Abstract
Monitoring large forest areas is presently feasible with satellite remote sensing as opposed to time-consuming and expensive ground surveys as alternative. This study evaluated, for the first time, the potential of using freely available medium resolution (30 m) Landsat time series data for deforestation monitoring in tropical rainforests of Kalimantan, Indonesia, at sub-annual time scales. A simple, generic, data-driven algorithm for deforestation detection based on a consecutive anomalies criterion was proposed. An accuracy assessment in the spatial and the temporal domain was carried out using high-confidence reference sample pixels interpreted with the aid of multi-temporal very high spatial resolution image series. Results showed a promising spatial accuracy, when three consecutive anomalies were required to confirm a deforestation event. Recommendations in tuning the algorithm for different operational use cases were provided within the context of satisfying REDD+ requirements, depending on whether spatial accuracy or temporal accuracy need to be optimized.
Highlights
Forests are central to the breakthrough 2015 Paris climate agreement
This study evaluated, for the first time, the capability of a methodology based on Landsat time series (LTS) data and a dense time series (DTS) algorithm for deforestation monitoring in the tropical rainforests of insular SE Asia
This study evaluated, for the first time, the potential of freely available dense Landsat Time Series (LTS) data for deforestation detection in tropical rainforests of Kalimantan, Indonesia, at sub-annual time scales
Summary
Forests are central to the breakthrough 2015 Paris climate agreement. Item 2 under Article 5 reads “Parties are encouraged to take action to implement and support, including through results-based payments, the existing framework as set out in related guidance and decisions already agreed under the Convention for: policy approaches and positive incentives for activities relating to reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation, and the role of conservation, sustainable management of forests and enhancement of forest carbon stocks in developing countries; and alternative policy approaches, such as joint mitigation and adaptation approaches for the integral and sustainable management of forests, while reaffirming the importance of incentivizing, as appropriate, non-carbon benefits associated with such approaches.” [1]. While a large-scale and long-term energy transition away from fossil fuels is expected to take still a few decades, it is estimated that tropical forest conservation and restoration could reduce up to half of total carbon emissions [5]. The Indonesian rainforests have been under significant pressure due to the expansion of industrial oil-palm and pulpwood plantations, as well as increased vulnerability to fire [7,8,9,10], threatening one of the world’s most biodiverse and carbon-rich forests [11,12]. The rainforests of Kalimantan mega-island have been affected by widespread deforestation activities [7,8]. The island’s rainforests were severely impacted by logging activities in the past, while large-scale conversion to coal mining and oil palm plantation areas occurred more recently [7,10]. Kalimantan suffered from the government mega-rice project where vast tracts of swamp forests have been converted to rice paddy fields
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