Environment and Landscape Change in Protected Areas of mainland Southeast Asia Objectives: - Characterize landscape in protected areas - Analyse patterns of land cover change - Examine role of conservation in shaping landscape across scales This study employs data at several scales to examine the influence of conservation efforts on land use and land cover change in mainland Southeast Asia. A regional assessment of landscape conditions in national parks and wilderness areas is discussed in conjunction with more detailed case studies located in Lao PDR and Thailand. High temporal-resolution AVHRR data and other information are used at the regional scale to evaluate the influence of protected area boundaries on vegetation pattern and environmental seasonality. Results are linked with measures of land use pattern and land cover change at the landscape- to local-scales, derived from field surveys, air photographs, and Landsat TM data. Keywords: land use, scale, conservation Abstract: Sources landscape in protected areas patterns of land cover change role of conservation in shaping landscape Protected areas: the World Conservation Monitoring Center, 2000. Land Cover: 1 km resolution Global Ecosystem classification from Global Land Cover Characteristics database, version 1. USGS EROS Data Center. Elevation: 1 km resolution GTOPO30 data set. USGS EROS Data Center. Population: Landscan Global Population 1998 database. Dr. Jerome Dobson, Oak Ridge National Laboratory. NDVI and Surface Temperature: derived from Global AVHRR 10-day composites data. USGS EROS Data Center. Processed using IDRISI, ArcView, and ENVI. Landsat TM and Forest Change: Tropical Rain Forest Information Center (TRFIC). Topographic Map: Map ND48-08, 1:250,000, Muang Mai, Laos. 1972. Nicholas P. Kohler Department of Geography University of Oregon [email protected] Protected areas of mainland Southeast Asia 8 percent of the land area of mainland Southeast Asia -- over 210,000 square kilometers -- is in some form of protected status (IUCN categories I - VI). In 1999 there were 258 protected areas in the countries of Cambodia (18% land area protected), Lao PDR (16% protected), Thailand (12% protected), and Vietnam (6% protected). Many of the areas were established during and after the Vietnam War, and there is a wealth of detailed information for the past 30 years to assess the influence of protected status on landscape and land cover change. Case Study 1 - Thailand Case Study 2 - Lao PDR and Cambodia Countries other V - Protected Landscape/Seascape VI - Managed Resource Protected Area II - National Park III - National Monument IV - Habitat/Species Management Area Ia - Strict Nature Reserve 200 0 200 400 600 800 km Tropical Rainforest 10 100 1000 0 sq. km Cambodia Vietnam Lao PDR Thailand Tropical degraded forest 10 100 1000 0 sq.km The area shown here, including parts of Myanmar, Bangladesh, China, Taiwan, Indonesia, and Brunei has over 430 area with some form of conservation status. Amount of rainforest per protected area Thailand Lao PDR Vietnam Cambodia N S E W Land Cover The dominant land cover in protected areas is tropical rainforest, with substantial portions of croplands and mixed forest as well. At the local/landscape scale, the broad classifications of the regional land cover data show important internal differences in vegetation and land use. This Eucalyptus plantation near Phu Pa Man NP in Thailand is in an area classified as “Crops and town” in the regional land cover data. The same area is classified and newly forested in the Thailand case study. tropical rainforest rice paddy and field fields and woody savannah Major types of protected land cover 100000 10000 1000 km sq. 100 10 1 percent 1000000 Square km total land cover type percent of vegetation type protected Square km protected land cover type tropical rainforest rice paddy and field mixed forest rain green tropical forest seasonal tropical fields and woody savannah tropical degraded forest Percent of regional protected land area tropical rainforest 28.8% rice paddy and field 16.8% mixed forest 11.0% rain green tropical forest 10.9% seasonal tropical forest 8.0% fields and woody savannah 6.2% tropical degraded forest 3.8% Seasonality Influenced by the Asian monsoon system, the climate in mainland Southeast Asia is strongly seasonal. In the case study areas, rainy season begins around May-June and lasts until October- November, followed by a cool season (November - February), and a hot dry season (February - May). cooler -------------------------------------- warmer PCA band 1 of monthly Surface Temperature PCA band 1 of monthly NDVI less green ------------ more green white points = NDVI / Surface Temperature space all land green points = protected areas Protected areas contain a substantial portion of the green biomass during the dry season. A principal components analysis of seasonal AVHRR data shows protected areas concentrated in two clumps in the seasonal temperature and greenness space. Surface Temperature PCA band 1 Greenness (NDVI) PCA band 1 Elevation, roughness of terrain, and remoteness influence the siting of protected areas and environmental conditions within. These same factors create demands for resource extraction, infrastructure development, and security measures. Topography The steep eastern flanks of the Bolovens Plateau in Lao PDR are covered with tropical seasonal rainforest. Hydropower (shown here) development impinges upon land in many protected areas. Parks in seasonal biomass and temperature space 0-50 meters 200-300 meters above 800 meters Cambodia Vietnam Lao PDR Thailand 0 30 60 celsius 500000 0 sq. km 250000 Surface Temperature total Surface Temperature protected 25000 0 sq. km 1000000 500000 0 sq. km NDVI total 50000 25000 0 sq. km NDVI protected 0 30 60 celsius 0 30 60 celsius 0 30 60 celsius June 1993 June 1993 NDVI June 1993 Surf Temp April 1993 April 1993 NDVI April 1993 Surf Temp February 1993 Feb. 1993 Surf Temp December1992 Dec. 1992 Surf Temp October 1992 Oct. 1992 Surf Temp August 1992 August 1992 Surf Temp June 1992 June 1992 Surf Temp April 1992 April 1992 Surf Temp April 1992 NDVI Feb. 1993 NDVI Dec. 1992 NDVI Oct. 1992 NDVI Aug. 1992 NDVI June 1992 NDVI 2-month intervals of surface temperature and vegetation index Population Sparsely inhabited compared to other regions of Asia, populations are concentrated along river valleys, with sizable portions of minority groups distributed throughout the uplands and disproportionately effected by protected areas. Based on 1-km resolution data, over 5 million people are in or near protected areas -- just under 2% of the regions population. This village in northeastern Thailand of about 300 inhabitants lies within a designated national park. many of the inhabitants setlled the area well before the park was established. 5000+ persons per square km 0 - 4 persons per square km 1000 m 2000 m 0 km sq. 300000 600000 Elevation distribution in mainland southeast asia 1000 m 2000 m Elevation distribution in protected areas 30000 15000 0 km sq. Landscape Change There are markedly contrasting patterns of landscape change in different areas within the region. In the Thailand case study (shown left), a good amound of forest was lost in the period 1985-1992, but forest cover increased in some areas near roads and within park boundaries. Case Study 1 - 1992 Landsat TM scene bands 321 false color. Area of image is the border between northern and northeastern Thailand, with a section of Lao PDR at the top of the image. Case Study 2 -1992 Landsat TM scene bands 432 color composite, Lao PDR and Cambodia. Red areas represent In the Lao PDR/Cambodia case study (right), a large amount of forest cover was gained, primarily in areas cleared or abandoned during the fighting of the 1960s and early 1970s. Forest loss occurred along roads, inside and outside protected areas. Processes and patterns Issues of national security have strongly influenced the landscape of protected areas from the Indochinese-American War to the continuing ethnic insurgencies in Myanmar. Conservation efforts such as reforestation and exclusionary boundaries are complicated by economic and cultural pressures to use the land. Recent studies have indicated that parks are effective in conserving the environment, but landscape connectedness between parks and the influence of conservation on areas bordering parks should be investigated. Many protected areas, particularly in Thailand, are forests in name only. Agricultural clearing and logging over the past 35 years has eliminated the dense tropical rainforest from this site (Phu Pa Man National Park - above), where struggling reforestation efforts are now underway. New clearing for homes and fields is occurring along roads, where safety from old bombs can be better assured (image to the left, taken near location of destroyed village). The pictured road is being upgraded for a hydropower project which will clear lowland forest from Dong Lam National Biodiversity Conservation Area. Once cleared, both forest and agricultural land in sloping areas face soil erosion, fire, grazing, and other impacts (eroding rice field in Sam Pak Nam village, an inholding in Phu Pa Man National Park - right). In Lao PDR, many areas have become reforested following the devastation of the American-Indochinese war. Entire villages were destroyed and abandoned (shown above on a US military topographic map). Further steps Area near Phu Pa Man National Park, Thailand in the dry season. The landscape was cleared of forest in the 1980s by inhabitants relocated from within protected areas throughout northeastern Thailand. February 20, 2001 less green more green less green more green less green more green less green more green Include cultural and economic data in park characterization Apply year 2000 data to change analysis Connect seasonality and land cover information Compute patch characteristics and connectivity for protected areas Integrate interviews and field reports from Lao PDR and Thailand China Myanmar