Conservation of forest biomass and forest–dependent wildlife population: Uncertainty quantification of the model parameters
Date
2023-07-06
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Heliyon
Abstract
The ecosystem is confronted with numerous challenges as a consequence of the escalating human
population and its corresponding activities. Among these challenges lies the degradation of forest
biomass, which directly contributes to a reduction in forested areas and poses a significant threat
to the survival of wildlife species through the intensification of intraspecific competition. In this
paper, a non–linear mathematical model to study the conservation of forest and wildlife species
that are reliant on forest ecosystem within the framework of human population dynamics and
its related activities is developed and analysed. The study assessed the impacts of economic
measures in the form of incentives on reducing population pressure on forest resources as
well as the potential benefits of technological efforts to accelerate the rate of reforestation.
Qualitative and quantitative analyses reveals that economic and technological factors have the
potential to contribute to resource conservation efforts. However, these efforts can only be used
to a limited extent, and contrary to that, the system will be destabilised. Sensitivity analysis
identified the parameters pertaining to human population, human activities, economic measures,
and technological efforts as the most influential factors in the model.