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Characteristics and drivers of forest cover change in the post-socialist era in Croatia: evidence from a mixed-methods approach.

Cvitanović, M., Blackburn, G.A. and Rudbeck Jepsen, M., 2016. Characteristics and drivers of forest cover change in the post-socialist era in Croatia: evidence from a mixed-methods approach. Regional Environmental Change, 16 (6), 1751 - 1763.

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DOI: 10.1007/s10113-016-0928-0

Abstract

© 2016, Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.Extensive forests in Croatia represent an important biological and economic resource in Europe. They are characterised by heterogeneity in forest management practices dating back to the socialist planned economy of the pre-1991 era. In this study we investigated the difference in rates of deforestation and reforestation in private- and state-owned forests during the post-socialist period and the causal drivers of change. The selected region of Northern Croatia is characterised by a high percentage of privately owned forests with minimal national monitoring and control. We used a mixed-methods approach which combines remote sensing, statistical modelling and a household-based questionnaire survey to assess the rates of forest cover change and factors influencing those changes. The results show that predominantly privately owned forests in Northern Croatia have recorded a net forest loss of 1.8 % during the 1991–2011 period, while Croatia overall is characterised by a 10 % forest cover increase in predominantly state-owned forests. Main factors influencing forest cover changes in private forests are slope, altitude, education structure, population age and population density. The results also show that the deforestation in private forests is weakening overall, mostly due to the continuation of the de-agrarisation and de-ruralisation processes which began during socialism.

Item Type:Article
ISSN:1436-3798
Additional Information:The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s10113-016-0928-0) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
Uncontrolled Keywords:Post-socialism; Eastern Europe; Forest management; DeforestationPrivate forests; Mixed-methods research
Group:Faculty of Science & Technology
ID Code:25272
Deposited By: Symplectic RT2
Deposited On:12 Dec 2016 11:57
Last Modified:14 Mar 2022 14:01

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