Abstract
Oil palm is the main cash crop grown in Malaysia, and palm oil plays an important role in the world oil market. A number of studies have used multisource remote sensing data to conduct research on oil palms in Malaysia, but there are a lack of long-term oil palm mapping studies, especially when the percentage of oil palm tree cover was higher than other plantations in Malaysia during the period of 2000–2012. To overcome this limitation, we used the Google Earth Engine platform to perform oil palm classification based on Landsat reflectance data. The spatial distribution of oil palms in Malaysia in five periods from 2000 to 2018 was obtained. Then, the planting center of gravity transfer method was applied to analyze the expansion of oil palms in Malaysia from 2000 to 2018 using Landsat data, elevation data, oil palm planting area, crude palm oil price, and other statistical data. Meanwhile, the driving factors affecting the change in oil palm planting area were also analyzed. The results showed that: (1) During 2000–2018, the oil palm planted area in Malaysia increased by 5.06 Mha (million ha), with a growth rate of 83.50%. Specifically, the increased area and growth rate for West Malaysia were 2.05 Mha and 62.05% and for East Malaysia were 3.01 Mha and 109.45%, respectively. (2) Three expansion patterns of oil palms were observed: (i) from a fragmented pattern to a connected area, (ii) expansion along a river, and (iii) from a plain to a gently sloped area. (3) The maximum shift of the center of gravity of the oil palms in West Malaysia was 10 km, while in East Malaysia, it reached 100 km. The East Malaysia oil palm planting potential was greater than that of West Malaysia and showed a trend of shifting from coastal areas to inland areas. (4) Malaysia’s oil palms are mainly planted in areas below 100 m above sea level; although a trend of expansion into high altitudes is visible, oil palm plantings extend to areas below 300 m above sea level. (5) Topography, crude palm oil prices, and deforestation are closely related to changes in oil palm planted area.
Highlights
Palm oil, pressed from the fruit of oil palms, is one of the most important components of the world oil market and accounts for more than 30% of global fats and vegetable oil production [1].In 2004, palm oil became the most important oil product in the world in terms of production, trade, and consumption
The results show that the expansion rate of oil palm planting area in the states of West Malaysia remained stable
This study used Google Earth Engine (GEE) to extract the oil palm planting distribution in Malaysia during five periods from 2000 to 2018 and analyzed the typical factors affecting the distribution of oil palm planting
Summary
Palm oil, pressed from the fruit of oil palms, is one of the most important components of the world oil market and accounts for more than 30% of global fats and vegetable oil production [1]. In 2004, palm oil became the most important oil product in the world in terms of production, trade, and consumption. According to the statistics of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, the oil palm planting area in Southeast Asia accounted for approximately 71% of the total oil palm planting area in the world in 2017 [2]. In the early 19th century, Malaysia established the first oil palm plantation in Southeast Asia [3]. In 1966, Indonesia and Malaysia began to dominate the global palm oil trade [4]. In the 21st century, to promote the sustainable development of the oil palm industry, the round table on sustainable palm oil (RSPO) was established
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