Land Cover Loss Research Articles

ANALISIS KESESUAIAN RTRW PADA BIDANG PERTAMBANGAN BERDASARKAN RTRWP KALIMANTAN SELATAN DAN RTRWK DI KABUPATEN TAPIN

As a province rich in natural resources, especially mining products, South Kalimantan (South Kalimantan) is also not free from problems in the environmental sector. The massive mining activity in the province of South Kalimantan has caused environmental damage and loss of land cover in South Kalimantan. This happened because 41 percent of the Meratus forest and other forests in South Kalimantan were already burdened with mining permits. Efforts to balance the use of natural resources and the environment are through spatial planning based on the achievement of environmental function sustainability. The purpose of this study is to analyze the suitability of the RTRW, analyze the factors that influence the suitability of the RTRW, and analyze how big the positive and negative impacts of the suitability of the RTRW are. This research was conducted by making a land use map that aims to see how the situation is in the field and compare it with a planning map using a Geographic Information System. The results of the comparison of the planning map and the conditions in the field show the suitability of land use. The results obtained using Tapin's RTRWK in IUP MINERBA are 15.22%, which means that the implementation of space utilization is not appropriate. The influencing factors are the development of settlements which are increasing every year very rapidly due to the increasing population. The positive impact is that the companies have helped to repair village roads that are used by the community to reduce the number of unemployed, increase regional income levels, and improve the economic welfare of the surrounding community. The negative impact is environmental damage and social conflict in the community, increasing the vulnerability to traffic accidents due to increased road users.

Pengaruh Jarak Saluran Drainase Terhadap Suhu Dan Kelembaban Tanah Di Desa Teluk Empening Kecamatan Terentang Kabupaten Kubu Raya

Changes in land use in Teluk Empening have an impact on recovering infiltration capacity, loss of land cover, forest fires and drainage of peatlands, which can affect the climate. This research was conducted to determine the effect of drainage channels on the microclimate in rubber fields. The Mann Whitney test was carried out with the results that it can be concluded that there is no significant difference between the distance of the drainage canal and the high groundwater table in peatlands designated for rubber fields. Measurement of soil temperature and moisture showed that the temperature of the rubber plantation is close to drainage then the soil moisture is dry and if the measurement is far from drainage it indicates wet soil moisture. The ground water level obtained ranges from 29 – 64.5 cm which is influenced by the tides of the drainage channel in the morning and evening. At a distance of 20 m from the drainage canal, the groundwater level is higher than the measurements made at a distance of 100 m. This shows that the existence of drainage has a direct impact on changes in suhu and temperature of the soil

Local drying climate magnified by urbanization in West Africa

AbstractUrbanization often increases surface runoff and land surface temperature due to loss of land cover. However, the effect of urbanization on local atmospheric humidity remains understudied despite the disastrous effects it can have on human health and water‐food‐energy‐ecosystem nexus. Here, we examined changes in atmospheric humidity in the West Africa (WA) region between 1985 and 2018. There was an increase in vapour pressure and decrease in atmospheric humidity in urban areas suggesting intensified urban drying island (UDI) effects. Rapid urban expansion has aggravated UDI effect in recent years, particularly during the hot, wet summer but mild during the cold, and dry winter. In future climate, the impacts of the UDI effect in the region may be enormous considering the increasing rate of urbanization in the region. To achieve a sustainable future, city planners and policymakers should consider the UDI effect by promoting developments that increase green land cover. Overall, this study provides a detailed understanding of the urban ecosystem's environmental change, which is helpful for local climate change adaptation and mitigation.

Effects of Agriculture on the Environment

Purpose: The aim of the study is to examine the effects of agriculture on environment.
 Methodology: This study adopted a desktop methodology. This study used secondary data from which include review of existing literature from already published studies and reports that was easily accessed through online journals and libraries.
 Findings: The study found that human involvement in agriculture has a negative impact on the physical environment leading to issues like soil erosion, loss of land cover, water pollution and air pollution. These activities include building residential structures, building public infrastructure, and engaging in agriculture.
 Unique Contribution to Theory, Practice and Policy: The conservation model and diffusion model served as the study's pillars. This study suggests that project managers for agricultural development make sure that environmental concerns are addressed as a project gains momentum through implementation and that the Environment Impact Assessment process takes into account environmental issues raised when a project or plan is first discussed.

Environmental and Socio-Economic Impact of Mining on Operational Communities in Tonkolili District Northern Sierra Leone

Sierra Leone is a resource-rich country with mining being one of the main economic activity in the country. Mining operations has yielded mixed results across the country with the provision of employment opportunities, and revenues generation on one hand, and severe social, economic, and environmental impacts on the other hand. The present study investigates the environmental and socio-economic impacts of mining on local communities in Northern Sierra Leone. The overriding objectives were to assess local perception of the environment and socio-economic impacts of mining in their communities. To achieve this, 50 respondents were selected using a purposive sampling technique. The result revealed that 80% of the study participants stated that mining has created employment opportunities in contrast to 20% who stated otherwise. With regard to the impact of mining on livelihood, 70% of the respondents mentioned that mining operations have positively impacted their livelihood but 30% had an opposing view with some of them mentioning that mining has exacerbated the rate of loss of agricultural land and loss of other livelihood strategies. Mining has caused a wide array of environmental problems in the operational communities including land degradation, loss of land cover, water pollution, and siltation or sedimentation of water bodies. Thus, the government of and the other relevant authorities in Sierra Leone should enforce mining laws and policies to ensure that (1) operational communities benefit from mining proceeds, and (2) mining companies comply with their corporate social responsibilities and reduce the environmental, and social cost associated with their operations. Furthermore, environmental awareness campaigns should be strengthened in the affected communities targeting mining companies and artisanal miners alike on the need for environmental protection and sustainability.

Assessing the Impacts of Land Use Land Cover Change In Mutama Bweengwa Catchment 0f Southern Province, Zambia

Climate change and land use land cover directly impact the alteration of hydrological cycles, making water more unpredictable and increasing the frequency and intensity of floods and droughts. However, proper planning of adaptation and mitigation options is hampered by inadequate up-to- date information on land use/Land cover in many catchments and sub-catchments of Zambia and other developing countries. This study assessed the land use change in the Mutama Bweengwa River Catchment of Southern Zambia. The objective of the study was to investigate land use land cover changes (LULCC) in the Mutama Bweengwa Catchment in the Southern Province of Zambia from 2000 to 2021. The data used for the study were satellite images of the area downloaded from the United States Geological Survey (USGS). Specifically, the Landsat images were from path 172/row 71 and path 172/row 72 for the period 2000, 2007, 2014 and 2021. The methods used included data identification and acquisition, image pre-processing, image processing, accuracy assessment, validation and presentation. Image pre- processing was used to correct distortions during image acquisition. The techniques used were: image enhancement for extracting useful information, which involved carrying out band combination and brightness and contrast adjustment when conducting the mosaicking process using ERDAS imagine 2014. Supervised classification based on the maximum likelihood algorithm in ERDAS Imagine was employed to generate the land use land cover classification and later exported in ArcMap 10.7.1 for map creation. The image classification was based on six different LULC classes, which were: water body, build-up/settlement, forest, cultivated land- rainfed/bare land, cultivated land-irrigated, and grasslands. Preliminary results of this study have shown a decrease in the classes of water bodies and forest areas by 0.34% and 55.5%, respectively, over the 21-year period. The accuracy of the resultant land use/land cover maps was evaluated with the kappa statistic and error matrix. The preliminary results have also shown an increase in the land use land cover class categories of cultivated land-irrigated, grassland, cultivated land-rain fed/bare land and built up/settlements by 0.13%, 46.7%, 14.6% and 8.4%, respectively. In conclusion, the supervised classification of the Landsat images indicated pronounced land cover changes over the 21-year period. Although this provides preliminary conclusions, it indicates that immediate actions should be taken to protect the sub-catchment from further loss of land cover by strengthening the regulatory framework. Further work on the project is expected to bring out some of the factors that have contributed to this change.

Importance of Local Studies of Vascular Plant Communities in Conservation and Management: A Case Study in Susticacán, Zacatecas, Mexico

Some parts of the globe have a deficient vegetation coverage survey causing localized plant community qualities generalized from larger scales, hindering their particular configuration. This process is emphasized in megadiverse countries such as Mexico by transformation and loss of land cover. This can be reflected in the municipality of Susticacán, Zacatecas, settled in a mountainous, scarcely explored area, the Sierra de los Cardos. This study aimed to characterize its plant communities, produce a fine-scale map and compare them to other descriptions. Oak forests, pine forests, grasslands, nopaleras, chaparral, and rock outcrop vegetation were detected through satellite image analysis, sampled, statistically evaluated, and their descriptions supported by the literature. The first two presented a high diversity and endemism, despite a small surface. The chaparral occupied the largest area, and its structure and composition suggest its secondary vegetation in expansion. The presence of exotic–invasive species and human activities threaten the native flora. This study is the first to provide detailed information on the plant communities in Susticacán and is a model for the study of local-scale regions. It highlights the importance of describing and mapping them as a contribution to delineate conservation and management efforts.

Urban land development for biodiversity: suggested development and management guidelines for eco-estates using case studies from coastal KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

Anthropogenic land transformation, especially agriculture and urban development, are the leading causes of natural land cover loss and ultimate decline in environmental functionality and connectivity in KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa. However, recent developments in the form of housing estates with conservation and environmental management intentions (termed eco-estates) have increased. These eco-estates generally improve species and functional diversity in urban regions of coastal KwaZulu-Natal and improve connectivity for biodiversity between urban green spaces and existing natural landscapes. To provide the first comprehensive development and management guidelines for eco-estates, we reviewed and assessed research into the effects of eco-estate development on environmental functionality and connectivity using case studies from coastal KwaZulu-Natal. We suggest suitable regions for eco-estate establishment and provide detailed guidelines for eco-estate development, environmental rehabilitation and conservation, and eco-estate flora and fauna management. These guidelines will hopefully facilitate biodiversity conservation and improve current and future eco-estate management and, ultimately, the ecosystem health of coastal KwaZulu-Natal. They are applicable for eco-estate development and management in similar tropical and sub-tropical mixed land-use matrices.

Non-monotonic vegetation activity trends in the Lower Delta of the Paraná River: Masking evidence of wetland degradation?

To understand the consequences of unsustainable management practices and global change, analyzing the patterns of ecosystem functioning and land degradation is as important as quantifying the spatio-temporal patterns of land cover loss. This is particularly important for wetlands where loss and degradation are globally intensifying. In the Lower Delta of the Paraná River, Argentina, land use change has occurred in the context of cattle raising intensification, which involves water management infrastructure. However, when those changes specifically occurred and whether they permanently influenced the functional component of wetland ecosystems remain unanswered. We used a long-term (2001–2015) fused satellite-derived Normalized Difference Vegetation Index dataset to identify major shifts in vegetation activity trends using the Breaks for Additive Seasons and Trend algorithm. We assembled a set of hydro-climatic, environmental, and anthropogenic variables to study their association with the spatio-temporal patterns of vegetation activity trends. Our results show that browning-to-greening trends dominated throughout the study area. Concomitantly, the magnitude of breakpoints was mainly negative, which points towards rapid land degradation and biomass submersion or removal events. Breakpoints primarily occurred between 2007 and 2009 and were partially coincident with an extraordinary flood event and intentional fire outbreaks. Paranacito river flooding, precipitation, the synchronicity with temperature patterns, water management infrastructure and the occurrence of local land cover conversions were determining factors in the differentiation and characteristics of vegetation activity trends, shifts and breakpoints. Our results provide evidence that even though regional hydro-climatic patterns remain as main drivers of wetland vegetation dynamics, human influence and its negative effects increase in the context of adverse hydro-climatic scenarios. In this matter, we observed that the decouplement from the flood pulse promoted a post-disturbance recolonization of herbaceous vegetation. Consistently, the widespread browning-to-greening trend reversal does not necessarily relate to wetland vegetation recovery but instead, might have masked its extensive conversion to grasslands.

Land change-based forest management scenario in the typology of island clusters in Maluku Province, Indonesia

Abstract. Papilaya PPE, Jaya INS, Rusolono T, Puspaningsih N. 2021. Land change-based forest management scenario in the typology of island clusters in Maluku Province, Indonesia. Biodiversitas 22: 3756-3763. This study aims to describe the development of forest area utilization scenarios with biophysical, social and spatial trend approaches. In this study, spatial trends were identified using forest and land cover maps from 2000 to 2018, and the methods used include change detection, spatial trend and overlay. The study was designed using forest cover scenarios along with spatial trends and social and biophysical approaches. The results of the 5 typologies of island clusters analysis showed that forest degradation has occurred in an area of ± 77102 ha between 2000 and 2018 with an average of 4283.4 ha/year. Furthermore, Total Land Cover Loss at the location of the five island cluster typology for 18 years was found to be ± 422805 Ha with an average of ± 23489.06 ha/year. The land capability was categorized into 3 classes. Therefore, the five spatial trends were known to form in the typology of five island clusters with different directions and magnitudes.

The influence of biophysical and socio-economic factors on the effectiveness of private land conservation areas in preventing natural land cover loss across South Africa

There is increasing interest in the potential of private land conservation areas (PLCAs) as a complementary biodiversity conservation strategy to state-owned protected areas. However, there is limited understanding of how the diverse social-ecological contexts of PLCAs influence their effectiveness in conserving biodiversity. Here, we investigated how the effectiveness of South African PLCAs in conserving biodiversity varied across social-ecological contexts, using natural land cover as a proxy. Social-ecological contexts were represented by biophysical and legal factors (distance to towns and roads, elevation, slope, terrain ruggedness, rainfall, PLCA size, distance to state-owned national parks, and presence of legal protection) and, for a subset of commercially-operated PLCAs, management factors (adopted business model, and profitability). Biophysical and legal contextual factors had low explanatory power in the best model for the nationwide analysis (n = 5121 PLCAs). For a subset of PLCAs (n = 72) we found that effectiveness depended on the strategy they adopted to generate an income, as opposed to the amount of income itself. PLCAs that attracted high volumes of visitors to small properties to view charismatic “Big 5” wildlife were less effective in conserving natural land cover than larger, more exclusive “Big 5” PLCAs and those focused on hunting. Overall, site-specific management factors were better at explaining the effectiveness of PLCAs than biophysical factors. Our findings indicate that conservation practitioners and policy makers need to recognise the diverse goals, motivations and management models of PLCAs when considering how to support them in conserving biodiversity. Future studies could explore whether these trends hold for other proxies of biodiversity conservation, beyond land cover change.

The multi-criteria analysis for sustainable urban growth by using Fuzzy Method: case study Trikomo, Cyprus

<abstract> <p>The Urban growth in Trikomo (Yeni İskele) region in Cyprus has dramatically increased recently. The unorganized and uncontrolled development process has started to consume land resources; loss of landcover, valuable agricultural lands, and change of wetlands of stream beds or ponds occurred. In addition, partial and fragmented housing development projects bring only housing and second housing to the coastal region. As a result, environmental and economic problems occurred in sustainable urban growth (SUG) in the Trikomo (Yeni İskele) region. Due to the lack of planning instruments in Trikomo, urban expansion policies and alternatives have been ignored. In this regard, this research tries to investigate spatial SUG and expansion alternatives by using Multi-Criteria Evaluation (MCE) and fuzzy logic within geographical information systems (GIS). Compact growth, environmental protection, and equal accessibility to local services were used for multi-criteria analysis to construct spatial SUG problems. Then they were converted to spatial layers within the (GIS) environment. Results show that; 6 percent of the study area is in a shallow suitability zone. Forty-four percent of it has very low and low suitability for SUG. Also, 41 percent of the area is suitable. Only 12 percent of the area has high and very high suitability values. These findings showed that approximately 118 square kilometers (56 percent) of the city is within the same level appropriate for urban development.</p> </abstract>

Effectiveness of private land conservation areas in maintaining natural land cover and biodiversity intactness

Private land conservation areas (PLCAs) are increasingly looked to for meeting the deficit left by state-owned protected areas in reaching global conservation targets. However, despite the increasing extent and recognition of PLCAs as a complementary conservation strategy, little research has been done to quantify their effectiveness; a critical consideration if they are to be counted towards international biodiversity conservation targets. The long history of PLCAs in South Africa provides an interesting case study to address this knowledge gap. Here, we quantified the effectiveness of South African PLCAs by comparing losses in natural land cover and biodiversity intactness within PLCAs with different levels of protection to that of unprotected control points. Points within PLCAs were matched with unprotected control points to test the prediction that if PLCAs offer effective protection, losses in natural land cover and biodiversity intactness would be significantly lower within their boundaries in comparison to unprotected controls exposed to similar conditions. Consequences of natural land cover loss on biodiversity intactness were thus assessed, thus advancing standard approaches for quantifying effectiveness. Between 1990 and 2013, PLCAs lost significantly less natural land cover (3%) and biodiversity intactness (2%) than matched unprotected areas (6% and 4%, respectively). Of the natural land cover lost within PLCAs, most was converted to cultivated land. Farms can support more species than other land uses (e.g. mines), a likely explanation for why losses in biodiversity intactness were less than losses in natural land cover. Contrary to the predicted pattern, effectiveness did not increase with level of protection; informal PLCAs with no legal protection had comparable natural land cover and biodiversity intactness retention to strictly protected PLCAs, with most losses recorded among PLCAs with moderate protection. This study provides the first national-scale evidence that PLCAs can be an effective mechanism for conserving natural land cover and biodiversity intactness, which is highly relevant given current discussions around their likely long-term biodiversity conservation capacity.

O turismo como um instrumento de proteção florestal na Amazônia: uma análise multivariada

Propósito do tema: A crescente demanda internacional por bens primários tem gerado oportunidades excepcionais para a mineração e para o agronegócio na Amazônia. Isto está promovendo, em muitos casos, a perda progressiva da cobertura do solo. Muitas são as estratégias propostas para a contenção do desmatamento regional, ente elas, o turismo, apontado como uma atividade econômica alternativa e mais sustentável para a região. Objetivo: A finalidade deste estudo foi estimar a importância relativa do turismo para o ritmo do desmatamento no bioma Amazônia no período 2015/2016. Metodologia e abordagem: Foram utilizadas séries de corte para as 91 microrregiões geográficas do bioma, nas quais foi aplicada a técnica de regressão linear múltipla associada à decomposição das covariâncias pela Medida de Pratt. Resultados: Os resultados sugerem que o desmatamento é uma função da pecuária bovina, da agricultura, da extração de madeira, dos assentamentos rurais, das áreas protegidas e, entre outros, do turismo. Identificou-se uma correlação inversa entre o turismo e as taxas anuais de desmatamento do bioma. Originalidade: Os resultados deste estudo permitem propor o desenvolvimento responsável do turismo como uma estratégia para a proteção da cobertura florestal da Amazônia.

Exploring land use/land cover change and drivers in Andean mountains in Colombia: A case in rural Quindío

Given that Land Use and Cover Changes (LUCC) and deforestation are activities with the highest anthropic intervention on ecosystems and increase the loss of biodiversity, this paper explores the LUCC and the main drivers of change in Andean mountains, taking a rural area located between the municipalities of Montenegro and Quimbaya (Quindío, Colombia) (1954–2009), as a case of study. Aerial photographs and geographic information systems (GIS) are used to create maps of LUCC, as well as a systemized search of information on LUCC and main drivers. The results showed that pastureland presented the largest area during all periods, occupying >60% of studied area, while the secondary and mixed forests had a contraction from 23% in 1954 to 9% in 2009. The change rates evidenced a greater affectation for the secondary forest that lost 86% of its initial area through deforestation and transformation processes, while crops gained 410% with respect to their initial area. As for the transition matrix, about 27.8% of the study area presented transformation from land use and cover into other land covers, 14.7% presented deforestation and loss of land cover in their initial area, and 57.5% remained unchanged. It is concluded that socio-economic factors such as livestock farming, agriculture and market prices have been an important driver in the modification of the landscape.

Fragmentation metric proxies provide insights into historical biodiversity loss in critically endangered grassland

Landscape transformation causes habitat loss and fragmentation, which poses the greatest threat to biodiversity globally. In a fragmented landscape the persistence of species is affected by the amount of habitat and the spatial attributes of individual habitat patches. As baseline biodiversity information is often unavailable to assess the effects of transformation on biodiversity, quantifying changes in patch metrics over time could be a useful indicator of biodiversity changes in fragmented landscapes. We investigate historical land cover changes due to increased anthropogenic land uses in a highly fragmented, critically endangered grassland, the Woodbush Granite Grassland, South Africa. We test how the spatial attributes of habitat patches were affected by habitat loss and fragmentation over two extended time-periods, and use these results to infer likely threats to biodiversity over these periods. We used repeat aerial photography to analyse the drivers and extent of land cover loss and the changes in five fragmentation metrics over a 60year period. The overall grassland extent decreased significantly over the 60-year period, mainly due to increased timber plantations, with an estimated 6.1% of the original extent of the grassland remaining in 2008. Increases in patch isolation due to habitat loss were most pronounced between 1948 and 1977, while between 1977 and 2008 patch sizes decreased and edge effects increased. This extensive habitat loss and increase in fragmentation are likely to have had considerable impacts on the biodiversity of the region, which is supported by anecdotal evidence of species extinctions and local extinctions. Because so little of the vegetation type remains, it is imperative that the last vestiges of this vegetation type are protected from transformation and further habitat degradation. In summary, we show how, faced with a lack of biodiversity data, fragmentation patch metrics can be used to quantify threats to biodiversity.

Only One Tree from Each Seed? Environmental Effectiveness and Poverty Alleviation in Mexico’s Payments for Ecosystem Services Program

Environmental conditional cash transfers are popular but their impacts are not well understood. We evaluate land cover and wealth impacts of a federal program that pays landowners for protecting forest. Panel data for program beneficiaries and rejected applicants allow us to control for fixed differences and time trends affecting both groups. We find the program reduces the expected land cover loss by 40–51 percent and generates small but positive poverty alleviation. Environmental gains are higher where poverty is low while household gains are higher where deforestation risk is low, illustrating the difficulty of meeting multiple policy goals with one tool. (JEL I32, I38, O13, O15, Q23, Q28, Q56)

Strong and nonlinear effects of fragmentation on ecosystem service provision at multiple scales

Human actions, such as converting natural land cover to agricultural or urban land, result in the loss and fragmentation of natural habitat, with important consequences for the provision of ecosystem services. Such habitat loss is especially important for services that are supplied by fragments of natural land cover and that depend on flows of organisms, matter, or people across the landscape to produce benefits, such as pollination, pest regulation, recreation and cultural services. However, our quantitative knowledge about precisely how different patterns of landscape fragmentation might affect the provision of these types of services is limited. We used a simple, spatially explicit model to evaluate the potential impact of natural land cover loss and fragmentation on the provision of hypothetical ecosystem services. Based on current literature, we assumed that fragments of natural land cover provide ecosystem services to the area surrounding them in a distance-dependent manner such that ecosystem service flow depended on proximity to fragments. We modeled seven different patterns of natural land cover loss across landscapes that varied in the overall level of landscape fragmentation. Our model predicts that natural land cover loss will have strong and unimodal effects on ecosystem service provision, with clear thresholds indicating rapid loss of service provision beyond critical levels of natural land cover loss. It also predicts the presence of a tradeoff between maximizing ecosystem service provision and conserving natural land cover, and a mismatch between ecosystem service provision at landscape versus finer spatial scales. Importantly, the pattern of landscape fragmentation mitigated or intensified these tradeoffs and mismatches. Our model suggests that managing patterns of natural land cover loss and fragmentation could help influence the provision of multiple ecosystem services and manage tradeoffs and synergies between services across different human-dominated landscapes.

Human activity and vegetation change around Mkuze Game Reserve, South Africa

In the last century, the establishment of protected areas has become an important part of managing South Africa's wilderness and wildlife. The notion of untouched protected areas has become contested in a time when developing nations are seeking to improve quality of life for their citizens. With the promulgation of modern environmental legislation, resource sharing with local rural communities has become an important policy guideline for protected area management authorities. Census archives and remotely sensed data were used in order to investigate anthropogenic land-cover change around Mkuze Game Reserve between 1979 and 2008. Results showed that natural land cover decreased consistently as populations increased, despite variations in rainfall and population movement. Natural land cover inside Mkuze Game Reserve remained relatively stable. Bush was found to be increasingly degraded around more densely populated areas, while grassland was degrading in districts more concentrated with agricultural activity. A potential problem for future natural resource-dependent livelihoods in the area was the replacement of wetlands with sugarcane agriculture. If current trends continue, natural land-cover loss will continue. Evidence suggests that local socio-environmental systems are changing signifying important implications for the management of human activity and biodiversity around the borders of protected areas in South Africa.

Incorporating uncertainty of future sea-level rise estimates into vulnerability assessment: A case study in Kahului, Maui

Accurate sea-level rise (SLR) vulnerability assessments are essential in developing effective management strategies for coastal systems at risk. In this study, we evaluate the effect of combining vertical uncertainties in Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) elevation data, datum transformation and future SLR estimates on estimating potential land area and land cover loss, and whether including uncertainty in future SLR estimates has implications for adaptation decisions in Kahului, Maui. Monte Carlo simulation is used to propagate probability distributions through our inundation model, and the output probability surfaces are generalized as areas of high and low probability of inundation. Our results show that considering uncertainty in just LiDAR and transformation overestimates vulnerable land area by about 3 % for the high probability threshold, resulting in conservative adaptation decisions, and underestimates vulnerable land area by about 14 % for the low probability threshold, resulting in less reliable adaptation decisions for Kahului. Not considering uncertainty in future SLR estimates in addition to LiDAR and transformation has variable effect on SLR adaptation decisions depending on the land cover category and how the high and low probability thresholds are defined. Monte Carlo simulation is a valuable approach to SLR vulnerability assessments because errors are not required to follow a Gaussian distribution.