Abstract
Land degradation is recognized as one of the major threats to the buffer zones of protected areas (PAs) in Vietnam. In particular, the expansion of land degradation into the PAs is exerting pressure on biodiversity conservation efforts. This degradation is partially the result of mismanagement: the utilization of the land is often unmatched with the inherent suitability of the land. Identification of the spatial distribution of suitable areas for cropland is essential for sustainable land-use recommendation. This paper aims to delineate the areas suitable for cropland in the Tam Dao National Park (TDNP) region using a GIS-based multi-criteria evaluation of biophysical factors and Landsat ETM+ imagery. GIS is used to generate the factors, while MCE is used to aggregate them into a land suitability index. The results indicate the location and extent of crop farming areas at different suitability levels, i.e., most suitable (28.10%), moderately suitable (23.96%), marginally suitable (28.77%), and least suitable (19.17%). The current cropland covers 46.5% of the study area, while most and moderately suitable areas are estimated to be 52.06% of the territory. The results can be used to identify priority areas for crop farming and sustainable land-use management. The GIS-MCE approach provides an effective assessment tool for land-use managers working in protected areas of Vietnam.
Highlights
Protected areas (PAs) have become a universally adopted way of conserving biodiversity for a wide range of human values
Though PAs are designed for biodiversity conservation goals, they are important to the livelihoods of local communities, of indigenous people who depend on the resources available in the PAs for their survival [3,4]
PAs’ buffer zones, increasing demands of food, timber, and non-timber products have resulted in agricultural expansion into PAs [6]
Summary
Protected areas (PAs) have become a universally adopted way of conserving biodiversity for a wide range of human values. 11.2% of the total forest area has been designated for the conservation of biological diversity [1]. A PA is defined as “an area of land and/or sea especially dedicated to the protection of biological diversity, and of natural and associated cultural resources, and managed through legal or other effective means” [2]. Though PAs are designed for biodiversity conservation goals, they are important to the livelihoods of local communities, of indigenous people who depend on the resources available in the PAs for their survival [3,4]. To control agricultural expansion into PAs and ensure sustainable uses of land in the buffer zones, there is a great need to locate agricultural production activities to suitable locations to avoid ecological consequences. One way to achieve this identification is to employ a land suitability assessment (LSA) tool
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