Forest patches in Imperata grassland and prospects for their preservation under agricultural intensification in Northeast Luzon, The Philippines

• Published in: Agroforestry systems Vol. 52; no. 3; pp. 207 - 217
• Main Author: SNELDER, D. J
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dordrecht Springer 01.01.2001; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Agricultural development. Rural area planning; Agricultural land; agroforestry; Agronomy. Soil science and plant productions; biodiversity; Biological and medical sciences; burning; Cash crops; chemical elements; Ecological function; Farming systems; forest ecology; forest management; Forest products; forest types; Forestry; forests; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; General agroecology. Agricultural and farming systems. Agricultural development. Rural area planning. Landscaping; General agronomy. Plant production; Generalities. Agricultural and farming systems. Agricultural development; Grasslands; Grazing; Imperata; income; Indigenous species; Intensive farming; Land use; land use change; management systems; nutrients; Organic matter; particles; Philippines; Plant species; Rural areas; rural communities; shifting cultivation; soil; surfaces; trees; Woody plants; Asia; Philippine Islands; South east Asia; Philippines; Grassland; Monocotyledones; Intensive farming; Tropical zone; Conservation; Forest tree; Forest management; Farming system; Tropical forest; Biodiversity; Land use; Fragmentation; Sustainable agriculture; Gramineae; Gallery forest; Angiospermae; Spermatophyta; Wetland; Agroforestry; Environmental protection
• ISSN: 0167-4366; 1572-9680
• DOI: 10.1023/A:1011848822268

Frequent burning and grazing and cultivation of cash crops increasingly threaten forest patches in hilly grassland in Northeast Luzon, yet their importance as a resource with multiple environmental functions and forest products persists. The aim of this study is to identify different types of forest patches, and their condition under present land-use intensification, and discuss prospects for their integration into sustainable local farming systems. Five types of forest patches are distinguished, both natural and planted ones, including rows of trees, woody patches, gallery forests, hill-slope forests and homegarden conglomerations. Natural woody patches and gallery forests in Imperata grassland are subject to degradation and land-use conversion under conditions of agricultural intensification. Woody patches in grassland affected by frequent burning and grazing cover small areas (66% below 50 m^sup 2^ as opposed to 28% in protected grassland) and contain relatively few woody plant species (25 woody species in total as opposed to 82 where protected). Yet where well managed, they may provide a variety of products for sale and subsistence, covering emergency needs and giving off-season cash income to rural communities. Moreover they serve like the gallery forest various ecological functions, carrying valuable indigenous tree species, retaining soil base nutrients, providing a continuous supply of organic matter and intercepting fine earth soil particles removed from bare surfaces. It is suggested that forest-patch management systems may be developed, taking into account both patch diversity and the diverse needs of rural communities, and to strengthen existing and undervalued functions of forest patches as permanent elements in an agricultural landscape.[PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]