Three decades of woodland cover change in Hwedza, Zimbabwe reveals similar trajectories of woodland loss in communal and resettlement areas
Zimbabwe has pledged to halt and reverse forest loss by 2030, which if accomplished may enhance the delivery of ecosystem services. Uncertainty over the extent of woodland cover change and the impact of land redistribution could impede progress. Through comparative analysis of communal and resettlem...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Taylor & Francis Group
2025-12-01
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| Series: | Journal of Land Use Science |
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| Online Access: | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/1747423X.2025.2476943 |
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| author | Kerry Stewart Samuel J. Bowers Nyaradzo Shayanewako Rose Pritchard Bill H. Kinsey Clemence Zimudzi Casey M. Ryan |
| author_facet | Kerry Stewart Samuel J. Bowers Nyaradzo Shayanewako Rose Pritchard Bill H. Kinsey Clemence Zimudzi Casey M. Ryan |
| author_sort | Kerry Stewart |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Zimbabwe has pledged to halt and reverse forest loss by 2030, which if accomplished may enhance the delivery of ecosystem services. Uncertainty over the extent of woodland cover change and the impact of land redistribution could impede progress. Through comparative analysis of communal and resettlement areas we investigated the patterns, causes and implications of land-cover change in Hwedza, Zimbabwe between 1990 and 2020. Land-cover classification of remotely sensed data reveals that Hwedza has transitioned from a trajectory of net woodland loss to net woodland gain. There is no evidence that resettlement increased deforestation compared to communal areas. Changes in off-farm income, smallholder tobacco farming, and reduced profitability of staple crops were perceived by interviewees to be important factors affecting woodland change. Due to the importance of woodland services such as fuelwood, our findings highlight the need to address the societal implications of policies aiming to reduce deforestation . |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-62a53e9fe27a41e8a5c917d3b10b844c |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 1747-423X 1747-4248 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-12-01 |
| publisher | Taylor & Francis Group |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Land Use Science |
| spelling | doaj-art-62a53e9fe27a41e8a5c917d3b10b844c2025-08-20T02:38:21ZengTaylor & Francis GroupJournal of Land Use Science1747-423X1747-42482025-12-01201214410.1080/1747423X.2025.2476943Three decades of woodland cover change in Hwedza, Zimbabwe reveals similar trajectories of woodland loss in communal and resettlement areasKerry Stewart0Samuel J. Bowers1Nyaradzo Shayanewako2Rose Pritchard3Bill H. Kinsey4Clemence Zimudzi5Casey M. Ryan6School of GeoSciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UKSchool of GeoSciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UKSchool of GeoSciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UKGlobal Development Institute, University of Manchester, Manchester, UKAfrican Studies Centre, Leiden University, Leiden, NetherlandsDepartment of Biological Sciences and Ecology, University of Zimbabwe, Harare, ZimbabweSchool of GeoSciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UKZimbabwe has pledged to halt and reverse forest loss by 2030, which if accomplished may enhance the delivery of ecosystem services. Uncertainty over the extent of woodland cover change and the impact of land redistribution could impede progress. Through comparative analysis of communal and resettlement areas we investigated the patterns, causes and implications of land-cover change in Hwedza, Zimbabwe between 1990 and 2020. Land-cover classification of remotely sensed data reveals that Hwedza has transitioned from a trajectory of net woodland loss to net woodland gain. There is no evidence that resettlement increased deforestation compared to communal areas. Changes in off-farm income, smallholder tobacco farming, and reduced profitability of staple crops were perceived by interviewees to be important factors affecting woodland change. Due to the importance of woodland services such as fuelwood, our findings highlight the need to address the societal implications of policies aiming to reduce deforestation .https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/1747423X.2025.2476943Woodlandland cover changeresettlementZimbabweremote sensingmixed-methods |
| spellingShingle | Kerry Stewart Samuel J. Bowers Nyaradzo Shayanewako Rose Pritchard Bill H. Kinsey Clemence Zimudzi Casey M. Ryan Three decades of woodland cover change in Hwedza, Zimbabwe reveals similar trajectories of woodland loss in communal and resettlement areas Journal of Land Use Science Woodland land cover change resettlement Zimbabwe remote sensing mixed-methods |
| title | Three decades of woodland cover change in Hwedza, Zimbabwe reveals similar trajectories of woodland loss in communal and resettlement areas |
| title_full | Three decades of woodland cover change in Hwedza, Zimbabwe reveals similar trajectories of woodland loss in communal and resettlement areas |
| title_fullStr | Three decades of woodland cover change in Hwedza, Zimbabwe reveals similar trajectories of woodland loss in communal and resettlement areas |
| title_full_unstemmed | Three decades of woodland cover change in Hwedza, Zimbabwe reveals similar trajectories of woodland loss in communal and resettlement areas |
| title_short | Three decades of woodland cover change in Hwedza, Zimbabwe reveals similar trajectories of woodland loss in communal and resettlement areas |
| title_sort | three decades of woodland cover change in hwedza zimbabwe reveals similar trajectories of woodland loss in communal and resettlement areas |
| topic | Woodland land cover change resettlement Zimbabwe remote sensing mixed-methods |
| url | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/1747423X.2025.2476943 |
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