Abstract
The present study revealed how local socioecological knowledge elucidated during participatory rural appraisals and historical remote sensing data can be combined for analyzing land use change patterns from 1954 to 2007 in northwestern Vietnam. The developed approach integrated farmer decision rules on cropping preferences and location, visual and supervised classification methods, and qualitative information obtained during various forms of participatory appraisals. The integration of historical remote sensing data (aerial photo, Landsat, LISS III) with farmer decision rules showed the feasibility of the proposed method to explain crop distribution patterns for the assessment period of 53 years. Our approach is beneficial for data-limited environments, which is a prevalent situation for many developing regions. The derived land use and crop type dataset was used for understanding how anthropogenic activities altered the study area of the Chieng Khoi commune during the assessment period of five decades, and what potential impact this can have on the natural resource base. The newly developed approach offers a methodological pathway that can be easily transferred to local government authorities for a better understanding of cropping transitions and agricultural expansion trends in data-limited rural landscapes. The detected land use change patterns and upland cropping expansion of more than two hundred percent in 53 years not only revealed the consequences of the interactions and feedback between farmers and their land, but further highlighted the urgent need for implementing sustainable land management practices in the case study watershed of the Chieng Khoi commune and northwestern Vietnam in general.
Highlights
Land use classification and mapping out detailed crop system patterns requires in-depth knowledge of the area of interest, and are often accompanied by ground truthing field campaigns [1]
The present study developed a methodological approach that integrated local farmers’ knowledge, participatory elicitations, and remote sensing information for detecting land use change patterns up to the crop type level from 1954 to 2007 for a case study watershed in northwestern Vietnam
The aims of the present study were the following: (1) Build on participatory procedures and qualitative data focusing on farmer decision rules for assessing historical land use change and crop type patterns, (2) develop a crop type specific classification approach that allows for analyzing remote sensing data from 1954 to 2007, and (3) subsequently, assess land use change dynamics from 1954 to 2007 for a case study watershed in northwestern Vietnam to obtain long-term social-ecological knowledge for deriving implications for landscape management
Summary
Land use classification and mapping out detailed crop system patterns requires in-depth knowledge of the area of interest, and are often accompanied by ground truthing field campaigns [1]. Detailed crop type maps are becoming important components for landscape management and as a planning tool for agricultural development in rural regions such as mountainous mainland Southeast Asia [2,3]. This mountainous region has faced tremendous changes over the past decades fostered by growing populations, increasing road networks, and changing agricultural policies that pushed for stronger rural–urban market connectivity [1,3,4]. The lack of long-term historical ground truthing information often hinders thorough map validation, especially when focusing on the analysis of past land use change patterns [7,8]. For the purpose of this study, land use is used as the main term which includes land cover
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
