Drivers and consequences of land use patterns in a developing country rural community

• Philippine forest cover decreased historically due to extensive commercial logging.
• Forest cover continues to be depleted due to logging and swidden agriculture.
• Forest degradation diminishes biodiversity, soil quality and ecosystem services.
• Ethnic social tensions and resource degradation lead to economic inequalities.
• Resulting poverty drives further resource destruction causing a vicious cycle.

Deforestation has caused degradation of ecosystem services around the world, undermining soil stability, biodiversity, protection from natural extreme events, and long-term food security. The purpose of this study is to examine closely the interrelationships of these factors in a coastal area on the diversity-rich island of Mindoro, the Philippines, where poverty is both a driver and a result of complex ecological problems. Soil and vegetation assessments of sites with differing land use intensities were compared, and narrative interviews were conducted to augment the overview derived from the quantitative analyses. Forested and agricultural slopes have a history of exploitation by the indigenous minority and show distinct signs of erosion. Species diversity on intensely cultivated, degraded and Imperata cylindrica-dominated slash-and-burn fallow sites is low. Secondary forests with shallow soils are able to recover when left untouched for several years. Floodplain soils are productive and farmed extensively with rice and coconut by the growing Tagalog majority. Population pressure and a gradient of political and economic power between the dominant Tagalog and the indigenous (Mangyans) hinder efforts at poverty alleviation. The resulting economic needs drive illegal logging and intensification of agriculture which, if continued, will lead to further decline of forest and soil resources, endangering livelihood and biodiversity.