Varied motivations for secondary forest reclearing among landholders make forest persistence challenging

Abstract Remote sensing studies show that ephemeral forest regeneration is widespread in the tropics, limiting the climate and biodiversity benefits from net increases in forest cover. Socioeconomic, biophysical and landscape variables can help explain the spatial distribution of reforestation reversals. However, landholder decisions to clear forest regrowth within individual parcels are not captured by analyses at the scales typically assessed, such as pixels, forest patches or municipalities. Thus, studies bridging ‘pixels to people’ that provide insights on the motivations of rural landholders to reclear land are invaluable for designing effective policies to promote sustained increases in forest cover. I explored rural landholder motivations for clearing forest regrowth in Costa Rica, a country often noted for having transitioned from net deforestation to net reforestation. Within three municipalities representing varied demographics, topography and agricultural economies, I first identified locations of probable reclearing using global forest change data products and then conducted semi‐structured interviews with individuals involved in land management decisions at those sites. Respondents described diverse scenarios resulting in clearing forest regrowth, including transfers of land ownership or management, traditional shifting cultivation for self‐provisioning, fluctuations in commodity prices and the development of hobby ranches. Land uses associated with reclearing were not necessarily economically profitable in the short‐ or long‐term, but many landholders perceived reclearing as an action that would maintain or increase land sale value. Protection of springs and streams directly used for water supply was the foremost reason offered by landholders for why they would allow regrowth to persist. Unsuitability of the land for growing crops or raising cattle and the lack of resources or labour required for other uses were also listed as reasons not to reclear, but these are fragile enablers of forest persistence. Policy implications : These results highlight that policies to promote forest regrowth persistence should respond to multifaceted landholder concerns, beyond offering financial incentives. Landholders are more likely to favour regrowth persistence in locations with perceived benefits for local water‐provisioning, whereas motivations related to long‐term sale value or subsistence food production may lead to reclearing even in locations lacking substantial economic activity. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.