Two Decades Progress on the Application of Remote Sensing for Monitoring Tropical and Sub-Tropical Natural Forests: A Review
Forest covers about a third of terrestrial land surface, with tropical and subtropical zones being a major part. Remote sensing applications constitute a significant approach to monitoring forests. Thus, this paper reviews the progress made by remote sensing data applications to tropical and sub-tro...
| Main Authors: | , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2021-06-01
|
| Series: | Forests |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4907/12/6/739 |
| _version_ | 1797531383126556672 |
|---|---|
| author | Enoch Gyamfi-Ampadu Michael Gebreslasie |
| author_facet | Enoch Gyamfi-Ampadu Michael Gebreslasie |
| author_sort | Enoch Gyamfi-Ampadu |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Forest covers about a third of terrestrial land surface, with tropical and subtropical zones being a major part. Remote sensing applications constitute a significant approach to monitoring forests. Thus, this paper reviews the progress made by remote sensing data applications to tropical and sub-tropical natural forest monitoring over the last two decades (2000–2020). The review focuses on the thematic areas of aboveground biomass and carbon estimations, tree species identification, tree species diversity, and forest cover and change mapping. A systematic search of articles was performed on Web of Science, Science Direct, and Google Scholar by applying a Boolean operator and using keywords related to the thematic areas. We identified 50 peer-reviewed articles that studied tropical and subtropical natural forests using remote sensing data. Asian and South American natural forests are the most highly researched natural forests, while African natural forests are the least studied. Medium spatial resolution imagery was extensively utilized for forest cover and change mapping as well as aboveground biomass and carbon estimation. In the latest studies, high spatial resolution imagery and machine learning algorithms, such as Random Forest and Support Vector Machine, were jointly utilized for tree species identification. In this review, we noted the promising potential of the emerging high spatial resolution satellite imagery for the monitoring of natural forests. We recommend more research to identify approaches to overcome the challenges of remote sensing applications to these thematic areas so that further and sustainable progress can be made to effectively monitor and manage sustainable forest benefits. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T10:43:00Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-7775656265c84737af41e9b5488d004e |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1999-4907 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T10:43:00Z |
| publishDate | 2021-06-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Forests |
| spelling | doaj.art-7775656265c84737af41e9b5488d004e2023-11-21T22:48:58ZengMDPI AGForests1999-49072021-06-0112673910.3390/f12060739Two Decades Progress on the Application of Remote Sensing for Monitoring Tropical and Sub-Tropical Natural Forests: A ReviewEnoch Gyamfi-Ampadu0Michael Gebreslasie1School of Agricultural, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Westville Campus, Private Bag X54001, Durban 4000, South AfricaSchool of Agricultural, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Westville Campus, Private Bag X54001, Durban 4000, South AfricaForest covers about a third of terrestrial land surface, with tropical and subtropical zones being a major part. Remote sensing applications constitute a significant approach to monitoring forests. Thus, this paper reviews the progress made by remote sensing data applications to tropical and sub-tropical natural forest monitoring over the last two decades (2000–2020). The review focuses on the thematic areas of aboveground biomass and carbon estimations, tree species identification, tree species diversity, and forest cover and change mapping. A systematic search of articles was performed on Web of Science, Science Direct, and Google Scholar by applying a Boolean operator and using keywords related to the thematic areas. We identified 50 peer-reviewed articles that studied tropical and subtropical natural forests using remote sensing data. Asian and South American natural forests are the most highly researched natural forests, while African natural forests are the least studied. Medium spatial resolution imagery was extensively utilized for forest cover and change mapping as well as aboveground biomass and carbon estimation. In the latest studies, high spatial resolution imagery and machine learning algorithms, such as Random Forest and Support Vector Machine, were jointly utilized for tree species identification. In this review, we noted the promising potential of the emerging high spatial resolution satellite imagery for the monitoring of natural forests. We recommend more research to identify approaches to overcome the challenges of remote sensing applications to these thematic areas so that further and sustainable progress can be made to effectively monitor and manage sustainable forest benefits.https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4907/12/6/739forestsremote sensingsatellitemonitoringapplication |
| spellingShingle | Enoch Gyamfi-Ampadu Michael Gebreslasie Two Decades Progress on the Application of Remote Sensing for Monitoring Tropical and Sub-Tropical Natural Forests: A Review Forests forests remote sensing satellite monitoring application |
| title | Two Decades Progress on the Application of Remote Sensing for Monitoring Tropical and Sub-Tropical Natural Forests: A Review |
| title_full | Two Decades Progress on the Application of Remote Sensing for Monitoring Tropical and Sub-Tropical Natural Forests: A Review |
| title_fullStr | Two Decades Progress on the Application of Remote Sensing for Monitoring Tropical and Sub-Tropical Natural Forests: A Review |
| title_full_unstemmed | Two Decades Progress on the Application of Remote Sensing for Monitoring Tropical and Sub-Tropical Natural Forests: A Review |
| title_short | Two Decades Progress on the Application of Remote Sensing for Monitoring Tropical and Sub-Tropical Natural Forests: A Review |
| title_sort | two decades progress on the application of remote sensing for monitoring tropical and sub tropical natural forests a review |
| topic | forests remote sensing satellite monitoring application |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4907/12/6/739 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT enochgyamfiampadu twodecadesprogressontheapplicationofremotesensingformonitoringtropicalandsubtropicalnaturalforestsareview AT michaelgebreslasie twodecadesprogressontheapplicationofremotesensingformonitoringtropicalandsubtropicalnaturalforestsareview |