Population Pressure,Deforestation, and Land Degradation: A Case Study from the Dominican Republic |
| |
| Authors: | Richard A Sambrook Bruce W Pigozzi Robert N Thomas |
| |
| Abstract: | Population pressure, deforestation, and land degradation are major ecological concerns in developing countries. This research investigates causal linkages among interrelated physical and social processes in a case study conducted within the Plan Sierra resource management region of the Cordillera Central, Dominican Republic. Results of bivariate regression analysis, based on a sample of 450 traditional hillslope farms, support a linear relationship between population pressure and deforestation at two spatial scales. However, the strength of the relationship between population pressure and forest cover change decreases over a twenty-year time frame. Results also confirm a positive relationship between deforestation and land degradation. This case study contributes to an understanding of the precise nature of these relationships at sub-national scales of analysis. |
| |
| Keywords: | Dominican Republic population pressure deforestation land degradation land cover/land use change |
|
|
