There have been several major research efforts on the rate and causes of Indonesia's deforestation in recent years and much associated literature, but there is still no consensus in the research community on these issues. This paper reviews the areas of uncertainty and confusion, and proposes questions that must be answered to get a better grasp of the subject.

The effect of two practices adopted by settlers (abandoned pasture and fallow land) on soil fertility of two deforested Amazonian regions (Belém-Pará and Ariquemes-Rondônia) was studied. Whenever possible, cultivated pasture, over similar time periods in both cases and in natural forest, were employed as soil fertility reference standards. Nutrient dynamics was studied using the electroultra-filtration technique. In general, deforestation, as practiced in these areas, has a degrading effect on soil fertility. The effect of burning normally leads to a pH rise caused by ash.

Landscape planning and hydrological systems in the pleistocene sandy areas of the Netherlands

The main theme of this doctoral thesis is the relationship between landscape architecture and hydrology. Knowledge of hydrological processes - with the stress on the resulting spatial and temporal relationships - is applied for purposes of landscape planning. To this, the situation of the landscapes in the Dutch pleistocene sandy areas is central.

Prologue (Chapter 1)