain forests of northwest South America fall within the Chocó-Darien Global Ecoregion (CGE). The CGE is one of 25 global biodiversity hotspots prioritized for conservation due to its high biodiversity and endemism as well as threats due to deforestation. The analysis of land-use and land-cover (LULC) change within the CGE using remotely sensed imagery is challenging because this area is considered to be one of the rainiest places on the planet (hence high frequency of cloud cover). Furthermore, the availability of high-resolution remotely sensed data is low for developing countries before 2015. Using the Random Forest ensemble learning classification tree system, we developed annual LULC maps in the CGE from 2002 to 2015 using a time series of cloud-free MODIS vegetation index products. The MODIS imagery was processed through a Gaussian weighted filter to further correct for cloud pollution and matched to visual interpretations of land cover and land use from available high spatial resolution imagery (WorldView-2, Quick Bird, Ikonos and GeoEye-1). Validation of LULC maps resulted in a Kappa of 0.87 (Sd = 0.008). We detected a gradual replacement of forested areas with agriculture (mainly grassland planted to support livestock grazing), and secondary vegetation (agriculture reverting to forest) across the CGE. Forest loss was higher between 2010–2015 when compared to 2002–2010. LULC change trends, deforestation drivers, and Reforestation transitions varied according to administrative organization (countries: Panamanian CGE, Colombian CGE, and Ecuadorian CGE).
Eric F Lambin - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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global forest transition prospects for an end to deforestation
Annual Review of Environment and Resources, 2011Co-Authors: Patrick Meyfroidt, Eric F LambinAbstract:Although global rates of tropical deforestation remain alarmingly high, they have decreased over the period 2000–2010, and a handful of tropical developing countries have recently been through a forest transition—a shift from net deforestation to net Reforestation. This review synthesizes existing knowledge on the occurrence, causes, and ecological impacts of forest transitions and examines the prospects and policy options for a global forest transition. The ecological quality of forest transitions depends on multiple factors, including the importance of natural forest regeneration versus plantations. Given an increased competition for productive land between different land uses, a global forest transition will require major technological and policy innovations to supply wood and agricultural products. In the globalization era, national strategies aimed at forest protection and sustainable use of forest resources may have unintended effects abroad owing to a displacement of land use across countries. Decisions by consumers combined with certification schemes and moratoriums have an increasing influence on the fate of forests.
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forest transitions trade and the global displacement of land use
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2010Co-Authors: Patrick Meyfroidt, Thomas K. Rudel, Eric F LambinAbstract:Reducing tropical deforestation is an international priority, given its impacts on carbon emissions and biodiversity. We examined whether recent forest transitions—a shift from net deforestation to net Reforestation—involved a geographic displacement of forest clearing across countries through trade in agricultural and forest products. In most of the seven developing countries that recently experienced a forest transition, displacement of land use abroad accompanied local Reforestation. Additional global land-use change embodied in their net wood trade offset 74% of their total reforested area. Because the reforesting countries continued to export more agricultural goods than they imported, this net displacement offset 22% of their total reforested area when both agriculture and forestry sectors are included. However, this net displacement increased to 52% during the last 5 y. These countries thus have contributed to a net global Reforestation and/or decrease in the pressure on forests, but this global environmental benefit has been shrinking during recent years. The net decrease in the pressure on forests does not account for differences in their ecological quality. Assessments of the impacts of international policies aimed at reducing global deforestation should integrate international trade in agricultural and forest commodities.
Eben N Broadbent - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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afforestation Reforestation and new challenges from covid 19 thirty three recommendations to support civil society organizations csos
Journal of Environmental Management, 2021Co-Authors: Midhun Mohan, Hayden A Rue, Shaurya Bajaj, G Pabodha A Galgamuwa, Esmaeel Adrah, Matthew Mehdi Aghai, Eben N Broadbent, Omkar Khadamkar, Sigit D Sasmito, J P RoiseAbstract:Afforestation/Reforestation (A/R) programs spearheaded by Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) play a significant role in reaching global climate policy targets and helping low-income nations meet the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). However, these organizations face unprecedented challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Consequently, these challenges affect their ability to address issues associated with deforestation and forest degradation in a timely manner. We discuss the influence COVID-19 can have on previous, present and future A/R initiatives, in particular, the ones led by International Non-governmental Organizations (INGOs). We provide thirty-three recommendations for exploring underlying deforestation patterns and optimizing forest policy reforms to support forest cover expansion during the pandemic. The recommendations are classified into four groups - i) curbing deforestation and improving A/R, ii) protecting the environment and mitigating climate change, iii) enhancing socio-economic conditions, and iv) amending policy and law enforcement practices.
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the effect of land use change and ecotourism on biodiversity a case study of manuel antonio costa rica from 1985 to 2008
Landscape Ecology, 2012Co-Authors: Eben N Broadbent, Angelica Almeyda M Zambrano, Rodolfo Dirzo, William H Durham, Laura N Driscoll, Patrick Gallagher, Rosalyn Salters, Jared SchultzAbstract:Development in biodiversity rich areas is of global concern. While development may lead to socioeconomic benefits, this often comes concomitant with biodiversity loss and deforestation. Biodiversity rich areas present the opportunity for both improvements in socioeconomic conditions and conservation; however numerous challenges exist. Costa Rica’s Manuel Antonio National Park presents an ideal case study to investigate the balance between alternative forms of development which have contrasting environmental impacts. The Manuel Antonio region is a highly dynamic landscape experiencing deforestation, from agriculture, cattle ranching and oil palm plantations; and also Reforestation from abandonment of land holdings and nature oriented tourism. Landscape dynamics are closely intertwined with the livelihoods and perspectives on biodiversity conservation of local communities, determining ecological sustainability. We use an analysis combining multi-temporal remote sensing of land cover dynamics from 1985 to 2008 with questionnaire data from local families on their socioeconomic status, perspectives on conservation, and perceived changes in local wildlife populations. Our results show that, while regeneration occurred and forest fragmentation in the area decreased from 1985 to 2008, Manuel Antonio National Park is rapidly becoming isolated. Decreasing ecological connectivity is related to the rapid expansion of oil palm plantations adjacent to the park and throughout the lowland areas. Perceived decreases in wildlife abundance and compositional change are evident throughout the area, with local communities attributing this primarily to illegal hunting activities. Nature based tourism in the area presents an effective strategy for conservation, including reductions in hunting, through increased valuation of biodiversity and protected areas, and socioeconomic advantages. However, without urgent efforts to limit deforestation and preserve the remaining forested corridor connecting the park to core primary forest, the ability to maintain biodiversity in the park will be reduced.
