Sonderforschungsbereich 990: Ökologische und sozioökonomische Funktionen tropischer Tieflandregenwald-Transformationssysteme (Sumatra, Indonesien) (Phase 3: 2020 – 2023)

Quantifying the effects of spatial, temporal and social heterogeneity on ecological and socioeconomic functions


Overall, Focus 2 investigates the following three Hypotheses:

Ecological and socioeconomic functions of a given land-use system differ between landscapes, over time and by social context, i.e. statistically there are interaction effects between ecological and socioeconomic factors not only across but also within a particular land-use system.
Within land-use systems, there are large differences in profitability, risk, biodiversity and ecological functions between farms and over time, and these can be explained by differences in the ecological and socioeconomic setting and/or management practices of the farm.
Heterogeneity in local, regional, national and international economic and institutional conditions affects land-use change and management, and associated implications for biodiversity and ecological functions.

In Phase 3, the ecological projects will continue to investigate the different land-use systems within EFForTS Core Plot Design that are nested within farm, community and landscape levels. This research will generate data on temporal and spatial heterogeneity in ecological and socioeconomic functions allowing more complex and comprehensive analyses and conclusions. Likewise, the continuation of data collection in the socioeconomic projects will generate time series and panel data at plot, farm, household, and village levels, which will allow in-depth analyses of how socioeconomic functions vary in space and time dependent on the social context.


Focus 2 - Fig 1

Fig. 1. Species losses due to rainforest conversion are not uniquely linked to spatial homogenization of species communities at taxon level.



In Phase 3, the EFForTS-OPMX (see above), which experimentally varies the land-use intensity of oil palm plantations, and the EFForTS-BEE (B11 Hölscher/Kreft/Wollni, see above), which consists of varying levels of tree diversity in oil palm plantations, will generate more data to understand sources and implications of heterogeneity within oil palm. Finally, the novel Landscape Assessment planned in Phase 3 is designed to cover more heterogeneity within land-use systems. Coordinated collection of ecological and socio-economic data from 100 new study plots and the associated land-owners will allow us to analyse how heterogeneity across different ecological and socioeconomic functions is correlated within and across land-uses.


Focus 2 - Fig 2

Fig. 2. Spatial heterogeneity: Farms expand into forestland especially without formal land titles (Kubitza et al. 2018).



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