Editing Monoculture (section)

==Forestry==
In [[forestry]], monoculture refers to plantations of one species of tree.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20090217085101/http://www.ag-network-chile.net/Monoculture%20Forestry.htm Monoculture Forestry]</ref> In many areas of the world, forest monocultures are planted as an efficient way to produce and harvest timber.<ref name=":1" /> Because timber harvest from monoculture forests is often an export-driven industry, these plantations can be a form of [[extractivism]].<ref name=":2">{{Cite journal |last1=Carte |first1=Lindsey |last2=Hofflinger |first2=Álvaro |last3=Polk |first3=Molly H. |date=2021-03-10 |title=Expanding Exotic Forest Plantations and Declining Rural Populations in La Araucanía, Chile |journal=Land |language=en |volume=10 |issue=3 |pages=283 |doi=10.3390/land10030283 |issn=2073-445X |doi-access=free}}</ref> Following [[deforestation]], monoculture [[afforestation]] has become increasingly popular due to the necessity for [[ecosystem service]]s, such as mitigating the effects of climate change via carbon sequestration and gas regulation.<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal |last1=Liu |first1=Corsa Lok Ching |last2=Kuchma |first2=Oleksandra |last3=Krutovsky |first3=Konstantin V. |date=2018-07-01 |title=Mixed-species versus monocultures in plantation forestry: Development, benefits, ecosystem services and perspectives for the future |url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S235198941830088X |journal=Global Ecology and Conservation |volume=15 |pages=e00419 |doi=10.1016/j.gecco.2018.e00419 |bibcode=2018GEcoC..1500419L |issn=2351-9894}}</ref><ref name=":2" /><ref name=":3">{{Cite journal |last1=Pinnschmidt |first1=Arne |last2=Yousefpour |first2=Rasoul |last3=Nölte |first3=Anja |last4=Hanewinkel |first4=Marc |date=2023-09-01 |title=Tropical mixed-species plantations can outperform monocultures in terms of carbon sequestration and economic return |url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0921800923001489 |journal=Ecological Economics |volume=211 |pages=107885 |doi=10.1016/j.ecolecon.2023.107885 |bibcode=2023EcoEc.21107885P |issn=0921-8009}}</ref> Eucalyptus, pines, and acacias are examples of popular monocultures being utilized in the tropics and the Global South following rainforest deforestation.

=== Environmental impacts ===
While forest monocultures are efficient ways of producing timber, studies show single-species forests reduce [[biodiversity]], causing declines in forest productivity and native tree, animal, and insect populations over time.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":3" /><ref name=":9">{{Cite journal |last1=Knowlton |first1=Jessie L. |last2=Mata Zayas |first2=Ena E. |last3=Ripley |first3=Andres J. |last4=Valenzuela-Cordova |first4=Bertha |last5=Collado-Torres |first5=Ricardo |date=2019-11-01 |title=Mammal Diversity in Oil Palm Plantations and Forest Fragments in a Highly Modified Landscape in Southern Mexico |journal=Frontiers in Forests and Global Change |language=English |volume=2 |page=67 |doi=10.3389/ffgc.2019.00067 |doi-access=free |bibcode=2019FrFGC...2...67K |issn=2624-893X}}</ref> The loss of biodiversity in forest monocultures is associated with lower forest resistance to pathogens, attack by insects,<ref name="Richardson2000">{{Cite book |title=Ecology and biogeography of ''Pinus'' |year=2000 |isbn=978-0-521-78910-3 |editor-last=Richardson |editor-first=David M. |location=[[Cambridge]], U.K. |page=371}}</ref> and adverse environmental conditions, such as an acceleration of [[pedolysis]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Forestry |url=https://www.epa.gov/oecaagct/forestry.html |website=[[USEPA]]}}</ref>

=== Social impacts ===
Monoculture plantations have been shown to have substantial social impacts on local communities. Forest monocultures have motivated migrations across Latin America due to localized water cycle interference, declining soil health, and changes in resource availability.<ref name=":1" /> While industrial agriculture can increase employment opportunities, studies show forest plantations often have limited employment opportunities, with most workers coming from outside of the community.<ref name=":2" /> Profits made from monoculture plantations historically follow a "boom and bust" trend, temporarily benefitting the community in increased income, revenue, and quality of life until resources are exhausted, with profits rarely distributed back into the deforested land.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Sacchi |first1=Laura Valeria |last2=Gasparri |first2=Nestor Ignacio |date=2016-09-02 |title=Impacts of the deforestation driven by agribusiness on urban population and economic activity in the Dry Chaco of Argentina |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/1747423X.2015.1098739 |journal=Journal of Land Use Science |language=en |volume=11 |issue=5 |pages=523–537 |doi=10.1080/1747423X.2015.1098739 |bibcode=2016JLUS...11..523S |hdl=11336/55353 |issn=1747-423X|hdl-access=free }}</ref>

Environmental changes caused by monoculture forests are particularly felt among indigenous communities given their reliance and connection to the land while additionally becoming subject to land privatization.<ref name=":2" /> These lands are frequently acquired through [[land grabbing]] and dispossession by large companies in global trade, ultimately reducing rural land, cutting off access to locals, and changing agricultural and community dynamics.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Infante |first=Felipe |date=2023-09-02 |title=Social capital and landscape: effects of monoculture forest plantations on small producers in the Mediterranean dryland of south-central Chile |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10371656.2023.2270849 |journal=Rural Society |language=en |volume=32 |issue=3 |pages=151–168 |doi=10.1080/10371656.2023.2270849 |issn=1037-1656}}</ref>