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The demise of swidden-fallow agriculture in an Atlantic Rainforest region: Implications for farmers’ livelihood and conservation

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  • Fantini, Alfredo C.
  • Bauer, Eliane
  • de Valois, Cassio M.
  • Siddique, Ilyas

Abstract

The Brazilian Atlantic Forest is widely recognized for its high levels of biodiversity and endemism. Its vast region concentrates also a large number of small farmers, who historically have been practicing swidden-fallow cultivation. Globally, there is contradictory evidence of the current fate of this traditional, integrated agricultural system, and the new land uses may have a strong impact on farmers’ livelihoods and ecosystem conservation. In this study, we assessed the land cover and land use change in a watershed where slash-and-burn cultivation was prevalent, aiming at understanding the drivers of change and discussing past and possible future impacts, including the perception of farmers on the drivers of land use change. We combined information gathered from interviews with 15 key informant farmers and from the analysis of remote sensing images for the years 1957, 1978 and 2011. Swidden-fallow cultivation has declined steadily since the 1950s. Part of the land was abandoned and forest succession was allowed to occur, increasing the total forest area; an apparently positive outcome. However, conversion to pastures and Eucalyptus plantations not only used much of the open land but also converted successional forests through deforestation, based on remote sensing. The willingness of farmers to grow more Eucalyptus and raise more cattle further increases concerns about the prospect for conservation. Our approach, combining remote sensing-based land change quantification and interviews, revealed to be complementary, allowing a better understanding of the past and possible future scenarios for the land use dynamics.

Suggested Citation

  • Fantini, Alfredo C. & Bauer, Eliane & de Valois, Cassio M. & Siddique, Ilyas, 2017. "The demise of swidden-fallow agriculture in an Atlantic Rainforest region: Implications for farmers’ livelihood and conservation," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 417-426.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:lauspo:v:69:y:2017:i:c:p:417-426
    DOI: 10.1016/j.landusepol.2017.09.039
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Mukul, Sharif A. & Herbohn, John, 2016. "The impacts of shifting cultivation on secondary forests dynamics in tropics: A synthesis of the key findings and spatio temporal distribution of research," Environmental Science & Policy, Elsevier, vol. 55(P1), pages 167-177.
    2. Kristina Marquardt & Rebecka Milestad & Lennart Salomonsson, 2013. "Improved fallows: a case study of an adaptive response in Amazonian swidden farming systems," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 30(3), pages 417-428, September.
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    Cited by:

    1. Fanqi Meng & Li Dong & Yu Zhang, 2023. "Spatiotemporal Dynamic Analysis and Simulation Prediction of Land Use and Landscape Patterns from the Perspective of Sustainable Development in Tourist Cities," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(19), pages 1-21, October.
    2. Roberth Andrés Villazón Montalván & Marina Medeiros Machado & Renata Martins Pacheco & Tadeu Maia Portela Nogueira & Cátia Regina Silva Carvalho Pinto & Alfredo Celso Fantini, 2019. "Environmental concerns on traditional charcoal production: a global environmental impact value (GEIV) approach in the southern Brazilian context," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 21(6), pages 3093-3119, December.

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