TY - JOUR
T1 - Fragmentation Patterns in Land Reform Settlements in the Brazilian Amazon
AU - Wang, Chuyuan
AU - Caldas, Marcellus M.
N1 - Funding Information:
We acknowledge National Science Foundation support from BCS 0623301, Doctoral Dissertation Research: Settlement Formation and Land Use and Land Cover Change: A Case Study in the Brazilian Amazon. The views expressed belong to the authors alone and do not necessarily reflect those of the National Science Foundation.
PY - 2014/7
Y1 - 2014/7
N2 - Direct action land reform (DALR) and settlement formation are new drivers of deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon. However, until now no research has paid attention to fragmentation patterns and the social processes that lead to them. This article analyzes two types of settlements, spontaneous and social movement organization-led settlements. The study uses neutral landscape models (NLMs) to compare simulated landscapes with the real fragmentation patterns found in DALR settlements. In sequence, the article uses landscape metrics to analyze the temporal and spatial dynamics of fragmentation patterns in these two types of DALR settlements. Results showed that there are significant differences between real landscape patterns and simulated landscapes using NLMs. In other words, human interferences did play a significant role in shaping deforestation patches in DALR settlements. Our metric results revealed a process in which deforestation patch mean area, shape complexity, and physical connectedness increase over time.
AB - Direct action land reform (DALR) and settlement formation are new drivers of deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon. However, until now no research has paid attention to fragmentation patterns and the social processes that lead to them. This article analyzes two types of settlements, spontaneous and social movement organization-led settlements. The study uses neutral landscape models (NLMs) to compare simulated landscapes with the real fragmentation patterns found in DALR settlements. In sequence, the article uses landscape metrics to analyze the temporal and spatial dynamics of fragmentation patterns in these two types of DALR settlements. Results showed that there are significant differences between real landscape patterns and simulated landscapes using NLMs. In other words, human interferences did play a significant role in shaping deforestation patches in DALR settlements. Our metric results revealed a process in which deforestation patch mean area, shape complexity, and physical connectedness increase over time.
KW - forest cover change
KW - forest fragmentation
KW - human and environmental interactions
KW - land use change
KW - land use policy
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U2 - 10.1080/08941920.2014.905889
DO - 10.1080/08941920.2014.905889
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84903482362
SN - 0894-1920
VL - 27
SP - 742
EP - 758
JO - Society and Natural Resources
JF - Society and Natural Resources
IS - 7
ER -