Shifting cultivation: Activity data & Emission Factors for an integrated, scalable system

Moving on From Experimental Approaches to Advancing National Systems for Measuring and Monitoring Forest Degradation Across Asia

16-18 June, 2015; Marriott Courtyard, Bangkok, Thailand

Yoshiyuki KiyonoForestry and Forest Products Research Institute

(FFPRI), Japan

Contents

1. Definition of shifting cultivation

2. Activity data and emission factors

3. A short-case study

4. Conclusions

Slash-and-burn agriculture

1. Shifting cultivation 2. Conversion to cash crop land and industrial plantations 3. Abandonment of the fields

Definition of shifting cultivation

The repeated use of a patch of forest land

The use of forest land that encroaches upon forested areas

The use of forest land that encroaches upon natural forested areas

When intervals between agricultural use are longer than a few years

Pote

ntial

pla

nt c

omm

unity

hei

ght i

n a

log

scal

e

Time (History of forest exploitation)

Shrubcommunity

Fire-tolerant forest

Large

SmallShort Long

　小高木林　Small tree forest

Original forest

Vegetation change by exploitation in Borneo

Kiyono et al. (2003) revised

Slash-and-burn agriculture

410-20-y 300-y

50m

2m

Short fallow

Conversion to crop land and industrial

plantations

Pepper

Rubber

Oil palm

Fires, abandonment

Grassland

IApS

Slash-and-burn agriculture

Shifting cultivation Conversion to crop land and industrial plantations Abandonment of the fields

Activity data & Emission factors

Remote sensing & Carbon stock models

Forest in Northern Laos : Seasonal forest

Shifting cultivation: Widely and long practiced

The fallow period: Reduced as a result of population increase,......

The location of the study sites. 6

A short-case study

Land for shifting cultivation

Natural forest

Planted teak forest

Cropping land

Fallow land

Cropping landFallow land

Cropping land

Typical land use pattern in the study sites

7

Fallow land

Inoue et al. 2010

By N. FuruyaInoue et al. (2007) 8

Shifting cultivation was monitoredCrop.

Crop.

Crop.

Crop.

Crop.High resolution

Medium resolution

1. Monitoring of shifting cultivation is possible by using spaceborne optical sensors with medium–high resolution as shown here.2. However, frequent (at least once a year) remote sensing is required.The use of high resolution images are costly. The use of medium resolution image is not costly, but in the case of medium images, it is difficult to find small size agricultural land.

Kiyono et al. (2008) 9

Shifting cultivation

A carbon stock model with a parameter of plant community age for natural vegetation in fallowed slash-and-burn land

Inoue et al. (2007) revised 10

A result: Long-term change in ecosystem carbon stock under different land-use patterns (simulated)

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40

Year

Eco

syst

em c

arb

on s

tock

(tC

/ha)

1c-2f1c-3f1c-5f1c-10f2c-10f

+14.1 tC/ha

+19.1 tC/ha

+0.9tC/ha

-8.4 tC/ha

-13.6 tC/ha

(Relatively) tall forest

Short forest

Non-forest“c”: cropping period, “f”: fallow period

Kiyono et al. (2014)

A carbon stock model with a parameter of plant community age for converted crop land and industrial plantations

Considering the economic life of the rubber plantation trees is around 30 years and the recent slash-and-burn agricultural system has a 5-year fallow period, ….

Conversion to crop land and industrial plantations

Kiyono et al. (2014)

13Kiyono et al. (2003)

Abandonment of the fields

Shifting cultivation

fields

Most abandoned

fields

∝

carb

on s

eque

stra

tion

rate

s

Conclusions1. Monitoring of shifting cultivation is partially possible by using spaceborne sensors with medium–high resolution.

2. Frequent (at least once a year) remote sensing is required in the regions where shifting cultivation is a predominant practice. The use of high resolution images are costly. The use of medium resolution image is not costly. But the latter is difficult to find small size agricultural land.

3. Inoue et al. (2007) monitored historical changes in fallow period of shifting cultivation by using medium resolution spaceborne images. The carbon stock changes in various shifting cultivation scenarios were simulated by a carbon stock model.

4. When the target area is subnational or larger, time series of spaceborne cloudless images of medium–high resolution are hardly obtained. Barriers include cloud problem, availability of high resolution images, and cost.

5.National level scaling-up is difficult when wall-to-wall coverage. The data obtained by the present methodology can be used as samples of land with incorporating into a national system.

Thank you very much for your kind attention.

This research was supported by the Global Environment Research Fund of the Ministry of the Environment, Japan and was partly supported by the Forestry Agency, Japan.

15

Inoue et al. 2010