Jew, EKK, Dougill, AJ orcid.org/0000-0002-3422-8228 and Sallu, SM orcid.org/0000-0002-1471-2485 (2017) Tobacco cultivation as a driver of land use change and degradation in the miombo woodlands of south‐west Tanzania. Land Degradation and Development, 28 (8). pp. 2636-2645. ISSN 1085-3278
Abstract
Miombo woodlands support agriculture, biodiversity, and multiple ecosystem services across an extensive part of sub‐Saharan Africa. Miombo is frequently overutilised with deforestation and degradation resulting in significant land use and land cover change (LULCC). Understanding the drivers of LULCC is essential to achieving sustainable land management in miombo woodland regions. Within a remote miombo area of south‐west Tanzania in the Kipembawe Division, Mbeya Region, social survey and ecological data were used to identify the direct and indirect drivers of LULCC. Our findings show that tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) production results in an estimated annual deforestation rate of 4,134 ± 390 ha of undisturbed miombo woodland, of which 56.3 ± 11.8% is linked to the post‐harvest curing process. This deforestation represents 0.55 ± 0.06% of the wooded area of the Kipembawe Division. The perception of high incomes from tobacco cultivation has encouraged migration of both agriculturalists and pastoralists into the area, resulting in higher livestock numbers that lead to further degradation. Higher human populations need more woodland resources such as fuelwood and building materials and more farmland for food crops. Continued deforestation will reduce the long‐term profitability of tobacco cultivation due to a lack of fuel to cure the crop and could render production unviable. Action is urgently needed to conserve globally important biodiversity resources while enabling agricultural and pastoral activities to continue. Improved governance, together with sustainable land management strategies and diversification of livelihood strategies, can reduce dependence on tobacco cultivation and contribute to a sustainable future for this ecoregion.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2017 The Authors Land Degradation & Development Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. This. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC-BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
Keywords: | biodiversity; carbon; in‐migration; mixed methods; pastoralism |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Environment (Leeds) > School of Earth and Environment (Leeds) > Sustainability Research Institute (SRI) (Leeds) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 29 Sep 2017 15:47 |
Last Modified: | 11 May 2018 23:37 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Wiley |
Identification Number: | 10.1002/ldr.2827 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:121807 |
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