School of Agriculture, Food and Ecosystem Sciences - Research Publications
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ItemNo Preview AvailableSustainable development implications of human wildlife conflict: an analysis of subsistence farmers in Bhutan(TAYLOR & FRANCIS INC, 2023-07-04)
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ItemThe role of topography and the north Indian monsoon on mean monthly climate interpolation within the Himalayan Kingdom of Bhutan(WILEY, 2017-08)ABSTRACT Spatial climate datasets currently available for Bhutan are limited by weather station data availability, spatial resolution or interpolation methodology. This article presents new datasets for monthly maximum temperature, minimum temperature, precipitation and vapour pressure climate normals interpolated for the 1986–2015 reference period using trivariate smoothing splines. The inclusion of standardized day time Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) land surface temperature (LST) values as partial spline dependencies reduced cross validated root mean square error (RMSE) for maximum temperature by up to 16.0% and was most effective between March and September. Using both a topographic index of relative elevation and standardized night time MODIS LST values as partial spline dependencies reduced monthly mean minimum temperature RMSE by up to 23.4%. Neither variable was effective for minimum temperature interpolation between June and September. High humidity, extensive cloud cover and heavy precipitation occur during these months, which are likely to suppress the formation of temperature inversions that typically form under clear, calm conditions. These new temperature and precipitation surfaces show distinct differences from the WorldClim and CRU CL 2.0 datasets, which do not use weather stations within Bhutan for calibration. New precipitation surfaces better describe the heavy rainfall experienced in the southern foothills while retaining the effect of orography throughout the central valleys and ranges. The development of vapour pressure surfaces also allow for the calculation of ecologically important variables such as vapour pressure deficit, and may also be useful for solar radiation modelling in the region. The different datasets presented in this article will facilitate ecological and agricultural research in Bhutan and provide high quality surfaces needed for future climate change scenarios.
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ItemLao Plantation Policy: Prospects for Change(MDPI, 2021-08)Policies to promote tree plantations in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic have been developed since independence to support national socio-economic and environmental goals, and in response to domestic and international markets. The effectiveness of these policies has been variable, and the resulting plantation wood value chains are poorly developed due to contradictory and confusing laws and regulations with inconsistent application and high transaction costs. Consequently, there has been limited tree plantation investment, and few investments have realized the anticipated benefits. Renewed interest in plantations from the government, investors and other sectors in Laos has prompted policy reviews and recognition of the need for new policy settings. We reviewed the development of plantation policies in Laos and assessed policy effectiveness and barriers to policy options. Through document analysis, interviews with key stakeholders and actors, stakeholder forums, and field research, we found that smarter regulation, and facilitating value-chain partnerships and knowledge sharing, can motivate smallholders and industry investors in plantations, and increase community-level benefits and financial returns to the Government and private sector. These results are discussed in the context of current international developments in plantation policy and the convergence in related policy processes in Laos.
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ItemPotential for forest thinning to reduce risk and increase resilience to wildfire in Australian temperate Eucalyptus forests(Elsevier BV, 2021-10)Unprecedented wildfires in south-eastern Australia in 2019–2020 focused attention on forest management to reduce their risks and impacts. These fires mostly burnt dry eucalypt forests. In this short review, we found evidence from international studies that thinning combined with fuel reduction can reduce wildfire risks and impacts in dry forests compared with no treatment or thinning alone. In Australia, studies so far demonstrate mixed outcomes, indicating that more landscape-scale experiments are required to better assess the use of thinning in dry Eucalyptus forests to reduce fire risks in a rapidly changing climate.
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ItemSpatial Assessment of Ecosystem Services from Planted Forests in Central Vietnam(MDPI AG, 2020-08-01)Globally, planted forests are increasing, providing increased resources to forest industries and ecosystem services (ES) to local and wider communities. However, assessment of the impacts of plantations on ES has been limited. Planted forests have expanded rapidly in Vietnam over the last 20 years, with much of the planting undertaken by smallholder growers using exotic Acacia and Eucalyptus species. This study aimed to test a framework to assess changes in four ES due to an increase in Acacia plantations from 2005–2015 in central Vietnam: carbon sequestration, sediment retention, water yield and habitat. Quantitative and qualitative indicators for each service were derived from the literature. Results showed that the area of planted forests in Quảng Trị and Thừa Thiên-Huế Provinces increased from 130,930 hectares (ha) to 182,508 ha, mostly replacing non-forest areas (degraded lands, grasslands and agricultural lands) and poor forests. The framework demonstrated capacity to assess the effect of planted forests on wood flow, carbon stocks, sediment retention, streamflow and the extent of wildlife habitat. Apart from the wood supply and carbon sequestration, more research is required to translate biophysical indicators to benefit relevant indicators related to human welfare. The study also revealed that the area of rich forests decreased by 20% over the ten years, mostly through degradation to poorer quality natural forests. Therefore, at the landscape scale, improvement in ES due to conversion of non-forests to planted forests was offset by a reduction in some services as a result of degradation of native forest from rich to poorer condition. Assessment of changes in ES due to planted forests also needs to consider other landscape changes. These analyses can inform policymakers, forest owners and managers, environmental organizations and local communities of the benefits and impacts of planted forests and provide an improved basis for payments for ES and potential additional income for smallholder tree growers.
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ItemNo Preview AvailableImpact of Pulp Mill Project in Laos: Regional and National Level Economic Modelling Analysis(FORMATH RESEARCH GROUP, 2020)
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ItemNo Preview AvailableImpact of Forest Plantation Development in Laos: A Dynamic General Equilibrium Analysis(FORMATH RESEARCH GROUP, 2020)
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ItemThe impact of swidden decline on livelihoods and ecosystem services in Southeast Asia: A review of the evidence from 1990 to 2015(SPRINGER, 2017-04)Global economic change and policy interventions are driving transitions from long-fallow swidden (LFS) systems to alternative land uses in Southeast Asia's uplands. This study presents a systematic review of how these transitions impact upon livelihoods and ecosystem services in the region. Over 17 000 studies published between 1950 and 2015 were narrowed, based on relevance and quality, to 93 studies for further analysis. Our analysis of land-use transitions from swidden to intensified cropping systems showed several outcomes: more households had increased overall income, but these benefits came at significant cost such as reductions of customary practice, socio-economic wellbeing, livelihood options, and staple yields. Examining the effects of transitions on soil properties revealed negative impacts on soil organic carbon, cation-exchange capacity, and aboveground carbon. Taken together, the proximate and underlying drivers of the transitions from LFS to alternative land uses, especially intensified perennial and annual cash cropping, led to significant declines in pre-existing livelihood security and the ecosystem services supporting this security. Our results suggest that policies imposing land-use transitions on upland farmers so as to improve livelihoods and environments have been misguided; in the context of varied land uses, swidden agriculture can support livelihoods and ecosystem services that will help buffer the impacts of climate change in Southeast Asia.
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ItemRevitalizing REDD plus Policy Processes in Vietnam: The Roles of State and Non-State Actors(MDPI, 2017-03)Vietnam was one of the first countries to introduce the National REDD+ (Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation) Action Program in 2012. The country has recently revised the Program to aim for a more inclusive 2016–2020 strategy and a vision to 2030. This study explores how Vietnam policy actors view REDD+ policy development and their influence in these processes. The results can contribute to the discussion on how policy actors can effectively influence policy processes in the evolving context of REDD+ and in the types of political arrangements represented in Vietnam. We examined the influence of state and non-state actors on the 2012 National REDD+ Action Program (NRAP) processes, and explored factors that may have shaped this influence, using a combination of document analysis and semi-structured interviews with 81 policy actors. It was found that non-state actors in REDD+ are still on the periphery of decision making, occupying “safe” positions, and have not taken either full advantage of their capacities, or of recent significant changes in the contemporary policy environment, to exert stronger influence on policy. We suggest that REDD+ policy processes in Vietnam need to be revitalized with key actors engaging collectively to promote the possibilities of REDD+ within a broader view of social change that reaches beyond the forestry sector.