*
 

iForest - Biogeosciences and Forestry

*

A primary evaluation of Syrian forest damage since 2011: a case study of Alhamam and Alboz forest sites

Manaf Aldakhil (1-2-3), Shaher Abdullateef (1-3), Fares Mahmoud (1-4-5), Amin Alhasan (1-6), Abdulkarim Lakmes (1-7), Melhem Al Abdullah (1), Gary R Watmough (8)   

iForest - Biogeosciences and Forestry, Volume 16, Issue 3, Pages 144-154 (2023)
doi: https://doi.org/10.3832/ifor4032-016
Published: May 30, 2023 - Copyright © 2023 SISEF

Research Articles


Forests and trees make vital contributions to well-being, economic activities, ecosystem functioning and global system dynamics. There has been a lack of studies on the evaluation of the drivers of Syrian forest damage during the current conflict. This study estimated the damage since 2011 in the Alhamam and Alboz forest sites in Idlib province of Syria and evaluated the drivers of this damage. A multidimensional approach to damage assessment was developed which combined forest plot inventories, remotely sensed satellite image analysis, questionnaires and focus groups to enable a comparison of the forest from 2011 and 2017. The plot inventory data and remote sensing analysis provided estimates of forest damage and loss whilst focus groups and questionnaires provided vital information on the drivers of forest loss which is required for developing reforestation programmes. Overall, forest inventory data and satellite image analysis results indicated a reduction in tree cover, density and plant diversity. The results indicate a much higher loss of forest than is available from global products such as Global Forest Watch due to the prevalence in Syria of low-density Oak forests such as Alhamam not being classed as forest. The results of questionnaires and focus groups showed that the main cause of damage was an increased demand for fire-wood driven by a lack of fuel oil and increased unemployment, reduced household incomes and general price rises, making fuel more unaffordable. Respondents to surveys generally understood the importance of trees and forests and overtime the local knowledge of the importance of forest resources had not changed. This multidimensional approach indicates a reduced capacity of institutions to protect forests and will help to establish strategic plans to serve and protect the forest in the future.

  Keywords


Global Forest Watch, Conflict, Deforestation, Syria

Authors’ address

(2)
Manaf Aldakhil
Free Aleppo University, Aleppo (Syria)
(3)
Manaf Aldakhil
Shaher Abdullateef 0000-0002-0024-9151
Academic Center for Development and Peace Studies
(4)
Fares Mahmoud
University of Lausanne, Lausanne (Switzerland)
(5)
Fares Mahmoud
University of Geneva, Geneva (Switzerland)
(6)
Amin Alhasan
Idleb University, Idleb (Syria)
(7)
Abdulkarim Lakmes 0000-0002-8167-7085
Harran University, Harran (Turkey)
(8)
Gary R Watmough 0000-0002-0657-2208
School of Geosciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland (UK)

Corresponding author

 
Gary R Watmough
gary.watmough@ed.ac.uk

Citation

Aldakhil M, Abdullateef S, Mahmoud F, Alhasan A, Lakmes A, Al Abdullah M, Watmough GR (2023). A primary evaluation of Syrian forest damage since 2011: a case study of Alhamam and Alboz forest sites. iForest 16: 144-154. - doi: 10.3832/ifor4032-016

Academic Editor

Paola Mairota

Paper history

Received: Dec 02, 2021
Accepted: Feb 28, 2023

First online: May 30, 2023
Publication Date: Jun 30, 2023
Publication Time: 3.03 months

Breakdown by View Type

(Waiting for server response...)

Article Usage

Total Article Views: 10643
(from publication date up to now)

Breakdown by View Type
HTML Page Views: 9192
Abstract Page Views: 674
PDF Downloads: 672
Citation/Reference Downloads: 0
XML Downloads: 105

Web Metrics
Days since publication: 303
Overall contacts: 10643
Avg. contacts per week: 245.88

Article Citations

Article citations are based on data periodically collected from the Clarivate Web of Science web site
(last update: Feb 2023)

(No citations were found up to date. Please come back later)


 

Publication Metrics

by Dimensions ©

Articles citing this article

List of the papers citing this article based on CrossRef Cited-by.

 
(1)
Alhasan A (2014)
A study of the biodiversity and the ecological, phytosociological and demographical analyses of Al-Qaseer Height in Northwest Syria (Idleb province). Renewable Natural Resources and Ecology Department - RNRED, Faculty of Agriculture, Aleppo University, Syria, pp. 382.
Gscholar
(2)
Aung TS (2021)
Satellite analysis of the environmental impacts of armed-conflict in Rakhine, Myanmar. Science of the Total Environment 781: 146758.
CrossRef | Gscholar
(3)
Blondel J (1986)
Biogéographie évolutive [Evolutionary biogeography]. Edition Masson, Paris, France, pp. 221. [in French]
Gscholar
(4)
Butler RA, Koh LP, Ghazoul J (2009)
REDD in the red: palm oil could undermine carbon payment schemes. Conservation Letters 2 (2): 67-73.
CrossRef | Gscholar
(5)
Carles J (1973)
Géographie botanique: étude de la vegetation [Botanical geography: study of vegetation]. Presses Universitaires de France, Paris, France, vol. 313, pp. 126. [in French]
Gscholar
(6)
Chalabi MN (1980)
Analyse phytosociologique, phytoecologique, dendrometrique et dendroclimatologique des forets de Quercus cerris L. subsp. pseudocerris et contribution a l’étude taxinomique du genre Quercus L. en Syrie [Phytosociological, phytoecological, dendrometric and dendroclimatological analysis of the forests of Quercus cerris L. subsp. pseudocerris and contribution to the taxonomic study of the genus Quercus L. in Syria]. Doctoral thesis in science, Faculty of Science of st. Jérame, University of Aix-Marseille, France, pp. 342+176.
Online | Gscholar
(7)
Chalabi MN (1982)
Sol et climax forestiers en Syrie littorale [Forest soil and climax in coastal Syria]. Ecologia Mediterranea 8 (1-2): 137-141. [in French]
Gscholar
(8)
Clerici N, Armenteras D, Kareiva P, Botero R, Ramírez-Delgado JP, Forero-Medina G, Ochoa J, Pedraza C, Schneider L, Lora C, Gómez C, Linares M, Hirashiki C, Biggs D (2020)
Deforestation in Colombian protected areas increased during post-conflict periods. Scientific Reports 10: 4971.
CrossRef | Gscholar
(9)
Darbyshire E (2021)
Deforestation in conflict areas in 2020. Conflict and Environment Observatory, web site.
Online | Gscholar
(10)
Duncanson LI, Niemann KO, Wulder MA (2010)
Integration of GLAS and Landsat TM data for aboveground biomass estimation. Canadian Journal of Remote Sensing 36 (2): 129-141.
Gscholar
(11)
EIA (2020)
Cashing-in on chaos: how traffickers, corrupt officials, and shipping lines in The Gambia have profited from Senegal’s conflict timber, Environmental Investigation Agency - EIA, Washington, DC, USA, pp. 36.
Online | Gscholar
(12)
Eklund L, Thompson D (2017)
Differences in resource management affects drought vulnerability across the borders between Iraq, Syria, and Turkey. Ecology and Society 22 (4): 9.
CrossRef | Gscholar
(13)
FAO (2007)
State of the World’s Forests 2007. Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations, Rome, Italy, pp. 157.
Online | Gscholar
(14)
FAO (2018)
The State of the World’s Forests 2018, Forest pathways to sustainable development. Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations, Rome, Italy, pp. 139.
Online | Gscholar
(15)
GDF (2010)
Capacity building in sustainable forest management planning and forest fire management in Syria. Ministry of Environment and Forestry, Syria, General Directorate of Forestry Forest Management and Planning Department, Turkey, and FAO, Province Directorate of Agriculture and Agrarian Reform, Idleb, Syria, pp. 666.
Gscholar
(16)
GFW (2019)
Global Forest Watch (GFW). World Resources Institute, Washington, DC, USA, web site.
Online | Gscholar
(17)
Gorsevski V, Geores M, Kasischke E (2013)
Human dimensions of land use and land cover change related to civil unrest in the Imatong Mountains of South Sudan. Applied Geography 38: 64-75.
CrossRef | Gscholar
(18)
Grima N, Singh SJ (2019)
How the end of armed conflicts influence forest cover and subsequently ecosystem services provision? An analysis of four case studies in biodiversity hotspots, Land Use Policy 81: 267-275.
CrossRef | Gscholar
(19)
Hansen MC, Potapov PV, Moore R, Hancher M, Turubanova SA, Tyukavina A, Townshend JRG (2013)
High-resolution global maps of 21st century forest cover. Science 342: 850-854.
CrossRef | Gscholar
(20)
Heiderscheidt D (2018)
The impact of World War one on the forests and soils of Europe. Ursidae 7 (3): 3.
Online | Gscholar
(21)
Hennink MM (2013)
Focus group discussions: understanding qualitative research. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK, pp. 230.
Gscholar
(22)
Kaniewski D, Van Campo E, Weiss H (2012)
Drought is a recurring challenge in the Middle East. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA 109 (10): 3862-3867.
CrossRef | Gscholar
(23)
Kelley CP, Mohtadi S, Cane MA, Seager R, Kushnir Y (2015)
Climate change and the recent Syrian drought. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA 112 (11): 3241-3246.
CrossRef | Gscholar
(24)
Lacoste A, Salanon R (1969)
Eléments de biogéographie [Elements of biogeography]. Fernand Nathan, Paris, France, pp. 189. [in French]
Gscholar
(25)
Lawrence MJ, Stemberger HLJ, Zolderdo AJ, Struthers DP, Cooke SJ (2015)
The effects of modern war and military activities on biodiversity and the environment. Environmental Reviews 23: 443-460.
CrossRef | Gscholar
(26)
Lee CS, Sedory SA, Singh S (2012)
Simulated minimum sample size requirements in various randomized response models communications in statistics. Simulation and Computation 42 (4): 771-789.
CrossRef | Gscholar
(27)
Lillesand TM, Kiefer RW, Chipman J (2015)
Remote sensing and image interpretation (7th edn). John Wiley and Sons, Inc., New York, USA, pp. 736.
Gscholar
(28)
Mahmoud AA (1999)
A study of the frequency of dust storms and the factors of there appearance in the Syrian Badia. Damascus University Journal of Agricultural Sciences, vol. 15, Damascus, Syria.
Gscholar
(29)
Maruyama G, Ryan CS (2014)
Research methods in social relations (8th edn). Wiley-Blackwell, London, UK, pp. 576.
Gscholar
(30)
McNeely JA (2003)
Biodiversity, war, and tropical forests, Journal of Sustainable Forestry 16 (4): 1-20.
CrossRef | Gscholar
(31)
Mohamed MA, Anders J, Schneider C (2020)
Monitoring of changes in land use/land cover in Syria from 2010 to 2018 using multitemporal landsat imagery and GIS. Land 9 (7): 226.
CrossRef | Gscholar
(32)
Mohamed MA (2021)
An assessment of forest cover change and its driving forces in the Syrian coastal region during a period of conflict, 2010 to 2020. Land 10 (2): 191.
CrossRef | Gscholar
(33)
Mongabay (2019)
Tree cover loss data for Syria. Hansen/UMD/Google/USGS/NASA, Global Forest Watch, Global Administrative Areas database - GADM, version 3.6, web site.
Online | Gscholar
(34)
Moreira F, Arianoutsou M, Corona P, De las Heras J (2011)
Post-fire management and restoration of Southern European forests. In: “Post-Fire Management and Restoration of Southern European Forests” (Moreira F, Arianoutsou M, Corona P, De las Heras J eds). Managing Forest Ecosystems, vol. 24, Springer Science and Business Media, Dordrecht, Netherlands, pp. 330.
Online | Gscholar
(35)
Murillo-Sandoval PJ, Gjerdseth E, Correa-Ayram C, Wrathall D, Van Den Hoek J, Dávalos LM, Kennedy R (2021)
No peace for the forest: rapid, widespread land changes in the Andes-Amazon region following the Colombian civil war. Global Environmental Change 69: 102283.
CrossRef | Gscholar
(36)
Nahal I (1962)
Contribution à l′étude de la végétation dans le Baer-Bassit et le Djebel Alaouite de Syrie [Contribution to the study of vegetation in Baer-Bassit and Jebel Alaouite in Syria]. PhD Thesis, Wageningen University, vol. 16 (2), pp. 477-641. [in French]
Online | Gscholar
(37)
Nahal I (1981)
The Mediterranean climate from a biological viewpoint. In: “Mediterranean-type shrublands” (Di Castri Goodall W, Specht RL eds). Ecosystem of the World, vol. 11, Elsevier, Amsterdam-Oxford-London, pp. 63-86.
Gscholar
(38)
Pereira P, Bašić F, Bogunovic I, Barcelo D (2022)
Russian-Ukrainian war impacts the total environment. Science of the Total Environment. 837 (1): 155865.
CrossRef | Gscholar
(39)
Passmore DG, Harrison S, Tunwell DC (2014)
Second World War conflict archaeology in the forests of north-west Europe Antiquity 88 (342): 1275-1290.
CrossRef | Gscholar
(40)
Radford EA, Catullo G, Montmollin BD (2011)
Important plant areas of the south and east Mediterranean region: priority sites for conservation. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland and Malaga, Spain, pp. 108.
Online | Gscholar
(41)
Raosoft (2004)
Raosoft sample size calculator. Raosoft Inc., USA, web site.
Online | Gscholar
(42)
Rawtani D, Gupta G, Khatri N, Rao PK, Hussain CM (2022)
Environmental damage due to war in Ukraine: a perspective. Science of The Total Environment 850: 157932.
CrossRef | Gscholar
(43)
Richards JA (2013)
Remote sensing digital image analysis: an introduction. Springer-Verlag, Berlin Heidelberg, Germany, pp. 494.
CrossRef | Gscholar
(44)
Selby J, Dahi OS, Fröhlich C, Hulme M (2017)
Climate change and the Syrian civil war revisited. Political Geography 60: 232-244.
CrossRef | Gscholar
(45)
Singh S (2003)
Advanced sampling theory with applications. Springer Science and Business Media, Cham, Switzerland, pp. 1218.
CrossRef | Gscholar
(46)
Skaf M, Mathbout S (2010)
Drought changes over last five decades in Syria. In: “Economics of Drought and Drought Preparedness in a Climate Change Context” (López-Francos A ed). CIHEAM / FAO / ICARDA / GDAR / CEIGRAM / MARM, Zaragoza, Spain, pp. 107-112.
Online | Gscholar
(47)
Tejaswi G (2007)
Manual on deforestation, degradation, and fragmentation using remote sensing and GIS. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome, Italy, pp. 49.
Online | Gscholar
(48)
The Fifth National Report (2016)
The fifth national report of the convention on biological diversity. Ministry of Local Administration and Environment, Damascus, Syria, pp. 90. [in Arabic]
Online | Gscholar
(49)
USGS (2019a)
Landsat 7 (L7) data users handbook, version 2.0. The United States Geological Survey Organization - USGS, Sioux Falls, South Dakota, USA, pp. 151.
Online | Gscholar
(50)
USGS (2019b)
Landsat 8 (L8) Data users handbook, version 5.0. The United States Geological Survey Organization - USGS, Sioux Falls, South Dakota, USA, pp. 106.
Online | Gscholar
(51)
You H, Fujiwara K, Liu Y (2014)
A preliminary vegetation-ecological study of Davidia involucrata forest. Natural Science 6 (12): 48918.
CrossRef | Gscholar
 

This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. More info