Estimation of land availability for forest restoration and smart agriculture using google earth engine : a case study of Siem Reap Provice, Cambodia | |
| Author | Manjunatha Venkatappa |
| Call Number | AIT Diss. no.NR-19-04 |
| Subject(s) | Google Earth Carbon sequestration--Combodia--Siem Reap Forest restoration--Combodia--Siem Reap |
| Note | A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Natural Resources Management, School of Environment, Resources and Development |
| Publisher | Asian Institute of Technology |
| Series Statement | Dissertation ; no. NR-19-04 |
| Abstract | Forest degradation in the tropical regions, especially in Cambodia released a huge amount of carbon emissions, depleted lands for agricultural production, replacement of native vegetation with industrial plantations and reduced ecosystem services provided by the healthy natural forest. Although reducing forest cover change and improving the local livelihood of the natural forest ecosystem dependent community has been the hot topic in the international negotiations, how to achieve quantifiable amount reducing deforestation and how much is available for agricultural cultivation remain the challenging problems to be addressed. Further, climate change is also another concern for sustainable development. This thesis is designed to analyze forest cover changes, related carbon emissions, reductions or removals and identifying the land for forest restoration and smart agriculture using the Google Earth Engine (GEE), so that better management planning for forest restoration and smart agricultural practices can be produced to achieve maximum benefits with regard to carbon sequestration in the study region. This study use Siem Reap province, Cambodia as a case study. Siem Reap province represents a globally well-known Angkor Wat, the UNESCO world heritage site and its important in terms of richest forest biodiversity. Siem Reap province natural resources are sessional for local people who depend on the forest products for their daily living. However, recent anthropogenic activities threaten the natural forest in Siem Reap province. In Chapter 4 This study identified among the six main forest categories, the Evergreen (EG) forest declined from 19.5 to 10 %, Semi-evergreen (SEG) forest declined 16.2 to 9.8 %, Deciduous (DD) forest lost from 23.2 to 19.7 %, Mix Wood and Shrub (WS) area declined from 16.1 to 7.2% and the Flooded forest (FF) sharply declined from 13.5 to 8% over the 30 years (1988-2018) by using Phenology-based threshold classification (PBTC) methods and Google Earth Engine (GEE). Quantifying the total carbon stocks, carbon stocks change and benefit in a policy, such as reduce the emissions from forest degradation and forest deforestation, required a robust tool, which has not been available for Siem Reap province. In Chapter 5 this study examines the PBTC methods to evaluate the forest cover change and estimated the change of carbon stocks in exiting major forest types in Siem Reap province. Carbon stocks (tC02/year) was found in EG, SEG, DDF, Mix WS, BB and FF forests in 1988 were 33,939,418.7, 26,409,550, 36,625,604.5,8,052,158,266,974 and FF about 19,724,554 tC02, respectively; in 2018, the carbon stokes of forest categories were declined to 17,434,088.5 in EG forest, SEG 16,068,858, DDF 30,287,198, Mix WS 3,575,037, FF 13,076,285 and the BB was increased slightly (376,732 tC02/year). < Forest degradation levels in Siem Reap province, mainly varying intensity of agricultural expiation, logging and economic land concessions (ELC). In Chapter 6 this study developed a forest restoration and smart agriculture (FRASA) a new methodology framework to prudently allocate the restoration opportunities to forest degradation lands and systematically prioritized the suitable lands for forest restoration by combine the major drivers of forest degradation and using crop drought severity index. This study identified four suitable lands for forest restoration; critically degraded forest (CDF) area about 86447.52 ha, highly degraded forest (HDF) 36738.38h, Moderately degraded forest (MDF) 77749.14ha and slight degraded forest (SDF) area about 66689.71ha, and suitable lands for agriculture, about 48285.58ha in Siem Reap province. This study found that GEE and FRASA approach is economically cost-effective and the FRASA approach suitable to conducted at large scale, as large amounts of spatial data available at free of cost in GEE. Forest reforestation and smart agricultural practices can significantly contribute to carbon sequestration and emission reductions. In Chapter 7 presents very first spatial scale novel framework and identified four plausible restoration lands representing a combination of forest restoration types, assisted natural regeneration (ANR) , enrichment planting (EP), preventing logging reentries (PLR) and reduce impact logging (RIL). This study, developed a forest degradation spatial map using GEE in Siem Reap province, characterized on the basis of carbon stocks and differed through board forest restoration strategies. Eventually, this study estimated total carbon sequestration from forest restoration lands 229.39 (MtC02/year) and emission reductions from smart agriculture area 267624.74 (Mg C02e/year) over a project period from 2019-2030. This study method provides an economically cost-effective approach for pnontizmg restoration opportunities, carbon sequestration, and emission reductions spatially with the aid of GEE. To our knowledge, my study is every first methodology that demonstrates the robust decision for estimating the land availability for forest restoration and smart agriculture using GEE and careful framework. This study provides evidence of forest restoration opportunities that is transferable to achieve maximum carbons tocks in the forest ecosystem at any scale. Due to its transparent methodology, the PBTC method can be useful for monitoring, reporting, and verifying of the REDD+ activities critically required for performance-based payment scheme under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), REDD+ scheme. |
| Year | 2019 |
| Corresponding Series Added Entry | Asian Institute of Technology. Dissertation ; no. NR-19-04 |
| Type | Dissertation |
| School | School of Environment, Resources, and Development (SERD) |
| Department | Department of Development and Sustainability (DDS) |
| Academic Program/FoS | Natural Resources Management (NRM) |
| Chairperson(s) | Sasaki, Nophea; |
| Examination Committee(s) | Shrestha, Rajendra Prasad;Tripathi, Nitin Kumar; |
| Scholarship Donor(s) | Swedish Research Council Grant Forest Restoration and Water Availability for Smart Agriculture : a case study of Cambodia;Asian Institute of Technology Fellowship; |
| Degree | Thesis (Ph.D.) - Asian Institute of Technology, 2019 |