TY - JOUR

T1 - Characteristics and drivers of forest cover change in the post-socialist era in Croatia

T2 - evidence from a mixed-methods approach

AU - Cvitanovic, Marin

AU - Blackburn, George Alan

AU - Jepsen, Martin Rudbeck

N1 - The final publication is available at Springer via http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10113-016-0928-0

PY - 2016/8

Y1 - 2016/8

N2 - 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.

AB - 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.

KW - Post-socialism

KW - Eastern Europe

KW - Forest management

KW - Deforestation

KW - Private forests

KW - Mixed-methods research

U2 - 10.1007/s10113-016-0928-0

DO - 10.1007/s10113-016-0928-0

M3 - Journal article

VL - 16

SP - 1751

EP - 1763

JO - Regional Environmental Change

JF - Regional Environmental Change

SN - 1436-3798

IS - 6

ER -