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Mapping tropical deforestation in Central Africa.
Quanfa Zhang1, Didier Devers, Arthur Desch
1Global Environmental Change Program, Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia, USA. Quanfa.Zhang@CCRS.NRCan.gc.ca
Environmental Monitoring and Assessment
|March 2, 2005
Summary
Central African deforestation averaged 0.42% annually between the 1980s-1990s. This humid tropical forest loss was linked to forest cover extent, accessibility, and rural population density, highlighting regional forest degradation patterns.
Area of Science:
- Environmental Science
- Remote Sensing
- Forestry
Background:
- NASA's Landsat Pathfinder project aimed to map humid tropical deforestation.
- Central African mapping efforts were limited by cloud-free satellite data, particularly from the 1970s Landsat MSS imagery.
Purpose of the Study:
- To report the deforestation rate and spatial variability in Central Africa.
- To analyze factors influencing deforestation and forest degradation.
Main Methods:
- Utilized 18 pairs of co-registered Landsat TM imagery from the 1980s to 1990s.
- Classified 416,000 km2 of forest cover.
- Performed regression analyses to identify deforestation drivers.
Main Results:
- Annual deforestation rate was 0.42% (1012 km2/year), with significant scene-to-scene variation (0.03% to 2.72%).
- Average annual dense forest degradation was 0.12% (257 km2/year).
- Deforestation was extensive in areas with greater forest cover and correlated with forest accessibility, rural population density, and prior degradation.
Conclusions:
- Deforestation in Central Africa is spatially variable and influenced by forest cover extent and accessibility.
- Rural population density is a significant factor in dense forest clearance.
- Past forest degradation predicts future degradation, indicating a persistent impact.