Tourism-induced deforestation outside Changbai Mountain Biosphere Reserve, northeast China

Introduction Old-growth forests on Changbai Mountain are economically and ecologically important but have been fragmented outside Changbai Mountain Biosphere Reserve. The trend of forest landscape degradation on Changbai Mountain threatens forest sustainability and biodiversity conservation in the region. Previous studies have focused mainly on the structure and function of protected forests but have ignored managed forests outside the reserve border. Objectives In this paper, deforestation processes are studied for two forestry enterprises, namely Baihe and Lushuihe Forestry Bureaus, with different socioeconomic structure due to their differences in proximity to Changbai Mountain Biosphere Reserve, which attracts hundreds of thousands of tourists each year. Baihe's income comes from both forestry and tourism whereas Lushuihe's revenue is primarily from forest products. Land-use change was mapped using a time series of satellite images acquired in 1977, 1991, 1999 and 2007 for both forestry bureaus. Results It was found that Baihe experienced more severe deforestation, and more gains in cultivated and developed land than Lushuihe. The booming tourism in Baihe did not help lessen pressures on forest resources but led to increased fragmentation of forest landscapes on Changbai Mountain. While the tourism industry needs to be better regulated, it is important to create large-area, multi-use forest buffers and corridors around Changbai Mountain Biosphere Reserve.