Mapping oil palm plantations and their implications on forest and great ape habitat loss in Central Africa

IF 3.9 2区环境科学与生态学 Q1 ECOLOGY

Remote Sensing in Ecology and Conservation Pub Date : 2024-12-16 DOI:10.1002/rse2.428

Mohammed S. Ozigis, Serge Wich, Adrià Descals, Zoltan Szantoi, Erik Meijaard

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Oil palm (Elaeis guineensis) cultivation in Central Africa (CA) has become important because of the increased global demand for vegetable oils. The region is highly suitable for the cultivation of oil palm and this increases pressure on forest biodiversity in the region. Accurate maps are therefore needed to understand trends in oil palm expansion for landscape‐level planning, conservation management of endangered species, such as great apes, biodiversity appraisal and supply of ecosystem services. In this study, we demonstrate the utility of a U‐Net Deep Learning Model and product fusion for mapping the extent of oil palm plantations for six countries within CA, including Cameroon, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Equatorial Guinea, Gabon and Republic of Congo. Sentinel‐1 and Sentinel‐2 data for the year 2021 were classified using a U‐Net model. Overall classification accuracy for the final oil palm layer was 96.4 ± 1.1%. Producer Accuracy (PA) and User Accuracy (UA) for the industrial and smallholder oil palm classes were 91.6 ± 1.7% and 95.0 ± 1.3%, 67.7 ± 2.8% and 70.0 ± 2.8%. Post classification assessment of the transition from tropical moist forest (TMF) cover to oil palm within the six CA countries suggests that over 1000 Square Kilometer (km2) of forest within great ape ranges had so far been converted to oil palm between 2000 and 2021. Results from this study indicate a more extensive cover of smallholder oil palm than previously reported for the region. Our results also indicate that expansion of other agricultural activities may be an important driver of deforestation as nearly 170 000 km2 of forest loss was recorded within the IUCN ranges of the African great apes between 2000 and 2021. Output from this study represents the first oil palm map for the CA, with specific emphasis on the impact of its expansion on great ape ranges. This presents a dependable baseline through which future actions can be formulated in addressing conservation needs for the African Great Apes within the region.

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由于全球对植物油的需求增加，中部非洲（CA）的油棕榈树（Elaeis guineensis）种植变得非常重要。该地区非常适合种植油棕榈，这增加了对该地区森林生物多样性的压力。因此，需要精确的地图来了解油棕扩张的趋势，以便进行景观规划、濒危物种（如类人猿）的保护管理、生物多样性评估和生态系统服务供应。在本研究中，我们展示了 U-Net 深度学习模型和产品融合在绘制喀麦隆、中非共和国、刚果民主共和国（DRC）、赤道几内亚、加蓬和刚果共和国等六个非洲大陆国家的油棕榈种植园范围图中的实用性。使用 U-Net 模型对 2021 年的哨兵-1 和哨兵-2 数据进行了分类。最终油棕层的总体分类准确率为 96.4 ± 1.1%。工业和小农油棕层的生产者精度（PA）和用户精度（UA）分别为 91.6 ± 1.7% 和 95.0 ± 1.3%，67.7 ± 2.8% 和 70.0 ± 2.8%。对六个 CA 国家内热带湿润森林（TMF）覆盖向油棕过渡的分类后评估表明，在 2000 年至 2021 年期间，巨猿分布区内迄今已有超过 1000 平方公里（km2）的森林被转化为油棕。这项研究的结果表明，该地区小农油棕榈的覆盖面比以前报告的更广。我们的研究结果还表明，其他农业活动的扩张可能是森林砍伐的一个重要驱动因素，因为在 2000 年至 2021 年期间，世界自然保护联盟（IUCN）记录的非洲巨猿分布区内的森林面积减少了近 17 万平方公里。这项研究的成果代表了首个非洲大陆油棕榈树分布图，特别强调了油棕榈树的扩张对巨猿分布区的影响。这提供了一个可靠的基线，可据此制定未来行动，以满足该地区非洲巨猿的保护需求。

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来源期刊

Remote Sensing in Ecology and Conservation Earth and Planetary Sciences-Computers in Earth Sciences

CiteScore

9.80

自引率

5.50%

发文量

审稿时长

18 weeks

期刊介绍： emote Sensing in Ecology and Conservation provides a forum for rapid, peer-reviewed publication of novel, multidisciplinary research at the interface between remote sensing science and ecology and conservation. The journal prioritizes findings that advance the scientific basis of ecology and conservation, promoting the development of remote-sensing based methods relevant to the management of land use and biological systems at all levels, from populations and species to ecosystems and biomes. The journal defines remote sensing in its broadest sense, including data acquisition by hand-held and fixed ground-based sensors, such as camera traps and acoustic recorders, and sensors on airplanes and satellites. The intended journal’s audience includes ecologists, conservation scientists, policy makers, managers of terrestrial and aquatic systems, remote sensing scientists, and students. Remote Sensing in Ecology and Conservation is a fully open access journal from Wiley and the Zoological Society of London. Remote sensing has enormous potential as to provide information on the state of, and pressures on, biological diversity and ecosystem services, at multiple spatial and temporal scales. This new publication provides a forum for multidisciplinary research in remote sensing science, ecological research and conservation science.