Understanding the Function of Roads in Land Cover Change
Robert
Walker, michigan state university, rwalker@msu.edu
Marcellus
Caldas, michigan state university, caldasma@msu.edu
(Presenting)
Stephen
G
Perz, university of florida, sperz@soc.ufl.edu
Eugenio
Arima, michigan state university, arimaeug@msu.edu
The probability that a specific parcel of land in the Amazon basin is deforested or not is highly conditioned on a sequence of spatial decisions involving the choice of route for a Federal Highway, choice of area for public or private colonization, and choice of pathways for settlement roads. Once the road system in place, of course, colonists, agro-industrial interests, and loggers alter the vegetative cover of the land far beyond the spatial imprint of the roads themselves. This presentation considers elements of this hierarchical process, and focuses special attention on the placement of the Federal Highway system, and of local-scale, settlement roads. To this end, we address the evolution of the Federal system over the past thirty years, and link it to the regional development process, using historical and topographical data. We then discuss the nature of road development by private interests such as loggers who extend the government system and by so doing unleash the forces of forest fragmentation.
Submetido por Robert T. Walker em 13-MAR-2004
Tema Científico do LBA: LC (Mudanças dos Usos da Terra e da Vegetação)