A NEW APPROACH USING ECOSYSTEM SERVICE MAPPING FOR WATERSHED ECOLOGY DEGRADATION STUDY DUE TO DEFORESTATION

摘要

Owing to the crucial role of soil as the growing medium, natural water filter, and also habitat for billions of living organisms, drastic increase in soil loss due continuous forest removal could be the key parameter leading toward food security crisis in 21th century. Amongst all, changes in annual soil loss are the most direct indicator showing the ecology degradation process. Thus, a study was conducted using soil loss as the medium to investigate the ecology degradation due to modification of large watershed landscape features especially forest removal in Pahang watershed from 2000 to 2010. Results showed that although dominated forest is reserved forest, significant decrease of total forest cover through the years do occurred. Reducing forest area at the same time causing land degradation where total annual soil loss estimated showing drastic increase approximately 8mil ton/yr. within 10 years and predicted to be higher in coming years. Through the implementation of ecosystem services mapping, changes in the ecology health and ecology degradation occurrence can be traced and observed In short, sustainable forest land management is essential in minimizing watershed ecology degradation.