Characteristics and drivers of forest cover change in the post-socialist era in Croatia: evidence from a mixed-methods approach

Abstract

Extensive forests in Croatia represent an important biological and economic resource in Europe. They are characterized by heterogeneity in forest management practices dating back to the socialist planned economy of the pre-1991 era. In this study we investigated the difference in rates of deforestation and reforestation in private and state owned forests during the post-socialist period, and the causal drivers of change. The selected region of Northern Croatia is characterised by a high percentage of privately owned forests with minimal national monitoring and control. We used a mixed-methods approach which combines remote sensing, statistical modelling and a household-based questionnaire survey to assess the rates of forest cover change and factors influencing those changes. The results show that predominantly privately owned forests in Northern Croatia have recorded a net forest loss of 1.8% during the 1991-2011 period, while Croatia overall is characterised by a 10% forest cover increase in predominantly state-owned forests. Main factors influencing forest cover changes in private forests are slope, altitude, education structure, population age and population density. The results also show that the deforestation in private forests is weakening overall, mostly due to the continuation of the de-agrarization and de-ruralisation processes which began during socialism.

Land cover changes in northern Croatia from 1981 to 2011

“…Inappropriate land management led to a loss of fertile soil which later caused the abandonment of agricultural land and reforestation (Cebecauer and Hofierka, 2008). The increase in natural vegetation in the lowlands was mostly recorded in the floodplain area of the river Drava, which is in accordance with the results of research in Krapina-Zagorje County (Cvitanović et al, 2016). Soil fertility in the floodplains decreased due to the occurrence of marshes and frequent flooding.…”

“…Fragmentation and the small area of plots enhanced the spread of natural vegetation, i.e. the process of natural succession or reforestation (Cvitanović et al, 2016). Research in Slovakia showed that frequent changes in the ownership structure of the land, agricultural intensification, and deforestation caused increased erosion in hilly and mountainous areas.…”

“…Tomu svjedoči veliki broj radova o područjima u kojima su urbanizacija, demografski rast i gospodarski razvoj izrazito promijenili zemljišni pokrov u smjeru intenzifikacije i deforestacije (Lambin i dr., 2003;Fukushima i dr., 2007;Dewan i Yamaguchi, 2009;Jiang i dr., 2011;López-Carr i Burgdorfer, 2013). Područja istočne i srednje Europe u kojima je tijekom 1990-ih došlo do raspada socijalistič-kog uređenja bilježe divergentne procese promjena zemljišnog pokrova (izgradnja, intenzifikacija, ekstenzifikacija, reforestacija, deforestacija) u uvjetima urbanizacije, privatizacije, gospodarske krize, urbanisation, privatisation, economic crisis, depopulation, and farmland abandonment Prishchepov et al, 2012;Alcantara et al, 2013;Griffiths et al, 2013;Cvitanović et al, 2016).…”

“…The largest changes were detected on agricultural land and grassland (agricultural intensification and succession) in lower elevation zones, affected by deagrarianisation, deruralisation, urbanisation, education growth, etc. Cvitanović et al (2016) focused on forest cover changes in the same spatio-temporal frame as in the previous research, where reforestation affected by deagrarianisation and deruralisadepopulacije i napuštanja poljoprivrednog zemljišta (Baumann i dr., 2012;Prishchepov i dr., 2012;Alcantara i dr., 2013;Griffiths i dr., 2013;Cvitanović i dr., 2016). U domaćoj literaturi prva detaljnija istraživanja promjena načina korištenja zemljišta i zemljišnog pokrova počela su pedesetih godina prošlog stoljeća (Crkvenčić, 1957;Rogić, 1957;.…”

Country and regional carbon stock in forest cover – estimates based on the first cycle of the Czech National Forest Inventory data (2001–2004)

“…between individual regions within one country (Andronache et al 2017). The variability in forest cover among countries and administrative regions results from different political settings, socioeconomic conditions, ownership structure and management practices in the past and present (Cvitanovic et al 2016, Andronache et al 2017. At a global level, Keenan et al (2015) revealed that forest cover increases with the increasing income of the region or the country, while Crespo Cuaresma et al (2017) revealed a U-shaped relationship between the income per capita and the forest cover of countries.…”