Water and sectoral policies in agriculture–forest frontiers: An expanded interdisciplinary research approach

Abstract

Major land use changes such as deforestation and restoration influence water resources in agriculture–forest landscapes. Changes are observed in water flows, groundwater infiltration, water quality and rainfall. Interdisciplinary water–forest research has unravelled biophysical parts of the interplay that influences forest and water resources. In this Perspective paper, we propose an expanded interdisciplinary research approach to study water and policies in agriculture–forest frontiers. The approach differs in four important aspects from previous ones: (i) a conceptual ‘frontier’ understanding; an analytical focus on (ii) agriculture and (iii) policy–water linkages; (iv) empirical attention to northern and southern countries. The approach is put into practice with the “Pendulum” framework, with interventions and the agriculture–forest frontier oscillating over time between exploitation and restoration. Through the approach, a better understanding will be provided on the dynamic interplay of water and policies in oscillating agriculture–forest frontiers, with changing outcomes for people and environment.

Mimicking nature to reduce agricultural impact on water cycles: A set of mimetrics

“…The relevance of a water-function-based framework for understanding consequences of land use and for supporting resilience through governance interventions has become apparent in recent debates, especially in agriculture–forest frontiers (Zipper et al, 2020, Falkenmark and Wang-Erlandsson, 2021; Seijger et al, 2021). The asymmetric recovery responses (‘hysteresis’) of forests call for specific caution (Staal et al, 2020).…”

Forest environmental frontiers around the globe: Old patterns and new trends in forest governance

“…Fourth, climate change (adaptation and mitigation) and its increasing impact on forests across the planet results in an increasingly significant forest frontier that is characterized by the physical impact of a warmer climate (mostly by means of larger, more intense and more frequent disturbances), as well as by the often deeply ideologically rooted conflicts of how to deal with such shifting environmental patterns (Brockhaus et al 2021;Ramcilovic-Suominen et al 2021;Seijger et al 2021;Schulz et al 2021;Sotirov et al 2021;Takahashi et al 2021).…”

“…In the final contribution to this special issue, Seijger et al (2021) broaden water-forest research by proposing an expanded, inter-disciplinary research approach that combines conceptual, analytical, and empirical aspects that until now have remained largely unaddressed. Conceptually, the approach adopts a 'frontier' perspective to comprehend the exploration, exploitation and contestations over forest and water resources in agriculture-forest landscapes, going beyond the focus of biophysical studies on land use change and pairwise comparisons.…”

Carbon Emissions and Neutralization in Forestry Ecosystems: Effects on Urbanization, Water Resources, and Forestry Symbiosis

“…Stream salinity increases with deforestation and decreases with reforestation (Harper et al, 2019). Hydrological responses occur where forest cover treatments have been applied and maintained at the watershed scale (Seijger et al, 2021). Comprehensive observations of water-forest linkages were increasingly tested in the twentieth century.…”