Effect of land use change on ecosystem services in Wang Thong watershed, Northern Thailand | |
| Author | Sunsanee Arunyawat |
| Call Number | AIT Diss. no.NR-16-05 |
| Subject(s) | Ecosystem services--Thailand--Northern Land use--Thailand--Northern |
| Note | A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Natural Resources Management, School of Environment, Resources and Development |
| Publisher | Asian Institute of Technology |
| Series Statement | Dissertation ; no. NR-16-05 |
| Abstract | Ecosystem services are highly vulnerable to a number of impacts due to the complex effects of human use of natural resources and subsequent land use change. The assessment of impact of land use change on ecosystem services is crucial in order to have better land use plan, which will enhance ecosystem services. This study was conducted in the Wang thong watershed in Northern Thailand, which has experienced significant land use change particularly due to the country's agricultural policies. As a result, this had led to expansion in plantation of perennials, particularly rubber, replacing annual crops. The area also has experienced frequent flooding and severe soil erosion. The objectives of the study were to understand land use change and its effect on provisioning and ecosystem services, and then suggest appropriate land use options for maintaining production and enhancing ecosystem services. We first detected the change in land use patterns in the study area using historic land use data of 1989 to 2013. Other several spatial data were used in addition to questionnaire survey of 60 farm households to collect information on important farming practices. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) tools and the Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Se1vices and Tradeoffs (InVEST) model were used to analyze land use change and assess the selected ecosystem services, namely water yield, sediment retention, carbon stock, and habitat quality, to understand the impacts of land use on ecosystem services. Based on those analyses, we developed scenarios to project land uses by 2033 using the dynamic and spatially explicit land use model (CLUMondo ). The first scenario as business-as-usual, and the rest two scenarios consider the long term national development strategy to achieve prosperity and sustainability in the future. Land use change found massive increased in area of rubber plantation by 7% of the watershed. Similarly, built- up area also increased by about 4%. Most of the increase came from the decrease of forests and some upland crop areas. The socio-economic has influenced the change of land use mostly by the market price of the products by about 33%. Additionally, government subsidy through rubber plantation scheme has encouraged farmers to change other crops to rubber. The results show a general decrease in ecosystem services for the study period along with the increasing rubber plantation and built-up area as major land use change. The negative impact on ecosystem services was observed in agricultural areas. In contrast, forests area provided higher level of ecosystem services. There was no area which could be considered to have very high and intact ecosystem services based on those four services as mentioned above. Only two-fifth of watershed was found to have high ecosystem services. Under ongoing trend of land demand or business as usual scenario, it was found that by 2033 the area under forest cover (deciduous, evergreen, and forest plantation) declines by about 6% of the watershed area due to economic growth. Built up area is expanded by 2% and the encroachment for rubber plantation is also substantially expanded totaling to some 5% decline of ecosystem services at the watershed level. In second scenario of integrated land use, the ecosystem services will be increased by 6% compared to present situation in addition to anticipated effective protection of remaining forests in all existing and proposed protected areas of the study area. The third scenario of biodiversity conservation can increase ecosystem services by 18% by 2033 compared to the current situation or base year of 2013. The findings can serve as useful information for policy input in developing land use management for future for enhancing ecosystem services in the area, which give both benefits of provisional, and ecosystem services. |
| Year | 2016 |
| Corresponding Series Added Entry | Asian Institute of Technology. Dissertation ; no. NR-16-05 |
| Type | Dissertation |
| School | School of Environment, Resources, and Development (SERD) |
| Department | Department of Development and Sustainability (DDS) |
| Academic Program/FoS | Natural Resources Management (NRM) |
| Chairperson(s) | Shrestha, Rajendra Prasad; |
| Examination Committee(s) | Soparth Pongquan;Jourdain, Damien;Yongyut Trisurat; |
| Scholarship Donor(s) | Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives (MOAC), Thailand; |
| Degree | Thesis (Ph.D.) - Asian Institute of Technology, 2016 |