Agricultural-land use policies play a crucial role in shaping agroecological landscapes globally. The evidence suggests that some of these policies tend to have undesired feedback/trade-offs, particularly about coastal resource use and conservation planning. The present study explores how agricultural policies influence land use/land cover (LULC) transition patterns in Ghana's Rain Forest Agroecological Zone (RFAZ). Landsat satellite images for 1991, 2008, and 2022 were acquired for the LULC mapping. Change detection and Intensity analysis were used to assess the pattern of land change. Also, documentary research processes were used to review and assess agricultural land use policies. The results showed that before rubber-related policy implementation, oil palm plantation was the dominant LULC type in the 1990 s. In the 1990 s and early 2000 s, there was a conscious government drive to leverage oil palm plantation development. This led to the growth in the size of oil palm plantations within the RFAZ landscape, considering the zone’s conducive natural environment. However, between 2008 and 2022, corresponding to the period of the increased promotion of rubber cultivation through the Outgrower project in the RFAZ, rubber plantations became the predominant land use, with an area of 11,763.81 ha in 2008 and 21,611.61 ha in 2022. The results from the LULC mapping and the intensity analysis showed that the Rubber Outgrowers Plantation Project (ROPP) and Norpalm Smallholder Scheme Project (NSSP) have degraded the natural cover through rubber and oil palm cultivation. The authors conclude that landscape dynamics, particularly in rainforest agroecological zones, represent a nexus challenge transforming policy adaptation's discursive context. The study recommends that agriculture and landscape policy/projects must have/take intermediary steps to address the feedback/trade-offs from well-intended initiatives. The study further suggests that management plans and strategies in the RFAZ should be consistent with the strict protection of forest reserves and water bodies.

中文翻译：

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农业土地利用政策和景观动态：来自雨林农业生态区的证据

农业土地利用政策在塑造全球农业生态景观方面发挥着至关重要的作用。证据表明，其中一些政策往往会产生不良的反馈/权衡，特别是在沿海资源利用和保护规划方面。本研究探讨了农业政策如何影响加纳雨林农业生态区（RFAZ）的土地利用/土地覆盖（LULC）转变模式。获取 1991 年、2008 年和 2022 年的陆地卫星图像用于 LULC 测绘。变化检测和强度分析用于评估土地变化模式。此外，还利用文献研究过程来审查和评估农业土地使用政策。结果表明，在橡胶相关政策实施之前，油棕种植园是 1990 年代占主导地位的土地利用和土地利用类型。在 20 世纪 90 年代和 2000 年代初，政府有意识地推动油棕种植园的发展。考虑到该地区有利的自然环境，这导致 RFAZ 景观内油棕种植园规模的增长。然而，在2008年至2022年之间，即通过RFAZ的Outgrower项目加大力度推广橡胶种植的时期，橡胶种植园成为主要的土地利用方式，2008年面积为11,763.81公顷，2022年为21,611.61公顷。土地利用和土地利用图测绘和强度分析表明，橡胶种植者种植园项目 (ROPP) 和 Norpalm 小农计划项目 (NSSP) 通过橡胶和油棕种植导致了自然植被退化。作者得出的结论是，景观动态，特别是雨林农业生态区的景观动态，代表着改变政策适应的话语背景的挑战。该研究建议农业和景观政策/项目必须采取中间步骤来解决善意举措的反馈/权衡。研究进一步表明，RFAZ 的管理计划和策略应与森林保护区和水体的严格保护相一致。