Integrating Analytical Frameworks to Investigate Land-Cover Regime Shifts in Dynamic Landscapes

De Alban, Jose Don T.; Prescott, Graham W.; Woods, Kevin M.; Jamaludin, Johanness; Latt, Kyaw Thinn; Lim, Cheng Ling; Maung, Aye Chan; Webb, Edward L.

doi:10.3390/su11041139

Submit to this Journal Review for this Journal Edit a Special Issue

Article Menu

...

Open AccessArticle

Integrating Analytical Frameworks to Investigate Land-Cover Regime Shifts in Dynamic Landscapes

^1,*

²,

¹,

⁴ and

^1,*

Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117543, Singapore

Department of Geography and Environment, University of Hawai’i at Mānoa, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA

Wildlife Conservation Society Myanmar, Kamayut Township, Yangon 11041, Myanmar

⁴

Forest Research Institute, Yezin, Zeyathiri Township, Nay Pyi Taw P.O. Box 05282, Myanmar

Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Sustainability 2019, 11(4), 1139; https://doi.org/10.3390/su11041139

Received: 31 January 2019 / Revised: 16 February 2019 / Accepted: 18 February 2019 / Published: 21 February 2019

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Land Use/Cover Drivers and Impacts: New Trends and Experiences from Asia)

View Full-Text Download PDF

Browse Figures

Citation Export

Abstract

Regime shifts—rapid long-term transitions between stable states—are well documented in ecology but remain controversial and understudied in land use and land cover change (LUCC). In particular, uncertainty surrounds the prevalence and causes of regime shifts at the landscape level. We studied LUCC dynamics in the Tanintharyi Region (Myanmar), which contains one of the last remaining significant contiguous forest areas in Southeast Asia but was heavily deforested between 1992–2015. By combining remote sensing methods and a literature review of historical processes leading to LUCC, we identified a regime shift from a forest-oriented state to an agricultural-oriented state between 1997–2004. The regime shift was triggered by a confluence of complex political and economic conditions within Myanmar, notably the ceasefires between various ethnic groups and the military government, coupled with its enhanced business relations with Thailand and China. Government policies and foreign direct investment enabling the establishment of large-scale agro-industrial concessions reinforced the new agriculture-oriented regime and prevented reversion to the original forest-dominated regime. Our approach of integrating complementary analytical frameworks to identify and understand land-cover regime shifts can help policymakers to preempt future regime shifts in Tanintharyi, and can be applied to the study of land change in other regions. View Full-Text

Keywords: agricultural plantation; armed conflict; deforestation; ESA CCI land cover dataset; land use/land cover change; Myanmar; pattern; process; sustainable development; Tanintharyi Region

▼ Show Figures

Graphical abstract

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

Supplementary Material

Supplementary File 1:
ZIP-Document (ZIP, 4250 KiB)

Share and Cite

MDPI and ACS Style

De Alban, J.D.T.; Prescott, G.W.; Woods, K.M.; Jamaludin, J.; Latt, K.T.; Lim, C.L.; Maung, A.C.; Webb, E.L. Integrating Analytical Frameworks to Investigate Land-Cover Regime Shifts in Dynamic Landscapes. Sustainability 2019, 11, 1139. https://doi.org/10.3390/su11041139

AMA Style

De Alban JDT, Prescott GW, Woods KM, Jamaludin J, Latt KT, Lim CL, Maung AC, Webb EL. Integrating Analytical Frameworks to Investigate Land-Cover Regime Shifts in Dynamic Landscapes. Sustainability. 2019; 11(4):1139. https://doi.org/10.3390/su11041139

Chicago/Turabian Style

De Alban, Jose D.T., Graham W. Prescott, Kevin M. Woods, Johanness Jamaludin, Kyaw T. Latt, Cheng L. Lim, Aye C. Maung, and Edward L. Webb 2019. "Integrating Analytical Frameworks to Investigate Land-Cover Regime Shifts in Dynamic Landscapes" Sustainability 11, no. 4: 1139. https://doi.org/10.3390/su11041139

Find Other Styles

Note that from the first issue of 2016, MDPI journals use article numbers instead of page numbers. See further details here.

Article Metrics

Abstract views Pdf views Html views

Article Menu

Integrating Analytical Frameworks to Investigate Land-Cover Regime Shifts in Dynamic Landscapes

Abstract

Supplementary Material

Share and Cite

Article Metrics

Article Access Statistics

Article Access Map by Country/Region

Further Information

Guidelines

MDPI Initiatives

Follow MDPI