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Spatiotemporal Degradation of Abandoned Farmland and Associated Eco-Environmental Risks in the High Mountains of the Nepalese Himalayas

Author

Listed:
  • Suresh Chaudhary

    (Institute of Mountain Hazards and Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu 610041, China
    University of Chinese Academy of Sciences (UCAS), Beijing 100049, China
    Wanzhou Key Regional Ecology and Environment Monitoring Station of Three Gorges Project Ecological Environmental Monitoring System, Wanzhou 404020, China
    National Society for Earthquake Technology-Nepal, Kathmandu Lalitpur Po. Box 13667, Nepal)

  • Yukuan Wang

    (Institute of Mountain Hazards and Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu 610041, China
    Wanzhou Key Regional Ecology and Environment Monitoring Station of Three Gorges Project Ecological Environmental Monitoring System, Wanzhou 404020, China)

  • Amod Mani Dixit

    (National Society for Earthquake Technology-Nepal, Kathmandu Lalitpur Po. Box 13667, Nepal)

  • Narendra Raj Khanal

    (Central Department of Geography, Tribhuvan University, University Campus, Kirtipur Po. Box 44613, Nepal)

  • Pei Xu

    (Institute of Mountain Hazards and Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu 610041, China
    Wanzhou Key Regional Ecology and Environment Monitoring Station of Three Gorges Project Ecological Environmental Monitoring System, Wanzhou 404020, China)

  • Bin Fu

    (Institute of Mountain Hazards and Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu 610041, China
    Wanzhou Key Regional Ecology and Environment Monitoring Station of Three Gorges Project Ecological Environmental Monitoring System, Wanzhou 404020, China)

  • Kun Yan

    (Institute of Mountain Hazards and Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu 610041, China
    Wanzhou Key Regional Ecology and Environment Monitoring Station of Three Gorges Project Ecological Environmental Monitoring System, Wanzhou 404020, China)

  • Qin Liu

    (Institute of Mountain Hazards and Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu 610041, China
    Wanzhou Key Regional Ecology and Environment Monitoring Station of Three Gorges Project Ecological Environmental Monitoring System, Wanzhou 404020, China)

  • Yafeng Lu

    (Institute of Mountain Hazards and Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu 610041, China
    Wanzhou Key Regional Ecology and Environment Monitoring Station of Three Gorges Project Ecological Environmental Monitoring System, Wanzhou 404020, China)

  • Ming Li

    (Institute of Mountain Hazards and Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu 610041, China
    Wanzhou Key Regional Ecology and Environment Monitoring Station of Three Gorges Project Ecological Environmental Monitoring System, Wanzhou 404020, China)

Abstract

Globally, farmland abandonment has been a major phenomenon for eco-environmental and social landscape changes in the mountain regions. Farmland abandonment led to endangering the capacity of mountain ecosystems as well as variety of eco-environmental processes that play a pivotal role in regional as well local level eco-environment security. This research aims to (i) assess the spatiotemporal degradation of abandoned farmlands, (ii) identify the major causes of farmland degradation, and (iii) analyze the eco-environmental risks triggered or exacerbated by the degradation of abandoned farmlands. We conducted an inventory of the spatiotemporal distribution of abandoned farmlands and their degradation status with Google earth images and by modeling and interpreting low-height remote sensing images taken by an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). Geomorphic damages were mapped at the scale of individual abandoned farms. A multivariate regression statistical (MRS) model was used to identify the major causes of degradation. This research revealed that out of the total surveyed farmlands, 92% were already completely irreversibly damaged. The damages started with the disruption of terraces and bulging processes that occurred within the year after abandonment. This degradation induced diverse hazardous processes, such as landslides, debris flows, rock falls, the formation of gullies, soil erosion, and the development of sinkholes, which increase the negative effects of on both land resources and plant succession. Farmland abandonment does not automatically lead to plant colonization because geomorphic damage is intensified prior to colonization. Therefore, land management is required for plant colonization as well as other efforts to reduce degradation induced eco-environmental risk. This study thus could help land planners and environmentalists in the development of suitable guidelines (pre- or post-abandonment) plans, programmes, and legislation to effectively address the problem of abandoned farmland.

Suggested Citation

  • Suresh Chaudhary & Yukuan Wang & Amod Mani Dixit & Narendra Raj Khanal & Pei Xu & Bin Fu & Kun Yan & Qin Liu & Yafeng Lu & Ming Li, 2019. "Spatiotemporal Degradation of Abandoned Farmland and Associated Eco-Environmental Risks in the High Mountains of the Nepalese Himalayas," Land, MDPI, vol. 9(1), pages 1-19, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jlands:v:9:y:2019:i:1:p:1-:d:299261
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    4. Mauro Agnoletti & Alessandro Errico & Antonio Santoro & Andrea Dani & Federico Preti, 2019. "Terraced Landscapes and Hydrogeological Risk. Effects of Land Abandonment in Cinque Terre (Italy) during Severe Rainfall Events," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(1), pages 1-12, January.
    5. Suresh Chaudhary & Yukuan Wang & Narendra Raj Khanal & Pei Xu & Bin Fu & Amod Mani Dixit & Kun Yan & Qin Liu & Yafeng Lu, 2018. "Social Impact of Farmland Abandonment and Its Eco-Environmental Vulnerability in the High Mountain Region of Nepal: A Case Study of Dordi River Basin," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(7), pages 1-19, July.
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    Cited by:

    1. Alexander V. Prishchepov & Florian Schierhorn & Fabian Löw, 2021. "Unraveling the Diversity of Trajectories and Drivers of Global Agricultural Land Abandonment," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(2), pages 1-8, January.
    2. Bo Liu & Wei Song & Qian Sun, 2022. "Status, Trend, and Prospect of Global Farmland Abandonment Research: A Bibliometric Analysis," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(23), pages 1-30, November.

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