Version 1
: Received: 13 September 2023 / Approved: 14 September 2023 / Online: 15 September 2023 (13:47:10 CEST)
How to cite:
Sylvéus, A.; Cunha, C.S.; Flores, B.M.; Jakovac, C.C.; Peroni, N. Recovery of Tropical Forests in Southern Haiti Reflects Shift in Local Governance. Preprints2023, 2023091027. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202309.1027.v1
Sylvéus, A.; Cunha, C.S.; Flores, B.M.; Jakovac, C.C.; Peroni, N. Recovery of Tropical Forests in Southern Haiti Reflects Shift in Local Governance. Preprints 2023, 2023091027. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202309.1027.v1
Sylvéus, A.; Cunha, C.S.; Flores, B.M.; Jakovac, C.C.; Peroni, N. Recovery of Tropical Forests in Southern Haiti Reflects Shift in Local Governance. Preprints2023, 2023091027. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202309.1027.v1
APA Style
Sylvéus, A., Cunha, C.S., Flores, B.M., Jakovac, C.C., & Peroni, N. (2023). Recovery of Tropical Forests in Southern Haiti Reflects Shift in Local Governance. Preprints. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202309.1027.v1
Chicago/Turabian Style
Sylvéus, A., Catarina Conte Jakovac and Nivaldo Peroni. 2023 "Recovery of Tropical Forests in Southern Haiti Reflects Shift in Local Governance" Preprints. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202309.1027.v1
Abstract
Anthropogenic disturbances interacting with natural disturbances, ecological and socio-economic factors can provoke forest degradation and modulate ecosystem resilience. In Haiti, protected areas recently created to reduce forest loss, require studies about forest dynamics and land use to assure the development of sustainable management policies. We combine field interview with Landsat satellite images of the Macaya National Park collected between 1985 and 2021 to investigate: 1) how much of the original forest area has been converted into agricultural or logged area since 1985; and 2) how do elevation and slope influence the expansion of human-induced land-use changes. Our results indicate an increase of 11.36% in forest cover and a reduction of 75.34% in agriculture class cover, despite the passage of seven hurricanes in the region. Forest recovery was apparently unrelated to elevation and slope, and likely reflected the implementation of new environmental laws and policies with the creation of the Macaya National Park in 1983. Restoration and protection programs contributed to ensure access to financial resources, technical assistance and new technology, thus promoting a shift into a more resilient forest system. This study brings hope for forest conservation in Haiti by showing that positive results can be achieved through inclusive collaboration.
Keywords
shifting agriculture; logging; remote sensing; land-use change; resilience; social-ecological system
Subject
Environmental and Earth Sciences, Ecology
Copyright:
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
