Effects of past and future land conversions on forest connectivity in the Argentine Chaco
Context: Land-use change is the main driver of habitat loss and fragmentation worldwide. The rate of dry forest loss in the South American Chaco is among the highest in the world, mainly due to the expansion of soybean production and cattle ranching. Argentina recently implemented a national zonin...
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| Format: | info:ar-repo/semantics/artículo |
| Language: | Inglés |
| Published: |
Springer
2018
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12123/3613 https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10980-014-0147-3#citeas https://doi.org/10.1007/s10980-014-0147-3 |
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| author | Piquer Rodriguez, María Torella, Sebastián Andrés Gavier Pizarro, Gregorio Ignacio Volante, Jose Norberto Somma, Daniel Jorge Ginzburg, Rubén G. Kuemmerle, Tobias |
| author_browse | Gavier Pizarro, Gregorio Ignacio Ginzburg, Rubén G. Kuemmerle, Tobias Piquer Rodriguez, María Somma, Daniel Jorge Torella, Sebastián Andrés Volante, Jose Norberto |
| author_facet | Piquer Rodriguez, María Torella, Sebastián Andrés Gavier Pizarro, Gregorio Ignacio Volante, Jose Norberto Somma, Daniel Jorge Ginzburg, Rubén G. Kuemmerle, Tobias |
| author_sort | Piquer Rodriguez, María |
| collection | INTA Digital |
| description | Context:
Land-use change is the main driver of habitat loss and fragmentation worldwide. The rate of dry forest loss in the South American Chaco is among the highest in the world, mainly due to the expansion of soybean production and cattle ranching. Argentina recently implemented a national zoning plan (i.e., the Forest Law) to reduce further forest loss. However, it is unclear how the effects of past deforestation and the implementation of the Forest Law will affect forest connectivity in the Chaco.
Objective:
Our main goal was to evaluate the potential effect of the Forest Law on forest fragmentation and connectivity in the Argentine Chaco.
Methods:
We studied changes in the extent, fragmentation, and connectivity of forests between 1977 and 2010, by combining agricultural expansion and forest cover maps, and for the future in a scenario analysis.
Results
Past agricultural expansion translated into an overall loss of 22.5 % of the Argentine Chaco’s forests, with deforestation rates in 2000–2010 up to three times higher than in the 1980s. Forest fragmentation and connectivity loss were highest in 1977–1992, when road construction fragmented large forest patches. Our future scenario analysis showed that if the Forest Law will be implemented as planned, forest area and connectivity in the region will decline drastically.
Conclusions:
Land-use planning designed to protect stepping stones could substantially mitigate connectivity loss due to deforestation, with the co-benefit of preserving the greatest amount of biodiversity priority areas across all evaluated scenarios. Including scenario analyses that assess forest fragmentation and connectivity at the ecoregion scale is thus important in upcoming revisions of the Argentine Forest Law, and, more generally, in debates about sustainable resource use. |
| format | info:ar-repo/semantics/artículo |
| id | INTA3613 |
| institution | Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA -Argentina) |
| language | Inglés |
| publishDate | 2018 |
| publishDateRange | 2018 |
| publishDateSort | 2018 |
| publisher | Springer |
| publisherStr | Springer |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | INTA36132018-10-17T14:32:03Z Effects of past and future land conversions on forest connectivity in the Argentine Chaco Piquer Rodriguez, María Torella, Sebastián Andrés Gavier Pizarro, Gregorio Ignacio Volante, Jose Norberto Somma, Daniel Jorge Ginzburg, Rubén G. Kuemmerle, Tobias Land Use Subtropical Zones Forest Fragmentation Forest Ecosystems Utilización de la Tierra Zona Subtropical Fragmentación de los Bosques Ecosistemas Forestales Stepping Stones Agriculture Expansion Subtropical Dry Forest Fragmentation Ecoregional Conservation Planning National Forest Law Ley Forestal Nacional Argentina Región Chaqueña Context: Land-use change is the main driver of habitat loss and fragmentation worldwide. The rate of dry forest loss in the South American Chaco is among the highest in the world, mainly due to the expansion of soybean production and cattle ranching. Argentina recently implemented a national zoning plan (i.e., the Forest Law) to reduce further forest loss. However, it is unclear how the effects of past deforestation and the implementation of the Forest Law will affect forest connectivity in the Chaco. Objective: Our main goal was to evaluate the potential effect of the Forest Law on forest fragmentation and connectivity in the Argentine Chaco. Methods: We studied changes in the extent, fragmentation, and connectivity of forests between 1977 and 2010, by combining agricultural expansion and forest cover maps, and for the future in a scenario analysis. Results Past agricultural expansion translated into an overall loss of 22.5 % of the Argentine Chaco’s forests, with deforestation rates in 2000–2010 up to three times higher than in the 1980s. Forest fragmentation and connectivity loss were highest in 1977–1992, when road construction fragmented large forest patches. Our future scenario analysis showed that if the Forest Law will be implemented as planned, forest area and connectivity in the region will decline drastically. Conclusions: Land-use planning designed to protect stepping stones could substantially mitigate connectivity loss due to deforestation, with the co-benefit of preserving the greatest amount of biodiversity priority areas across all evaluated scenarios. Including scenario analyses that assess forest fragmentation and connectivity at the ecoregion scale is thus important in upcoming revisions of the Argentine Forest Law, and, more generally, in debates about sustainable resource use. Instituto de Recursos Biológicos Fil: Piquer Rodriguez, María. Humboldt-University Berlin. Geography Department; Alemania Fil: Torella, Sebastián Andrés. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Grupo de Estudios de Sistemas Ecológicos en Ambientes Agrícolas; Argentina Fil: Gavier Pizarro, Gregorio Ignacio. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Recursos Biológicos. Grupo de Biodiversidad, Ecología y Gestión Ambiental; Argentina Fil: Volante, Jose Norberto. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Salta. Laboratorio de Teledetección y SIG; Argentina Fil: Somma, Daniel Jorge. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Pergamino; Argentina Fil: Guizburg, Rubén G. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Departamento de Ecología, Genética y Evolución. Grupo de Estudios de Sistemas Ecológicos en Ambientes Agrícolas; Argentina Fil: Kuemmerle, Tobias. Humboldt-University Berlin. Geography Department; Alemania. Humboldt-University Berlin. Integrative Research Institute for Transformations in Human Environment Systems; Alemania 2018-10-17T14:25:16Z 2018-10-17T14:25:16Z 2015-05 info:ar-repo/semantics/artículo info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12123/3613 https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10980-014-0147-3#citeas 0921-2973 1572-9761 (Online) https://doi.org/10.1007/s10980-014-0147-3 eng info:eu-repo/semantics/restrictedAccess application/pdf Chaco (province) Springer Landscape ecology 30 (5) : 817–833. (May 2015) |
| spellingShingle | Land Use Subtropical Zones Forest Fragmentation Forest Ecosystems Utilización de la Tierra Zona Subtropical Fragmentación de los Bosques Ecosistemas Forestales Stepping Stones Agriculture Expansion Subtropical Dry Forest Fragmentation Ecoregional Conservation Planning National Forest Law Ley Forestal Nacional Argentina Región Chaqueña Piquer Rodriguez, María Torella, Sebastián Andrés Gavier Pizarro, Gregorio Ignacio Volante, Jose Norberto Somma, Daniel Jorge Ginzburg, Rubén G. Kuemmerle, Tobias Effects of past and future land conversions on forest connectivity in the Argentine Chaco |
| title | Effects of past and future land conversions on forest connectivity in the Argentine Chaco |
| title_full | Effects of past and future land conversions on forest connectivity in the Argentine Chaco |
| title_fullStr | Effects of past and future land conversions on forest connectivity in the Argentine Chaco |
| title_full_unstemmed | Effects of past and future land conversions on forest connectivity in the Argentine Chaco |
| title_short | Effects of past and future land conversions on forest connectivity in the Argentine Chaco |
| title_sort | effects of past and future land conversions on forest connectivity in the argentine chaco |
| topic | Land Use Subtropical Zones Forest Fragmentation Forest Ecosystems Utilización de la Tierra Zona Subtropical Fragmentación de los Bosques Ecosistemas Forestales Stepping Stones Agriculture Expansion Subtropical Dry Forest Fragmentation Ecoregional Conservation Planning National Forest Law Ley Forestal Nacional Argentina Región Chaqueña |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12123/3613 https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10980-014-0147-3#citeas https://doi.org/10.1007/s10980-014-0147-3 |
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