Land-Use and Land-Cover Changes and Farmers’ Perceptions of Ecosystem Services in an Eastern Amazon Rural Settlement

Abstract

Understanding the relationship between land-use and land-cover changes, the ecosystem services (ES) offered, and the farmers’ perception about these services is essential for designing adequate strategies in the management and conservation of natural resources. Therefore, this research aims to describe the evolution of the land use and land cover, and the farmers’ perceptions of ES at Diamante Negro Jutaí settlement, in the Monção municipality, Maranhão state, Eastern Amazon, Brazil. The data were collected through a mapping of use units and land cover, and 130 structured questionnaires. Farmers recognize ES as highly important for their well-being and livelihood. Food (agriculture and livestock), fish, fresh water, and lakes were perceived by farmers as highly important. Fishing, however, is the most relevant ES. In contrast, it is also the most threatened because of land-use alteration. In the period from 1995 to 2015, overall natural ground cover was reduced. Water bodies were the most highly affected with an 85 percent decrease in relation to the total area of the analysis period. The decrease in secondary forest areas (4.3 percent) and water bodies are reflections of climate change, which also has a direct impact on forms of use. Farmers’ perceptions of ES can be used to formulate policies for conservation of natural resources.

了解土地利用和土地覆盖变化、生态系统服务、农民认知生态系统服务三者之间的关系, 对于自然资源管理和保护策略的规划至关重要。因此, 本研究旨在描述土地利用和土地覆盖的演变, 以及农民对巴西亚马逊东部Maranhao州Moncao市的Diamante Negro Jutai居民点的生态系统服务的看法。数据包括土地利用单元和土地覆盖图, 以及130份结构化问卷。农民们认为, 生态系统服务对其福祉和生计非常重要, 粮食(农业和畜牧业)、鱼类、淡水和湖泊也非常重要。然而, 最相关的生态系统服务是渔业。最受土地利用变更威胁的是渔业。1995年至2015年期间, 地表的自然覆盖减少。水体受到的影响最大：比分析期间的总面积减少了85%。次生林的减少(4.3%)和水体的萎缩, 反映了气候变化, 并直接影响了土地利用方式。农民对生态系统服务的看法可用于制定自然资源保护政策。

Entender la relación entre los cambios de uso y cobertura del suelo, los servicios ecosistémicos (ES) ofrecidos, y la percepción que tienen los agricultores de estos servicios es esencial para diseñar estrategias apropiadas de manejo y conservación de los recursos naturales. En consecuencia, esta investigación apunta a describir la evolución del uso y cobertura del suelo, y las percepciones de los agricultores sobre los ES en el asentamiento del Diamante Negro Jutaí, en la municipalidad de Monção, estado de Maranhão, en la Amazonia oriental, Brasil. Los datos fueron recolectados por medio del mapeo de las unidades de uso y cobertura del suelo, y 130 cuestionarios estructurados. Los agricultores reconocen los ES como muy importantes para su bienestar y sus medios de vida. Los alimentos (provenientes de la agricultura y la ganadería), el pescado, el agua potable y lagos fueron percibidos por los agricultores como altamente importantes. Sin embargo, la pesca es el ES más relevante. Por contraste, también esta es la más amenazada debido a la alteración en el uso del suelo. En el período que se extiende de 1995 a 2015, la cubierta natural del suelo se redujo. Los cuerpos de agua fueron los más afectados, con un 85 por ciento de reducción en relación con el área total del período por analizar. La disminución de las áreas de bosque secundario (4,3 por ciento) y los cuerpos de agua son reflejos del cambio climático, el cual también tiene impacto directo sobre las formas de uso.

Key Words:

• landscape changes
• local knowledge
• slash-and-burn
• social vulnerability

关键词：:

• 景观变化
• 本地知识
• 刀耕火种
• 社会脆弱性。

Palabras clave::

• cambios del paisaje
• conocimiento local
• corte-y-quema
• vulnerabilidad social

Acknowledgments

Our sincere thanks go to the farmers for their generosity in sharing with us their perceptions and information that were of great importance to this research. We would also like to thank the reviewers for pertinent comments and suggestions that significantly improved the article.

Additional information

Funding

This work was funded by the Foundation to Support Scientific and Technological Research and Development of Maranhão. We are very grateful for their financial support of our work.

Notes on contributors

Ceália Cristine dos Santos

CEÁLIA CRISTINE DOS SANTOS is Professor of Human Geography at the Federal University of Maranhão-Brazil, São Luis, Maranhão, Brazil. E-mail: [email protected]. Her research interests are in the fields of and geography and environmental issues, environmental tensors, soil carbon stock, socioeconomic and environmental analysis in rural settlements, and environmental services.

Jhonatan Andrés Muñoz Gutiérrez

JHONATAN ANDRÉS MUÑOZ GUTIÉRREZ is a PhD Student in Agroecology at the State University of Maranhão, São Luis, Maranhão, Brazil. E-mail: [email protected]. He has experience in soil macrofauna, agroecological production, rural extension, ecosystem services, climate change mitigation, conservation, management and sustainable use of natural resources, biodiversity assessment, and environmental education activities.

Michel Brossard

MICHEL BROSSARD is Research Director at the Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD), Marseille, France. E-mail: [email protected]. He works mainly on the following themes: tropical soils, organic matter, phosphorus, oxisols, and soil fauna.

Thierry Desjardins

THIERRY DESJARDINS is a Researcher at the Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD), Marseille, France. E-mail: [email protected]. He has experience in agronomy, with emphasis on soil science. His research is mainly on the following themes: organic matter, isotopic geochemistry, Brazilian Amazon, deforestation, and pastures.

Altamiro Souza de Lima Ferraz

ALTAMIRO SOUZA DE LIMA FERRAZ, JR. is Professor in the Graduate Program in Agroecology at the State University of Maranhão-Brazil, São Luis, Maranhão, Brazil. E-mail: [email protected]. He develops work in the area of agroecology, with an emphasis on sustainable agroecosystems, acting mainly on the following themes: agroforestry systems, organic production of vegetables, and use of industrial waste in agriculture.