The Upland Ecosystem

THE UPLAND ECOSYSTEM

by Antonio C. Antonio

January 6, 2015

The following article is a researched material to give us a better understanding and appreciation of the nature and importance of upland ecosystems.

The uplands are very important landscapes because they affect other ecosystems in various ways.  Uplands are composed of a great diversity of land uses and habitats, including patches, corridors, and matrices of open grasslands, perennial crop plantations of coconut, rubber and fruit trees, and human settlement structures and built up areas (Alambra, 2000).

Webster (2005) defines the uplands as the areas of land above flood level or elevated above the lowlands along rivers and between hills.  They therefore constitute the mountain and foothill portions of the landscape (Alambra, 2000).  The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) defines uplands as those areas with an elevation of over 100 meters and a slope of more than 18% (Roque, 1990).  These include forests and marginal lands around them.  In Southeast Asia, upland landscapes, particularly the sloping areas, are the most extensive ecosystems, consisting of 60 to 90% of the land area (Garrity, 1991).  Unsustainable agricultural practices ad intensification of agricultural operations into the uplands and protected areas are increasing in the region.  These activities are alarming as they can lead to declining productivity by degrading the land resource base.

About 80% of the Philippines’ land resources are considered uplands.  Of these, 33% are agricultural areas; the rest are forest lands.

This researched material makes it pretty obvious that upland ecosystems are worthy studies and vital concerns of everyone because, with reference to our total land area, a larger portion is the upland ecosystem.

Just my little thoughts…

Reference:  “Upland Ecosystem Management” by Teodoro R. Villanueva

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