Messerli Peter, Heinimann Andreas, Epprecht Michael
Swiss National Centre of Competence in Research (NCCR) North-South, Centre for Development and Environment (CDE), Institute of Geography, University of Berne, Hallerstrasse 10, 3012 Berne, Switzerland.
Hum Ecol Interdiscip J. 2009 Jun;37(3):291-304. doi: 10.1007/s10745-009-9238-1. Epub 2009 May 21.
A key challenge for land change science in general and research on swidden agriculture in particular, is linking land cover information to human-environment interactions over larger spatial areas. In Lao PDR, a country facing rapid and multi-level land change processes, this hinders informed policy- and decision-making. Crucial information on land use types and people involved is still lacking. This article proposes an alternative approach for the description of landscape mosaics. Instead of analyzing local land use combinations, we studied land cover mosaics at a meso-level of spatial scale and interpreted these in terms of human-environmental interactions. These landscape mosaics were then overlaid with population census data. Results showed that swidden agricultural landscapes, involving 17% of the population, dominate 29% of the country, while permanent agricultural landscapes involve 74% of the population in 29% of the territory. Forests still form an important component of these landscape mosaics.
一般而言，土地变化科学面临的一个关键挑战，特别是刀耕火种农业研究面临的挑战，是将土地覆盖信息与更大空间区域内的人类 - 环境相互作用联系起来。在老挝人民民主共和国这个面临快速且多层次土地变化过程的国家，这阻碍了明智的政策制定和决策。关于土地利用类型和相关人员的关键信息仍然匮乏。本文提出了一种描述景观镶嵌体的替代方法。我们不是分析当地的土地利用组合，而是在中观空间尺度上研究土地覆盖镶嵌体，并从人类 - 环境相互作用的角度对其进行解读。然后将这些景观镶嵌体与人口普查数据叠加。结果表明，涉及17%人口的刀耕火种农业景观占该国29%的面积，而永久性农业景观在29%的领土上涉及74%的人口。森林仍然是这些景观镶嵌体的重要组成部分。
