Local perceptions of Tibetan village sacred forests in northwest Yunnan

Allendorf, Teri D.; Brandt, Jodi S.; Yang, Jian

doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2013.12.001

Cited by 59 publications

(47 citation statements)

References 23 publications

(39 reference statements)

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“…Brandt et al 2013;Gao et al 2013;Gunaga et al 2013;Allendorf et al 2014) and Africa (e.g. Mgumia and Oba 2003;Campbell 2004;Sheridan and Nyamweru 2007;Kokou et al 2008;Tankou et al 2014).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Conservation of the Ethiopian church forests: Threats, opportunities and implications for their management

Aerts

Overtveld

November

et al. 2016

Science of The Total Environment

116

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In the central and northern highlands of Ethiopia, native forest and forest biodiversity is almost confined to sacred groves associated with churches. Local communities rely on these 'church forests' for essential ecosystem services including shade and fresh water but little is known about their region-wide distribution and conservation value. We (1) performed the first large-scale spatially-explicit assessment of church forests, combining remote-sensing and field data, to assess the number of forests, their size, shape, isolation and woody plant species composition, (2) determined their plant communities and related these to environmental variables and potential natural vegetation, (3) identified the main challenges to biodiversity conservation in view of plant population dynamics and anthropogenic disturbances, and (4) present guidelines for management and policy. The 394 forests identified in satellite images were on average ~2 ha in size and generally separated by ~2 km from the nearest neighboring forest. Shape complexity, not size, decreased from the northern to the central highlands. Overall, 148 indigenous tree, shrub and liana species were recorded across the 78 surveyed forests. Patch α-diversity increased with mean annual precipitation, but typically only 25 woody species occurred per patch. The combined results showed that >50% of tree species present in tropical northeast Africa were still present in the 78 studied church forests, even though individual forests were small and relatively species-poor. Tree species composition of church forests varied with elevation and precipitation, and resembled the potential natural vegetation. With a wide distribution over the landscape, these church forests have high conservation value. However, long-term conservation of biodiversity of individual patches and evolutionary potential of species may be threatened by isolation, small sizes of tree species populations and disturbance, especially when considering climate change. Forest management interventions are essential and should be supported by environmental education and other forms of public engagement.

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“…Brandt et al 2013;Gao et al 2013;Gunaga et al 2013;Allendorf et al 2014) and Africa (e.g. Mgumia and Oba 2003;Campbell 2004;Sheridan and Nyamweru 2007;Kokou et al 2008;Tankou et al 2014).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Conservation of the Ethiopian church forests: Threats, opportunities and implications for their management

Aerts

Overtveld

November

et al. 2016

Science of The Total Environment

116

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“…The possibly strongest perception of heritage is when natural sites are regarded as sacred (e.g. Dudley et al 2009, Allendorf et al 2014, Jackson and Ormsby 2017.…”

Section: Biological Cultural Heritage -A Suggested Definitionmentioning

confidence: 99%

What is biological cultural heritage and why should we care about it? An example from Swedish rural landscapes and forests

Eriksson¹

2018

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Citation: What is biological cultural heritage and why should we care about it? An example from Swedish rural landscapes and forests. Nature Conservation 28: 1-32. https://doi.org/10.3897/natureconservation.28.25067 AbstractThere is currently a growing concern that biocultural heritage is threatened in many landscapes. This paper focuses on biological cultural heritage, broadly meaning biological cultural traces that are considered as heritage, but leaving out other aspects of the biocultural heritage concept. An operational definition of biological cultural heritage (BCH) is suggested, based on niche construction theory: "biological manifestations of culture, reflecting indirect or intentional effects, or domesticated landscapes, resulting from historical human niche construction". Some factors that influence recognition of BCH are discussed, using a comparison between Swedish open to semi-open vs. forested landscapes. While the former landscapes are generally associated with biological cultural values, BCH is generally over-looked in forests. Two main reasons for this are suggested: loss of cultural memory and a perception of forests as wilderness. A conclusion is that recognition of BCH is essential for guiding development of biological conservation programmes in forests, irrespective of whether the conservation goal is to focus on culturally impacted forests or to conserve what is considered as close to pristine forests. Furthermore, recognising BCH in forests will promote interest and learning of the history of forests and their values and will be informative for developing conservation programmes for all biota in forests, not only those that historically were favoured by culture. Hence, there is no inherent conflict between preserving relatively untouched forests and those with remaining traces of pre-industrial forest management. The recognition of BCH in forests will inspire and promote further integration of cultural and natural heritage research. Keywords REVIEW ARTICLE Launched to accelerate biodiversity conservation A peer-reviewed open-access journalOve Eriksson / Nature Conservation 28: 1-32 (2018) 2

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“…Several studies related the low recognition of these services as forest benefits to the loss of ecological knowledge by new generations of farmers (ZUCHIWSCHI et al, 2010;SIMINSKI et al, 2011;JUSTEN et al, 2012;MEIJAARD et al, 2013;ALLENDORF et al, 2014) and to the predominance of communities with greater access to infrastructure that use more processed or purchased commercial products in urban areas (GODOY et al, 2002;ABRAM et al, 2013).…”

Section: Perceptions Of Goods and Services Of Native Forestsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Recent studies about the perception of rural communities, regarding the benefits and the environmental services provided by forests, cover different scales focusing on a bundle of services (RAYMOND et al, 2009;MEIJAARD et al, 2013) or only on a specific category (PLIENINGER et al, 2013;ALLENDORF et al, 2014). Studies about the environmental perception of urban or rural communities reveal the values, expectations and imagination derived from the relationships individuals have with their natural environment (HOEFFEL et al, 2008;MARIN;COMAR, 2003;PACHECO;SILVA, 2006).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Local Benefits of the Atlantic Forest: Evidences From Rural Communities in Southern Brazil

2016

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Environmental services provided by forests are essential to the social reproduction of populations in rural areas. Perceptions about the services provided by forests play an important role in the planning of landscapes; however, few studies have investigated this issue. This study aimed at understanding how farmers perceive the role of forests in maintaining environmental services. One hundred farmers from the Chapecó Ecological Corridor - SC were interviewed. Provisioning and regulating services were mentioned most often. Water availability ranked first (65%), followed by the maintenance of habitat for biodiversity (34%) and firewood (23%). Income and local use of forest resources were the variables that best explained farmers' perceptions of forest benefits. Nevertheless, the use of forest resources has been limited by restrictions imposed by environmental legislation, which is affecting the perception of farmers about the wide range of environmental services provided by forests.

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Local perceptions of Tibetan village sacred forests in northwest Yunnan

Cited by 59 publications

References 23 publications

Conservation of the Ethiopian church forests: Threats, opportunities and implications for their management

Conservation of the Ethiopian church forests: Threats, opportunities and implications for their management

What is biological cultural heritage and why should we care about it? An example from Swedish rural landscapes and forests

Local Benefits of the Atlantic Forest: Evidences From Rural Communities in Southern Brazil

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