Two decades of forest loss and conservation in the Northern Mountains of Oaxaca, Mexico

Keywords: tropical mountains, land-use change, land-cover change, agriculture, cattle
Abstract Type: Virtual Paper Abstract

Abstract

Tropical forests are currently under great stress due to climate change and widespread deforestation. The patterns and effects of global change on montane ecosystems are less known. To better understand forest dynamics in tropical mountains, in this project we analyze forest loss trends in the Northern Mountains of Oaxaca (NMO), Mexico, between 2000-2020. We compared forest loss trends with the change in area devoted to agriculture and grazing lands and analyzed these trends in relation to the presence of community-based forest conservation efforts, the market price fluctuation of the main crops grown in the region, and the possible links between forest loss and illicit activities. Our findings show that forest loss in the NMO remained almost constant for many years (2000-2014) but unevenly increased in the last six years. The most affected ecosystems are tropical evergreen forest and cloud forest. The sudden increase of forest loss in 2015 has a complex origin. Agricultural surveys show a significant expansion of pasturelands in the last decade, suggesting that forest or shaded coffee farms conversion to cattle ranches may be an important driver of forest loss in the region. This is probably related to the coffee rust breakout that hit the region in 2012. Additionally, land-use change due to illicit activities may also be playing an important role. Forest conservation efforts have been locally effective but lack regional presence. Understanding these patterns can have important implications for tropical forest conservation and management strategies in the region and beyond.