Conclusion and Recommendations

3. Land Use, Climate And Biodiversity Models

Deforestation causes a number of effects on biological and physical environment, such as habitat loss, habitat fragmentation, species extinction, deterioration of soil properties, drought, flooding, especially if the resulting cleared land is not managed sustainably. Increased fragmentation often results in the subdivision of the natural environment into isolated patches of different sizes and shapes (Turner and Corlett, 1996) and diminish species distribution and gene flow (Raabova et al., 2007), as well as favors species adapted to edge habitats, but prevents species living in core areas (Yahner, 1988). Part II of this book provides general information on the consequence of deforestation and climate change on biodiversity, and shows how Geo-informatics tools to monitor and assess biodiversity and land use change.