3, 4 largely due to policy and market support on these crops. Such increase has been a serious concern. The government started the “Rubber Cultivation for Raising the Sustainable Income to Farmers in the New Planting Area” scheme in 2004 by providing incentives eventually attracting many to convert their land to rubber. With changing sectoral policy, like agricultural policy, there are changes in land use and land management to eventually maximize economic return 5 undermining ecosystem services. Recent studies have shown that an increase in agricultural land use can have direct negative consequences on ecosystem services or reduced productivity which may be considered as an ecosystem disservice 6. There is a critical need to manage locations that are important for maintaining ecosystem services while maintaining demand for agricultural purpose 7-10. Although a number of recent studies have quantified and mapped ecosystem services (e.g. 9; 11 13), studies linking land use impacts on ecosystem services are scarce, especially in the tropics which serves as a major source of the world’s biodiversity. The Wang thong watershed in Northern Thailand has experienced significant land use change particularly due to the government induced policy encouraging rubber plantation. As a result, this had led to expansion in plantation of perennials, particularly rubber, replacing annual crops. The area also has experienced frequent a flooding problem with severe soil erosion. Hence, in order to better understand linkages and consequences of land use change on the ecosystem services, this study assessed the impact of land use on selected ecosystem services; namely water yield, sediment retention, carbon stock, and habitat quality in the Wang thong watershed. II. STUDY AREA The study area, Wang thong watershed, situated between 16° 22ʹ 10ʺ to 17° 2ʹ 38ʺ N latitude, and 100° 36ʹ 10ʺ to 101° 3ʹ 47ʺ E longitude in Wang thong district of Phitsanulok province and Khao kho district of Phetchaboon province, covers 198,082 ha (Figure 1). The geological formation is composed of sedimentary rock and metamorphic rock 14 with an elevation ranging from 700 to 860 m.s.l. The climate is tropical and sub-tropical with three distinct seasons, namely winter (November- February), summer (March-May), and rainy (June-October). The average maximum temperature is 31°C and the annual rainfall is 1,481.60 mm. Forest covers more than half of the area. About a quarter of the area is under farming and rest of the area under perennials and forest plantation, urban and other land uses. The watershed is inhabited by a total human population of 95,668 mostly engaged in farming. The soils in cultivated landscapes are light textured with less water holding capacity and thus subjected to high soil erosion resulting in reduced ecosystem value. III. METHODOLOGY We first detected the change in land use patterns across the study area using historic data and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) followed by assessment of selected ecosystem services to understand the impacts of land use on ecosystem services. Field survey of 60 farm households was conducted for understanding land use patterns before projecting land use options for enhancing ecosystem services. The methods for specific tasks involved in the study are described hereunder. 136 Proceedings of the International Conference on Climate Change, Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): Policy and Practice 27-29 June 2016, Cha-am, Phetchaburi, Thailand
Proceedings of International Conference on Climate Change, Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services for the Sustainable Development Goals : Policy and Practice 27-29 June 2016 at the Sirindhorn International Environmental Park, Cha-am, Phetchaburi, Thailand
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