Shifting Cultivation Areas Research Articles

A new small-sized Calotes Cuvier (Squamata: Agamidae: Draconinae) from the Subansiri river basin, Arunachal Pradesh, India

We describe a new species of small-sized Calotes from mid-elevation (~1270 m asl.), swidden or shifting cultivation areas in the Subansiri river basin, Upper Subansiri District, Arunachal Pradesh, India. Mitochondrial sequence data (ND2) recovers Calotes sinyik sp. nov. as the closely related sister taxon to an unnamed species from Medog, Tibet; the two falling in a broader clade including C. paulus + C. zolaiking and species of the C. emma and C. mystaceus groups. The new species is 7.8% divergent in ND2 sequence data from the unnamed lineage from Medog and deeply divergent (≥ 21.6–28.1%) from other congeners. The new species can easily be distinguished from regional congeners by its small adult body size (maximum snout to vent length of 65 mm) and heterogenous dorsal scales, and from its closest relatives C. paulus and C. zolaiking by having 54 or 55 midbody scale rows and 42 or 43 vertebral scales. It is likely that many more allied species remain to be discovered from Northeast India, which remains poorly surveyed across taxonomic groups.

Today's Shifting Cultivation and its Impact on Forest and Environmental Damage in Routa, Konawe, Southeast Sulawesi

This article is intended to explore and analyze some of the impacts of shifting cultivation to the forest environmental degradation in Routa today. This study uses a combination of qualitative and quantitative research approaches, especially with the rational equation methods where the results of statistical calculations are then culturally interpreted. The results of this study indicate that current shifting cultivation has contributed greatly to the increasing damage to the forest environment and decreased hydro-urologic functions of forests in Routa as well as other ecological functions, including conversion of primary and secondary forest land to shifting cultivation areas, restoration of areas ex-shifting cultivation that are ongoing slower than usual, increased surface water flow, increased erosion, and sedimentation, increased local air temperature and decreased humidity and the potential for large carbon losses.

Determinants of Smallholder Farmer Maize Production Efficiency in Western Parts of Oromia in Boneya Boshe woreda, East Wollega Zone: Evidence under Shifting Cultivation Area

Farming in Ethiopia can offer assistance in bringing dejected needs. Hence, the best possible means of achieving growth is by increasing the production efficiency of farmers. To estimate the levels of production efficiency, this study specifically used only data from farmers who are producing without plowing by oxen and without using fertilizers in the study area under shifting cultivation. Method: To determine the determinants of production efficiency, the Tobit model was used in this study. Result. The Tobit model results show that age of household, and herbicide use had a negative impact on the production efficiency of farmers. Regarding the positive determinants of production efficiency, labor, seed, and fertilizer (NPS) have a positive influence. Conclusion and Recommendation: The farmers in the study area are efficient in the production of maize. The government should give due attention to farmers' training by strengthening farmers' education and farmer training centers to make farmers more efficient producers and profitable by integrating local and traditional knowledge of farmers with formal knowledge of using herbicides. Farmers should also be advised, as they are youngest farmers engaging in farming work. Otherwise, the government should supply fertilizer and improve seed on credit.

Characterization of shifting cultivation, trends, and diversification of livelihood patterns: A case study from forest villages in Barak valley, Assam, Northeast India

Shifting cultivation is a traditional agricultural system and predominant land use in the mountainous regions of many parts of the world. Recently, there has been a change in traditional shifting cultivation practice. The purpose of the current study is to map the spatial distribution of shifting cultivation plots in forest villages of Barak Valley, Assam, Northeast India, document the socio-economic profile of cultivators, and examine how traditional shifting cultivation is transitioning towards other agricultural systems, leading to livelihood diversification. The study included both primary and secondary data. The shifting cultivation plots were digitized using Sentinel 2 image of 2022. A total of 146 respondents from nine forest villages were interviewed using a structured questionnaire. The plots were concentrated in the southern part of Barak Valley and sparsely distributed in the Northern part. The average plot size was 1.35±0.02 ha. A positive correlation was observed between family size and size of jhum plot. The villages were located in remote areas with little access to basic amenities such as metalled roads and schools. The duration of fallow was lesser in villages located nearer to the market, as it was easier for them to sell their produce. Diversification of livelihoods among the younger members was observed, who were engaged in activities other than cultivation. The reason cited by respondents for this was earning additional income. Shifting cultivation combined with commercial farming on fallow land was the most common form of livelihood. The fallow period ranged between 2 to10 years. Weed infestation and loss of fertility were cited as major reasons by all respondents for leaving jhum plots fallow. Species such as Citrus sinensis (L.) Osbeck (Orange), Musa sp (Banana), Piper betle L. (Betel Leaf), Parkia timoriana (DC.) Merr. (Tree bean), Thysanolaena latifolia (Roxb. ex Hornem.) Honda (Asian Broom Grass) and other economically important species were cultivated in the fallow lands. This has increased the pressure on remaining forest lands that are being converted into shifting cultivation areas. Although conversion of fallow for monoculture and agroforestry may not be the solution to every problem, it holds promise for both ecological and economical sustainability, if managed judiciously. However, transition to other livelihood systems must occur with minimal degradation of ecosystem services.

Ecology of village ecosystems of Odisha, India

Abstract. Upadhyay VP, Nayak BK, Mishra MK. 2022. Ecology of village ecosystems of Odisha, India. Asian J Ethnobiol 5: 138-155. The present study was conducted in eight villages in the Niyamgiri Hills of Odisha, India. The human population varies from 83 to 312 in uphill villages and 76 to 150 in foothill villages. The cultivated area constitutes 3.37% to 18.85% of the village’s total area. Per capita cultivated area varies from 0.117 to 0.329 ha. The families generally devote more time to agriculture, followed by Minor Forest Products (MFP) collection. The women and children collect leafy vegetables, tubers, fruits, seeds, leaves, and flowers. Collecting and marketing firewood in head loads is commonly practiced in the rainy season. The area of forest cover is not affected much, but the quality of the forest has changed. This suggests appropriate steps to restore the forest and enhance its productivity. All villages depend on rain-fed agriculture. The natural stream water is available to the paddy fields by gravity flow in valleys. The agriculture practices include shifting (podu) cultivation in high hill areas, mid-hill orchards below the podu area, home gardens adjoining habitation, and valley cultivation near Nala beds (streams). Podu is a mixed cultivation practice where cereals, pulses, and oil seeds are grown together. The village productivity is much lower than in other areas of settled agriculture. Improvements in seed quality, Soil and Moisture Conservation (SMC) measures, and the health condition of the tribal community will help support the sustainability of the traditional cultivation and livelihood system. To help protect the indigenous biodiversity, we suggest in this paper other alternatives of livelihood to the local population and options for shifting cultivation areas.

Shifting Cultivation to Settled Agriculture: Land Ownership Rights and Cropping Pattern in Meghalaya, Northeast India

The traditional shifting cultivation areas in Meghalaya have been undergoing changes in their agricultural landscape along with the rest of the North Eastern Hill Region (NEHR). This study from ten villages of Meghalaya analyses the land ownership rights and cropping patterns of the shifting cultivators vis-à-vis settled agriculturists. Overall, signifi cant diff erences have been observed in the land owned, total area cultivated and the type of crops between the shifting cultivators and settled farmers. This establishes the transitions in the jhum landscape and their increasing dependence on the market economy whilst also throwing light on infl uence of the land tenure on the choice of land use system. The cropping pattern indicated that settled farmers who had higher tenure security as compared to shifting cultivators reduced the acreage under subsistence crops and preferred to grow high value cash crops. With the support of various schemes and programmes on cultivation of marketable crops, it is inevitable that the jhum landscape would be dominated by monoculture of commercial crops, hence, provisions should be made with a community-led approach or participatory consultation for settled systems so as to promote multi-cropping system whilst building the resilience of the sedentary cropping system. Notably, harmonization of common property regime under traditional customary tenure arrangements with individual rights in settled agricultural systems is indispensable to ensure transition is inclusive of landless farmers.

Determinants of Production Efficiency of Maize-Dominated Farmers in Western Parts of Ethiopia in Gudeya Bila District: Evidence under Shifting Cultivation Area

Background In Ethiopia, maize is produced as major food crop that is based on traditional methods of production, and there exists inefficiency in the use of available scarce resources. Thus, poor people are failing to achieve rapid economic growth, development, and food security still today in the country. Hence, the best possible means of achieving development is through increasing the production efficiency of farmers. Thus, to estimate the levels of production efficiency, this study specifically used only data of farmers who are producing without ploughing by oxen and without using fertilizers in the study area under shifting cultivation. Method Stochastic frontier production is used to estimate the technical efficiency score, and the cost frontier model is used to estimate production efficiency. To determine the determinants of production efficiency, the Tobit model was used in this study. Result The Tobit model results show that loss due to wild animals, experience of household, and off-farm income had a negative impact on production efficiency of farmers. Regarding the positive determinants of production efficiency, land conservation practice and mobile use have a positive influence. Conclusion and recommendation. The farmers in the study area are inefficient in the production of maize. Since the loss of maize products is high due to wild animals such as pigs, apes, and monkeys that results in production inefficiency, the agricultural policies and strategies of Ethiopian governments should be directed toward providing tourism to protect those wild animals. Additionally, to increase the production efficiency, construction of terraces and soil bunds to conserve land and supporting the farmers by providing network facilities for mobile usage that boost maize production efficiency of farmers is essential for policymakers.

Shifting cultivation induced burn area dynamics using ensemble approach in Northeast India

Identifying shifting cultivation areas and assessing their spatio-temporal dynamics are essential in framing climate-adaptive policies for efficient forest management and agriculture practices for the benefit of people. The current study attempts to develop an alternative approach to classify the shifting cultivation areas using an ensemble technique, integrating multiple spectral indices in three states of northeast India (NEI), such as Assam, Manipur, and Meghalaya. The adopted approach integrates green cover and leaf water content changes during shifting cultivation land preparation in Landsat imagery. The deforested burned area patches were identified based on threshold values using Landsat data-derived indices on vegetation, burned area and leaf water, and digital elevation model (DEM). The ensemble approach provided shifting cultivation maps with good overall accuracy (> 83%). The maximum shifting cultivation area was observed in Assam (126.87 km2), followed by Meghalaya (51.53 km2) and Manipur (46.04 km2) in 2016. The normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and NDVI difference performed better than other vegetation indices. The ensemble approach can be applied in other regions with minor modifications in threshold values, thus having the potential for accounting to shifting cultivation dynamics on an operational basis. Future research may include blending local traditional knowledge and modern scientific solutions for improved forest and land resources planning for the benefit of inhabitants and the mountain environment under the climate change scenarios.

Shifting Cultivation and Strategies to Cope with Food Scarcity of Ethnic Minorities in Nghean province, Vietnam

Shifting cultivation is still an important form of agricultural production and is suitable for mountainous areas. To ensure food security and improve the lives of mountainous residents, it is necessary to have active swidden management measures based on local experience and technical advances to exploit land resources effectively and sustainably. This paper concludes that an effective shifting cultivation control strategy would require (1) Changes in awareness, farming practices and customs of local people; (2) Changes in policy institutions such as granting land ownership rights to shifting cultivators, linking shifting cultivation areas with local and regional market centres through infrastructure development, and provision of necessary support services such as extension, credit and marketing.

Ecosystem Service Provision by Secondary Forests in Shifting Cultivation Areas Remains Poorly Understood

It is often asserted that secondary forests (SF) provide inferior forest-based ecosystem services (ES), but there is limited research to generalize this claim. Here, we review comparisons between ES provision in SFs and other land uses in shifting cultivation landscapes. We searched the peer-reviewed literature and selected only studies that compare ES from SF with ES from other land uses. In total, 212 ES and 347 comparisons of different land use systems were recorded. Comparisons were mainly made for carbon storage, biodiversity, and soil variables. Very few provisioning ES were compared in the literature and no cultural services were recorded. SF were in most cases inferior to old-growth forest in terms of carbon storage and biodiversity, whereas soil quality comparisons varied. ES provision in SF was superior to agricultural systems, whereas comparisons with plantation crops varied. We conclude that the narrow focus on specific ES categories strongly limits understanding of SF in shifting cultivation areas and that it is more relevant to compare SFs with other agricultural systems rather than with old-growth forests.

Automated Mapping for Long-Term Analysis of Shifting Cultivation in Northeast India

Assessment of the spatio-temporal dynamics of shifting cultivation is important to understand the opportunities for land restoration. The past studies on shifting cultivation mapping of North-East (NE) India lack systematic assessment techniques. We have developed a decision tree-based multi-step threshold (DTMT) method for consistent and long-term mapping of shifting cultivation using Landsat data from 1975 to 2018. Widely used vegetation indices such as normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), Normalized Burn Ratio (NBR) and its relative difference NBR (RdNBR) were integrated with the suitable thresholds in the classification, which yielded overall accuracy above 85%. A significant decrease in total shifting cultivation area was observed with an overall reduction of 75% from 1975–1976 to 2017–2018. The methodology presented in this study is reproducible with minimal inputs and can be useful to map similar changes by optimizing the index threshold values to accommodate relative differences for other landscapes. Furthermore, the crop-suitability maps generated by incorporating climate and soil factors prioritizes suitable land use of shifting cultivation plots. The Google Earth Engine (GEE) platform was employed for automatic mapping of the shifting cultivation areas at desired time intervals for facilitating seamless dissemination of the map products. Besides the novel DTMT method, the shifting cultivation and crop-suitability maps generated in this study, can aid in sustainable land management.

Variations of Soil Properties on Post Shifting Cultivation area in Primary Forest

Shifting cultivation in tropical forest was presumed as the major cause of soil degradation and soil nutrient depletion, and need several years--namely forest-fallow periods-- to be recovered. Soil properties dynamic monitoring has been done in the tropical forest in Central Kalimantan at one, five and ten year after abandonment, and compared to primary forest, to predict the time for soil recovery in term of Calcium (Ca), Magnesium (Mg), Potassium (K), Natrium (Na) content and cation exchange capacity (CEC). The soil properties status can be beneficial for rehabilitation activities through practicing agroforestry by the forest dwellers. The results showed that soil properties (i.e. Ca, Mg, K, CEC) were significantly different among soil depth (P<0.05), but not for Na. Highest value of Ca, Mg, K and Na were observed in the soil surface (0-20 cm), Soil nutrient contents were significantly changed with the time of abandonment, the highest value of CEC, Ca, K, and pH were found in five years after the abandonment. It suggested that soil nutrients were distributed in the soil surface composed from litter of pioneer trees. The research suggested that soil recovery was probably occurred during early fallows, and agroforestry can be practiced at five year after the abandonment.

Strategi Peladang Berpindah di Routa Dalam Rangka Menguatkan Klaim Hak Atas Tanah Bekas Areal Perladangan Berpindah di Masa Lalu

Claims of rights to land formerly shifting cultivation areas in the past, as referred to by the terms orawu, anahoma, laliwata and osambu are now increasingly ineffective - one of which is because the former shifting cultivation area has been abandoned for a long time where the trees have grown as usual, until hardly leaving the slightest sign of former swidden cultivation areas. As a result, lands in the former shifting cultivation areas in the past are now being taken over and controlled by other parties.
 This research, which lasted for six months, was conducted in Routa District, Konawe Regency, Southeast Sulawesi Province, considering that in this area a new phenomenon has developed in which land formerly cultivated areas in the past was re-opened by their descendants of current shifting cultivators in order to strengthen land rights claims. There are …. informants participated in this study, including shifting cultivators and descendants of shifting cultivators, government officials, and local law enforcers. Data collection techniques were carried out through interviews and observations.
 The study shows that the current strategy of the descendants of shifting cultivators in Routa is to re-open their parents' former shifting cultivation areas - this strategy is increasingly emphasized through planting growing crops, creating boundaries and legalizing land rights with both SKT and SHM. These strategies have proven to be quite successful in overcoming the encroachment of former shifting cultivation areas as well as providing new economic bases for shifting cultivators in the form of land and gardens.

Livestock diversity in shifting cultivation area of North Eastern Hill states in India

The breed of animals and birds reared by the jhumia were mostly non-descript and the method of rearing was traditional or backyard farming. Local breeds are an important self-replicating asset of almost all jhumia people and fulfill functions that go far beyond the output of products. At one end of the spectrum are breeding and production systems in which animals are kept in natural environments and are exposed to a large degree of natural selections imposed by the elements. Such systems are prevalent in ecologically marginal areas and typically practiced by pastoralists for whom adaptation traits are more crucial than production traits. Considering the distinctive features of animal genetic resources, as well as the urgent need for maintaining and conserving domestic animal diversity for future generations, it is necessary to promote more productive and sustainable livestock management.

Short Communication: Diversity of plant species growing during fallow period of shifting cultivation and potential of its biomass for sustainable energy production in Mahakam Ulu, East Kalimantan, Indonesia

Abstract. Yuliansyah, Haqiqi MT, Septia E, Mujiasih D, Septiana HA, Setiawan KA, Setiyono B, Angi EM, Saparwadi, Sari NM, Kusuma IW, Rujehan, Suwinarti W, Amirta R. 2019. Short Communication: Diversity of plant species growing during fallow period of shifting cultivation and potential of its biomass for sustainable energy production in Mahakam Ulu, East Kalimantan, Indonesia. Biodiversitas 20: 2236-2242. Fallow period is a time gap, as long as 15 years, for improving natural soil fertility of land used for traditional shifting cultivation, in the tropical areas commonly used by Dayak People in Borneo Island. During this period, many biomass plant species naturally grow and develop a new forest vegetation community with shrub and medium trees, dominated by fast-growing pioneer species. In this study, we investigated the plant diversity in fallowed shifting cultivation area in Batu Majang Village, Mahakam Ulu District, East Kalimantan Province, followed by analysis of the suitability of wood characteristics for energy production. We classified the study area according to the age of fallow period as: 1-3 years, 4-6 years, 7-9 years and 10-15 years. We found 29 species among which 13 were identified as the top species according to the highest value for important value index. Potential wood biomass production increased from 3.01 m3 ha-1 to 399.62 m3 ha-1. V. pinnata and M. pearsonii showed the highest dominance which is present in almost all area based on age classification groups. Wood from V. pinnata achieved the highest calorific valueof18.00 MJ kg-1 whereas N. cadamba and M. sericea were in the second and third places with the value of 17.30 MJ kg-1 and 17.28 MJ kg-1, respectively. Therefore, V. pinnata was an important species among all other species observed because of high adaptability and high energy content. In addition, possible energy production at the end of the fallow period of 15 years was 2.92 GJ ha-1.

Developing tree volume equation for Parkia timoriana grown in home gardens and shifting cultivation areas of North-East India

ABSTRACTParkia timoriana (DC.) Merr. is an economically important agroforestry tree species grown in home gardens and shifting cultivation areas throughout the North-eastern states of India. This study aimed to establish a best fit volume model to facilitate estimation of biomass and carbon stock of the species without destructive sampling. Stem volumes of 360 trees representing 12 populations were estimated, and the data were used to develop 19 volume models involving diameter at breast height (D) and height (H). These models were then subjected to statistical test, and then cross-validated to select the best fitting model. The coefficient of determination (R2), root mean square error (RMSE), mean absolute deviation (MAD) and Akaike’s Information Criterion (AIC) were used for model selection, and scattered plot with residuals along with paired t-test were used for validation of the resultant models. Among the models compared, V = 0.12500–2.40265D + 21.43248D2 was found to be the best using single independent variable (D), while V = 0.03177 + 1.032D2H was the best model among the models with two independent variables (D and H). These two models gave high accuracy and hence can be used for future referencing.

Recovery of floristic diversity, composition and structure of regrowth forests on fallow lands: implications for conservation and restoration of degraded forest lands in Laos

In Laos, there are extensive shifting cultivation areas and regrowth forests spontaneously established on fallow lands. The aims of the study were to conduct a comparative study of old-growth and regrowth forests in terms of structure, woody species diversity and composition as well as to investigate the potential role of regrowth forests in the conservation and restoration of degraded forest lands in Laos and the tropics in general. Systematic plot sampling was used to survey the floristic diversity, species composition and structure of old-growth and regrowth forests. Concentric circular plots with an area of 200 m2 and 500 m2 were laid on line transects. A total of 24 plots were sampled from two sites. In comparison to regrowth forests, old-growth forests had higher structural heterogeneity because of higher canopy height variations, vertical stratification, and tree sizes and their variations. Species richness and diversity indices values were similar, but abundance and species composition were significantly different between old-growth and regrowth forests. It appears that species richness recovers first followed by forest structure and species composition. Regrowth forests are important for in situ conservation of tropical biodiversity and they can also serve as a conduit for the restoration of degraded lands and forests. Regrowth forests provide habitats, serve as buffer zones around the fragmented old-growth forests, function as source of propagules, and enhance landscape connectivity. Utilization of regrowth forests for restoration purposes is comparatively inexpensive. Regrowth forests should be given the due considerations in the national forest conservation and restoration policy of Laos.

Shifting cultivation maintains but its conversion to mono-cropping decreases soil carbon and nitrogen stocks compared to natural forest in Western Ethiopia

This study was conducted to assess the effects of shifting cultivation and its conversion to mono-cropping on soil organic carbon (SOC) and total nitrogen (STN). We compared soil pH, texture, bulk density and SOC and STN contents and stocks (0–100 cm) in natural forest (NF), adjacent shifting cultivation (SC) areas (> 100 years old) having three (SC-3Y), five (SC-5Y) and seven (SC-7Y)-year-old fallowing, and 10 year-old mono-cropping field (MCF) converted from shifting cultivation in Western Ethiopia. There was no significant difference in soil pH in NF and all shifting cultivation areas. However, MCF had lower soil pH compared to SC-3Y and SC-5Y. There was no or very little difference in soil texture and bulk density across the study sites. Shifting cultivation did not affect SOC and STN stocks. However, conversion of shifting cultivation to mono-cropping decreased SOC (45–50% over 10 years; loss of 11.6 ± 0.2 Mg C ha−1 yr.−1) and STN stocks (18–45% over 10 years; loss of 0.6 ± 0.1 Mg N ha−1 yr.−1). While shifting cultivation maintained SOC and STN, its conversion to mono-cropping decreased them, potentially contributing to global warming and decreasing soil fertility.

A Geospatial Approach to Understand the Dynamics of Shifting Cultivation in Champhai District of Mizoram, North-East India

The dynamics of crop-fallow rotation cycles of shifting cultivation has been poorly understood in northeastern part of the country although it is one of the major land use systems in the hilly states of this region. The present study was conducted to understand the dynamics of shifting cultivation through the use of Landsat time-series data from 1999 to 2016 in Champhai district of Mizoram. We mapped the current jhum fields and abandoned areas of each imagery of the study period and performed a post classification comparison to assess the crop-fallow rotation cycle/jhum cycle. The chrono-sequential change of slash and burn area over the past 17 years showed a decreasing trend with the greater part of the shifting cultivation area being occupied by 2nd year crop fields, covering 48.81% of total jhum land. On average, 114.46 km2 area were annually slashed for current jhum, out of which 33.41% continued with current jhum 2nd year cropping and only 3.27% of jhumias continued with 3rd year cropping. The shifting cultivation patches were mostly confined to moderately steep slopes (15°–30°). East facing aspect was mostly preferred and North facing aspect was least preferred. During the study period, 10 years jhum cycle covered the maximum area followed by 9 years and 11 years jhum cycle. The end result of this study proved that the prevalent jhum cycle in Champhai district is 8–11 years with a fallow period of 6–9 years.

A global assessment of gross and net land change dynamics for current conditions and future scenarios

Abstract. The consideration of gross land changes, meaning all area gains and losses within a pixel or administrative unit (e.g. country), plays an essential role in the estimation of total land changes. Gross land changes affect the magnitude of total land changes, which feeds back to the attribution of biogeochemical and biophysical processes related to climate change in Earth system models. Global empirical studies on gross land changes are currently lacking. Whilst the relevance of gross changes for global change has been indicated in the literature, it is not accounted for in future land change scenarios. In this study, we extract gross and net land change dynamics from large-scale and high-resolution (30–100 m) remote sensing products to create a new global gross and net change dataset. Subsequently, we developed an approach to integrate our empirically derived gross and net changes with the results of future simulation models by accounting for the gross and net change addressed by the land use model and the gross and net change that is below the resolution of modelling. Based on our empirical data, we found that gross land change within 0.5∘ grid cells was substantially larger than net changes in all parts of the world. As 0.5∘ grid cells are a standard resolution of Earth system models, this leads to an underestimation of the amount of change. This finding contradicts earlier studies, which assumed gross land changes to appear in shifting cultivation areas only. Applied in a future scenario, the consideration of gross land changes led to approximately 50 % more land changes globally compared to a net land change representation. Gross land changes were most important in heterogeneous land systems with multiple land uses (e.g. shifting cultivation, smallholder farming, and agro-forestry systems). Moreover, the importance of gross changes decreased over time due to further polarization and intensification of land use. Our results serve as an empirical database for land change dynamics that can be applied in Earth system models and integrated assessment models.