Forest transitions in tropical landscapes: A test in the Atlantic Forest biodiversity hotspot |
| |
| Institution: | 1. National Laboratory for Scientific Computing, LNCC, Av. Getúlio Vargas, 333, Petrópolis, RJ, 25.651-075, Brazil;2. Landscape Ecology Lab, Rio de Janeiro State University, UERJ, R. São Francisco Xavier, 524, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, 20.550-900, Brazil;3. Geographer, Brazil;4. Department of Geography, Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics, IBGE, Av. República do Chile, 500, 7th Floor, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, 20.031-170, Brazil;1. Center for Environmental Studies and Research, State University of Campinas, Campinas, SP 13083-867, Brazil;2. EMBRAPA, Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation, Brasília, DF 70770-901, Brazil;3. Center for Global Change and Earth Observations, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48823, USA;1. Federal University of Espírito Santo/UFES, Rural Engineering Department, Alto Universitário; s/n, 29500-000 Alegre, ES, Brazil;2. Federal University of Espírito Santo/UFES, Graduate Program in Forest Sciences, Av. Governador Lindemberg, 316, 29550-000, Jerônimo Monteiro, ES, Brazil;3. Federal University of Sergipe/UFS, Department of Forest Sciences, Av. Marechal Rondon; s/n, 49100-000 São Cristóvão, SE, Brazil;4. Federal University of Espírito Santo/UFES, Graduate Program in Plant Production, Alto Universitário; s/n, 29500-000 Alegre, ES, Brazil;5. Federal University of Viçosa/UFV, Department of Forest Engineering, Av. Peter Henry Rolfs, s/n, 36570-000 Viçosa, MG, Brazil;6. Federal University of Espírito Santo/UFES, Graduate Program in Agrochemical, Alto Universitário; s/n, 29500-000 Alegre, ES, Brazil;7. State University of Norte Fluminense Darcy Ribeiro /UENF, Graduate Program in Plant Production, Av. Alberto Lamego, 2000, 28013-602 Campos dos Goytacazes, RJ, Brazil;1. Bioscience Institute, UNESP - Univ Estadual Paulista, Câmpus Rio Claro, Department of Ecology, Spatial Ecology and Conservation Lab (LEEC), Av. 24-A, 1515, Bela Vista, Rio Claro, São Paulo, Brazil;2. Biological Science Course, Universidade Metropolitana de Santos, Unimes, Avenida Conselheiro Nébias, 374, Vila Nova, Santos, São Paulo, Brazil;3. PaleoMACROecology Lab., Universidade Federal de Goiás - Regional Jataí, R. Riachuelo, 1530 - Setor Samuel Graham, Jataí, Goiás, Brazil;1. Kiel University, Department for Geography, Remote Sensing & Environmental Modelling, 24098 Kiel 14, Germany;2. Earth Observation Center, EOC, of the German Aerospace Center, DLR, Oberpfaffenhofen, 82234 Wessling, Germany |
| |
| Abstract: | Analyzing temporal changes in forest amount and configuration is paramount to better design future forest management interventions. Such analyses are especially required for tropical biomes, which are usually subject to dynamic and heterogeneous land uses. Recent studies have suggested that many tropical biomes are passing through the process of “forest transition”, i.e. an overall change from forest loss to forest gain. However, this hypothesis remains scarcely tested, due to the difficulty of obtaining detailed, quantitative historical records of forest cover. In this study, we investigate 38 years of land use change in Brazil's Atlantic Forest, a biodiversity hotspot, from 1976 to 2014, using multitemporal datasets from aerial photographs and satellite images. We classified the historical series to produce land use maps and calculated a set of landscape metrics, including total forest cover, patch size, patch shape and patch connectivity. Our results indicated non-linear changes through time in forest loss and gain and also in landscape structure, which can be classified into two distinct periods. The first period (1976–1996) was marked by expressive forest loss and fragmentation, whereas the second (1996–2014) was characterized by a much less intense forest dynamics, with little deforestation being balanced by forest regeneration. We attribute the forest dynamics observed to temporal changes in socioeconomic factors, such as increasing human settlements and changes in environmental protection policies. Our results show that current forests are a heterogeneous mosaic of forests with different ages, and support the hypothesis that forest transition is occurring in Atlantic Forest landscapes. |
| |
| Keywords: | Fragstat Forest transition Macacu Basin Multitemporal |
| 本文献已被 ScienceDirect 等数据库收录！ |
|
