The Imperata grasslands of tropical Asia: area, distribution, and typology
The Imperata grasslands of tropical Asia: area, distribution, and typology
复制标题
亚洲热带白茅草原:面积、分布和类型
DOI:
10.1007/bf00142865
复制
发表时间:
1996
影响因子:
2.2
通讯作者:
Nik Muhamad Nik Ab. Majid
中科院分区:
文献类型:
--
作者:
D. Garrity;M. Soekardi;M. Noordwijk;R. D. Cruz;P. Pathak;H. Gunasena;N. V. So;G. Huijun;Nik Muhamad Nik Ab. Majid
The rehabilitation or intensified use ofImperatagrasslands will require a much better understanding of their area, distribution, and characteristics. We generated estimates of the area ofImperatagrasslands in tropical Asia, and suggested a typology ofImperatagrasslands that may be useful to define the pathways toward appropriate land use intensification. We conclude that the area ofImperatagrasslands in Asia is about 35 million ha. This about 4% of the total land area. The countries with the largest area ofImperatagrasslands are Indonesia (8.5 million ha) and India (8.0 million ha). Those with the largest proportion of their surface area covered withImperataare Sri Lanka (23%), the Philippines (17%), and Vietnam (9%). Laos, Thailand, Myanmar, and Bangladesh evidently all have similar proportions of their land area infested withImperata(about 3 to 4%). Malaysia (< 1%), Cambodia (1%), and the southern part of China (2%) have but a minor proportion of their total land area inImperata. The species was found widely distributed on the full range of soil orders. It occupied both fertile (e.g. some of the Inceptisols and Andisols) and infertile soils (Ultisols and Oxisols) across a wide range of climates and elevations.Imperatalands fall into four mapping scale-related categories:Mega-grasslands, itmacro-grasslands, meso-grasslands, andmicro-grasslands. The mega-grasslands are often referred to as ‘sheetImperata’. They are the large contiguous areas ofImperatathat would appear on small-scale maps of say 1:1,000,000. We propose that this basic typology be supplemented with a number of additional components that have a key influence on intensification pathways: land quality, market access, and the source of power for tillage. The typology was applied in a case study of Indonesian villages in the vicinity ofImperatagrasslands. We propose an international initiative to map and derive a more complete and uniform picture of the area of theImperatagrasslands. This should include selected studies to understand conditions at the local level. These are critical to build the appreciation of change agents for the indigenous systems of resource exploitation, and how they relate to local needs, values and constraints.