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Applying Ecological Guidelines for Land Management to Farming in the Brazilian Amazon

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Applying Ecological Principles to Land Management

Abstract

Clearing of land by small-scale farmers in the Brazilian Amazon state of Rondônia provides an example of how the ecological guidelines for land management might be applied. To understand the ecological underpinnings of this situation, a simulation model is used to project land-cover change under scenarios of extreme, typical, and sustainable uses of the land. Application of an animal-use model shows conditions under which species with different territory sizes and gap-crossing abilities might remain on the land under the three land-use scenarios. These model projections, along with an understanding of the current situation, provide a means to evaluate how well the eight guidelines suggested by the Land Use Committee of the Ecological Society of America are being applied in Rondônia. This chapter constitutes a hypothetical analysis because the guidelines were developed subsequent to the Rondônian study, and they have not yet been communicated to the landowners or government in Brazil.

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© 2001 Springer Science+Business Media New York

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Dale, V.H. (2001). Applying Ecological Guidelines for Land Management to Farming in the Brazilian Amazon. In: Dale, V.H., Haeuber, R.A. (eds) Applying Ecological Principles to Land Management. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-0099-1_10

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-0099-1_10

  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-0-387-95100-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4613-0099-1

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