Land Use Evolution in Hill Regions of the Dominican Republic∗

∗A grant from the Inter-American Foundation helped support field research during September–December of 1989. This study forms part of a nationwide study of land use and food production in the Dominican Republic. “El Uso del Suelo y Producción de Alimentos en La República Dominicana” is a collaborative project of the Center for Urban and Regional Studies (Centro de Estudios Urbanos y Regionales) housed at the Pontificia Universidad Católica Madre y Maestra, Santiago, Dominican Republic, and the Center for Remote Sensing (Centre d'applications et de recherches en télédétection) located at the University of Sherbrooke, Canada. The authors gratefully acknowledge the important theoretical contribution and vital logistical support provided by the “Uso del Suelo” project team: Rafael E. Yunén, Pedro Juan del Rosario, Freekye Olivo, Helmut Schorgmayer, Santiago Rossi, Roman Paquette, and Luc St.-Pierre. Maps were produced at the Center for Cartographic Research and Spatial Analysis, Michigan State University.

This study combines data from a social survey and an air photo time series to gain both a temporal and spatial understanding of Dominican hill land use evolution. Research results indicate that disparities in present land use and productivity between two hill land study sites stem from their different stages of development along a common land use continuum. The authors emphasize the importance of understanding land use history when identifying key constraints to long-term sustainability of hill land farming systems.

Key Words:

• land use evolution
• land use history
• hill lands
• economic diversification
• Dominican Republic

Notes

∗A grant from the Inter-American Foundation helped support field research during September–December of 1989. This study forms part of a nationwide study of land use and food production in the Dominican Republic. “El Uso del Suelo y Producción de Alimentos en La República Dominicana” is a collaborative project of the Center for Urban and Regional Studies (Centro de Estudios Urbanos y Regionales) housed at the Pontificia Universidad Católica Madre y Maestra, Santiago, Dominican Republic, and the Center for Remote Sensing (Centre d'applications et de recherches en télédétection) located at the University of Sherbrooke, Canada. The authors gratefully acknowledge the important theoretical contribution and vital logistical support provided by the “Uso del Suelo” project team: Rafael E. Yunén, Pedro Juan del Rosario, Freekye Olivo, Helmut Schorgmayer, Santiago Rossi, Roman Paquette, and Luc St.-Pierre. Maps were produced at the Center for Cartographic Research and Spatial Analysis, Michigan State University.