Conversion of tropical dry forest to pasture and agriculture

Maass, J. Manuel

doi:10.1017/cbo9780511753398.017

Cited by 132 publications

(114 citation statements)

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“…Introductions of exotic African grasses are causing the development of cyclic fires in the seasonally dry forest of the TR-DRY area, which may also be contributing to greater fragmentation. Our results support other studies (23,35) that have shown the dry tropical forest ecosystem is particularly fragmented and threatened or endangered. Restoration of less-fragmented dry forest ecosystems may be hindered by the persistence of frequent fires in the grass sward encroaching upon forest edges, often along roads where human ignitions are more likely.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

“…For example, in Puerto Rico, where human pressure is greatest among our study areas, forest fragmentation indices show smaller mean patch area, higher patch density, and less core area (Table 3). Severe tropical forest destruction has been widely documented (33,34), particularly in dry tropical forests (23,35). On the other hand, the results suggest the picture is more complicated than might be attributed to human population pressure alone.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 96%

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Characterizing Forest Fragments in Boreal, Temperate, and Tropical Ecosystems

Meddens

Hudak²,

Gould³

et al. 2008

AMBIO: A Journal of the Human Environment

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An increased ability to analyze landscapes in a spatial manner through the use of remote sensing leads to improved capabilities for quantifying human-induced forest fragmentation. Developments of spatially explicit methods in landscape analyses are emerging. In this paper, the image delineation software program eCognition and the spatial pattern analysis program FRAG-STATS were used to quantify patterns of forest fragments on six landscapes across three different climatic regions characterized by different moisture regimes and different influences of human pressure. Our results support the idea that landscapes with higher road and population density are more fragmented; however, there are other, equally influential factors contributing to fragmentation, such as moisture regime, historic land use, and fire dynamics. Our method provided an objective means to characterize landscapes and assess patterns of forest fragments across different forested ecosystems by addressing the limitations of pixel-based classification and incorporating image objects.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 96%

Characterizing Forest Fragments in Boreal, Temperate, and Tropical Ecosystems

Meddens

Hudak²,

Gould³

et al. 2008

AMBIO: A Journal of the Human Environment

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“…The subsequent land use abandonment is common, and leads to the formation of a primary forest -pastures -, a secondary forest mosaic throughout the landscape. Agricultural activities have brought about fundamental changes in the carbon and nutrient pools and fluxes that originally existed in native forests (Giardina et al, 2000;Maass, 1995;McLauchlan, 2006). Therefore a major goal in assessing environmental change is to understand how biogeochemical processes respond to land change, emphasizing a man-dominated landscape potential to sustain continuous human use.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Phosphorus cycling in primary and secondary seasonally dry tropical forests in Mexico

et al. 2009

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Abstract• Primary forests in the seasonally dry tropical regions of Mexico are disappearing under land-use pressure, creating a mosaic of secondary forests of different ages.• In this study we measured the aboveground litterfall phosphorus (P) fluxes, litter-layer and soil P pools to compare the P cycles in primary and secondary seasonally dry tropical forests. Our hypothesis was that the previous agricultural land use of secondary forests would bring about a lower P flux in the litterfall, lower soil P pool, and higher nutrient resorption proficiency than in primary forests, as well as an increase of relative amounts of available P provided by the soil with forest aging.• The expected litterfall P flux increase in the secondary forest following a previous agricultural land use did not occur. Phosphorus return to the soil by aboveground litterfall was unaffected by the succession stage of the forest. In addition, the total soil P pool did not change with forest age. However, available soil P (bicarbonate P-inorganic and P-organic pools) and hydroxide inorganic P pools were higher in primary than in secondary forest soils. Phosphorus concentration in litterfall increased significantly with forest age, suggesting that P is cycled more efficiently (by a higher nutrient resorption proficiency) when soil available P is less abundant. Despite these differences among forests, the results of our study gave evidence that P requirements by plants in primary and secondary forests are sufficiently met by the accumulation of dissolved (water extractable) P in the forest floor during the dry season and by soil bicarbonate-P pools.• Our study on the effects of land cover change on P cycling, following the discontinuation of agricultural practices, leads to the conclusion that this ecosystem P dynamics will vary depending on the successional stage of the forests, and is strongly influenced by the seasonal rainfall pattern which determines plant-available P. Mots-clés :litière / succession secondaire / disponibilité du phosphore / sols tropicaux Résumé -Cycle du phosphore dans les forêts primaires et secondaires tropicales à saison sèche du Mexique.• Les forêts primaires dans les régions tropicales à saison sèche du Mexique sont en train de disparaître sous la pression de l'utilisation agricole des terres, créant une mosaïque de forêts secondaires d'âges différents.• Dans cette étude, nous avons mesuré les flux de phosphore (P) de la litière au-dessus du sol, de l'horizon de litière et les pools de phosphore P du sol, pour comparer les cycles de P dans les forêts primaires et secondaires tropicales à saison sèche. Notre hypothèse est que l'exploitation agricole précédente des forêts secondaires devrait aboutir à un flux plus faible de P dans la litière, à un plus faible pool de P du sol, et à une résorption plus élevée des éléments nutritifs que dans les forêts primaires, ainsi qu'une augmentation des quantités relatives de P disponibles fournies par le sol avec le vieillissement de la forêt.• L'accroissement attendu du flux de ...

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“…Such vegetation does not prevent erosion from occurring with the subsequent loss of soil and organic matter. Moreover, soil erosion has, over a long time, been enhanced by other anthropogenic pressures, particularly by poor cattle grazing management (Maas, 1995). * Corresponding author.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The mycorrhizal soil infectivity and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal spore communities in soils of different aged fallows in Senegal

Duponnois

Plenchette

Thioulouse

et al. 2001

Applied Soil Ecology

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This work was carried out to determine the influence of the duration of fallow and of physico-chemical components of soils on the distribution of endomycorrhizal fungal spores and the mycorrhizal soil infectivity. The mycorrhization of indigenous plants from the fallows was examined and it was concluded that, except for Cassia obtusifolia, fungal colonization was poorly developed. No correlation was established between spore populations and duration of fallow or between grazed and fenced areas. The relationships between abundance of mycorrhizal spores and the physico-chemical characteristics of the soils were markedly variable among species of mycorrhizal fungi. The results did not provide evidence of a beneficial effect of increased length of fallowing on mycorrhizal soil infectivity, but they did demonstrated the positive effect of preventing grazing on the re-establishment of vegetation during the fallow period.

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Conversion of tropical dry forest to pasture and agriculture

Cited by 132 publications

References 0 publications

Characterizing Forest Fragments in Boreal, Temperate, and Tropical Ecosystems

Characterizing Forest Fragments in Boreal, Temperate, and Tropical Ecosystems

Phosphorus cycling in primary and secondary seasonally dry tropical forests in Mexico

The mycorrhizal soil infectivity and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal spore communities in soils of different aged fallows in Senegal

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