Abstract
Up until now montane cloud forest (MCF) in Taiwan has only been mapped for selected areas of vegetation plots. This paper presents the first comprehensive map of MCF distribution for the entire island. For its creation, a Random Forest model was trained with vegetation plots from the National Vegetation Database of Taiwan that were classified as “MCF” or “non-MCF”. This model predicted the distribution of MCF from a raster data set of parameters derived from a digital elevation model (DEM), Landsat channels and texture measures derived from them as well as ground fog frequency data derived from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer. While the DEM parameters and Landsat data predicted much of the cloud forest’s location, local deviations in the altitudinal distribution of MCF linked to the monsoonal influence as well as the Massenerhebung effect (causing MCF in atypically low altitudes) were only captured once fog frequency data was included. Therefore, our study suggests that ground fog data are most useful for accurately mapping MCF.
Highlights
Montane cloud forest (MCF) is characterized by significant precipitation input from the canopy interception of frequently or persistently occurring foggy conditions at ground level [1]
Most endemic species can be found in MCF areas due to unique hydrological processes and how they interact with the biological communities [2, 3]
An MCF map based on digital elevation model (DEM)-derived parameters and Landsat data alone correctly locates much of the Taiwanese cloud forest
Summary
Montane cloud forest (MCF) is characterized by significant precipitation input from the canopy interception of frequently or persistently occurring foggy conditions at ground (tree) level [1]. Most endemic species can be found in MCF areas due to unique hydrological processes and how they interact with the biological communities [2, 3]. MCF has been recognized as one of the world’s most endangered ecosystems [4, 5]. Climate observations from the past decade show that MCF areas suffer from a decreasing trend in ground fog occurrence that is likely related to global warming [6,7,8,9,10,11]. Worldwide efforts to reliably map the actual distribution of MCF are urgently required for the purpose of natural resources management
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