Detecting mangrove forest cover and carbon stock changes in the lower Mekong region using google earth engine | |
| Author | Bajaj, Megha |
| Call Number | AIT Thesis no.NR-20-05 |
| Subject(s) | Mangrove forests--Lower Mekong Region Cloud computing Carbon--Environmental aspects |
| Note | A thesis submitted in patial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Natural Resources Management, School of Environment, Resources and Development |
| Publisher | Asian Institute of Technology |
| Series Statement | Thesis ; no. NR-20-05 |
| Abstract | Mangrove forest provides various ecosystem services from provisioning services such as timber, food, and medicines to regulating services like carbon storage, supporting and cultural services. Until recently, mangrove forest cover has been on a declining trend due to anthropogenic and natural causes. However, little study exists to estimate the mangrove forest cover changes and its related carbon stocks in the Mekong countries. Although remote sensing methods have been used to detect the mangrove forest cover changes, intensive computing hours, lack of data and lack of a robust methodology have limited the studies to certain places. Increasing data availability and technologies make it possible to study these changes. Using Google Earth Engine (GEE) and satellite imagery, this study estimated the mangrove cover changes at a regional level covering Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia between 1989 and 2020. Mangrove forest covers in 1989, 1995, 2000, 2005, 2010, 2015 and 2020 were estimated with a high accuracy of 92.1% Classification and Regression Tree (CART) algorithm and the value of Kappa coefficient is 0.89. This study estimated the annual mangrove forest cover gains in Myanmar at 0.88%, Thailand 2.48%, Cambodia 1.3%, whereas the loss in Vietnam at 0.18% between 1989 and 2020. Specifically, major mangrove loss in the past 30 years occurred from 1995 to 2000, and 2015 to 2020 whereas the increase occurred from the years 2010 to 2015. Further, the study has estimated the carbon stock changes in the Lower Mekong region based on the area estimation of mangrove forest of 577 MtC, 250 MtC, 61.6MtC, and 269 MtC in 1989 and 736 MtC, 443MtC, 86.7MtC, 254 MtC in 2020. Major carbon gain were seen in Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia except in Vietnam. Since all four countries are the members of the Paris Climate Agreement, they are eligible for financial support under REDD+ mechanism if they can reduce the carbon loss or increase carbon stocks. This study provides useful baseline emission levels, against which carbon emission reductions or gains from the conservation of mangrove forests can be qualified. As GEE and satellite imagery are free, and the use of GEE provided higher accuracy, it can be concluded that GEE can be used for assessing the land cover changes and related carbon stocks. |
| Year | 2020 |
| Corresponding Series Added Entry | Asian Institute of Technology. Thesis ; no. NR-20-05 |
| Type | Thesis |
| School | School of Environment, Resources, and Development (SERD) |
| Department | Department of Development and Sustainability (DDS) |
| Academic Program/FoS | Natural Resources Management (NRM) |
| Chairperson(s) | Tsusaka, Takuji Wen; |
| Examination Committee(s) | Faysse, Nicolas;Kim, Sohee Minsun; |
| Scholarship Donor(s) | Her Majesty the Queen's Scholarships (Thailand); |
| Degree | Thesis (M. Sc.) - Asian Institute of Technology, 2020 |