Impact of Deforestation on Agro-Environmental Variables in Cropland, North Korea

Abstract

Deforestation in North Korea is becoming the epitome of the environmental change occurring in the Korean Peninsula. This study estimates the agro-environmental variables of North Korea's croplands and analyzes the impact of deforestation using the GEPIC (GIS-based EPIC (Environmental Policy Integrated Climate)) model and time-series land cover maps. To identify the changes in agricultural quality under deforestation, wind erosion, water erosion, organic carbon loss, and runoff were selected as the agro-environmental variables having an impact on cropland stability and productivity. Land cover maps spanning the past three decades showed that 75% of the forests were converted to croplands and that 69% of all converted croplands were originally forests, confirming the significant correlation between deforestation and cropland expansion in North Korea. Despite limitations in the verification data, we conducted qualitative and quantitative validation of the estimated variables and confirmed that our results were reasonable. Over the past 30 years, agro-environmental variables showed no clear time-series changes resulting from climate change, but changes due to spatial differences were seen. Negative changes in organic carbon loss, water erosion, and runoff were observed, regardless of the crop type. On newly-converted agricultural lands, runoff is 1.5 times higher and water-driven erosion and soil organic loss are more than twice as high compared to older croplands. The results showed that the agro-environment affected by deforestation had an impact on cropland stability and productivity.

Estimation of the Virtual Water Content of Main Crops on the Korean Peninsula Using Multiple Regional Climate Models and Evapotranspiration Methods

“…For rice, the biomass-energy ratio was set at 30 kg MJ −1 , the harvest index at 0.55 mg mg −1 , the optimum temperature at 25 • C, the base temperature at 10 • C, and the potential heat unit (PHU) ranged from 1300 to 1500 • C, depending on the climate of the specific grid cells. For maize, the biomass-energy ratio was set at 43 kg MJ −1 , the harvest index at 0.45 mg mg −1 , the optimum temperature at 25 • C, the base temperature at 8 • C, and the PHU range at 1000-1200 • C, depending on the climate of the specific grid cells [34,37,38].…”

Assessment of Agricultural Drought Considering the Hydrological Cycle and Crop Phenology in the Korean Peninsula

“…The Korean Peninsula, which includes the Republic of Korea (hereafter 'South Korea') and Democratic People's Republic of Korea (hereafter 'North Korea'), covers an area of 221,000 km 2 , of which about 55,000 km 2 is farmland, accounting for 25%. Cropland covers approximately 20,000 km 2 in South Korea and 35,000 km 2 in North Korea, and the cropland in North Korea has greatly increased in the past two decades [22,23]. This is a phenomenon caused by rapid deforestation and cropland expansion due to food problems in the 1990s [23].…”

“…Cropland covers approximately 20,000 km 2 in South Korea and 35,000 km 2 in North Korea, and the cropland in North Korea has greatly increased in the past two decades [22,23]. This is a phenomenon caused by rapid deforestation and cropland expansion due to food problems in the 1990s [23]. Traditionally, rice is a staple food in the Korean Peninsula, so rice production is the most popular.…”

Evaluation on Social Capital of Sustainable Agroforestry System: A Case From Argosari Village, Malang

“…The agricultural area around the protected forest becomes a buffer. This area is very important to be managed sustainably, which is the focus of the community's economic development so that it does not damage the forest (Lim et al, 2017). The third indicator is replanting for sustainability (X2.3), the majority of respondents answered neutrally (33-45%) and none respondents strongly disagree.…”