Roads in the rainforests: Legacy of selective logging in the Congo Basin
I did my PhD in the European Joint Doctoral programme “Forest and Nature for Society”, based at CIRAD in Montpellier, France and at Bangor University, Wales. I followed the temporal and spatial dynamics of frontier roads built into the Congo Basin rainforests for selective logging. Based on remotely sensed and field based information, I investigated which factors influence persistence of these logging roads and what characterizes forest recovery on and around them.
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Persistence of logging roads
Over the last 30 years, Central African forests have been perforated by a growing road network, built to exploit valuable tree resources. These roads are not static because most of them are not maintained continuously. I am interested in how and for how long these roads provide a threat to the forest ecosystem and how forest management can reduce road related impacts.
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Details from LANDSAT images, showing the temporal evolution of road networks in the northern Republic of Congo.
Summary
My PhD project evaluated the temporal and spatial dynamics of logging road networks in the Congo Basin. Logging of valuable tree species from natural forests is the most important economic activity in Central Africa. However, this requires construction of roads in the forest and they are often used subsequently for uncontrolled hunting and agricultural colonization leading to loss of biodiversity and deforestation. We show that > 80% of logging roads are closed soon after timber harvesting. Innovative analyses of satellite images and vegetation inventories revealed that logging roads have greatly reduced the roadless space in intact forest landscapes, but natural vegetation does regrow quickly after the roads are closed. The project provides valuable evidence to improve the sustainability of logging practice, especially through planning for the re-use of previous logging roads to avoid creation of new ones.
Affiliations
Biens et services des écosystèmes forestiers tropicaux
Campus International de Baillarguet 34398 Montpellier Cedex 5 France |
Bangor University
School of Environment, Natural Resources and Geography LL57 2UW Bangor, Gwynedd United Kingdom |
AgroParisTech, Centre de Montpellier
Campus d’Agropolis International 648 rue Jean-François Breton 34093 Montpellier cedex 5 France |