Influence of Charcoal Production on Forest Degradation in Zambia: A Remote Sensing Perspective
A multitemporal dataset of medium-resolution imagery was used to document a tree cover loss process in three forest reserves of Zambia. This degradation process was attributed to charcoal production with a high degree of certainty, as evidence of kiln scars was found in more than 85% of sites sample...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-07-01
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| Series: | Remote Sensing |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/14/14/3352 |
| _version_ | 1797416176595238912 |
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| author | Fernando Sedano Abel Mizu-Siampale Laura Duncanson Mengyu Liang |
| author_facet | Fernando Sedano Abel Mizu-Siampale Laura Duncanson Mengyu Liang |
| author_sort | Fernando Sedano |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | A multitemporal dataset of medium-resolution imagery was used to document a tree cover loss process in three forest reserves of Zambia. This degradation process was attributed to charcoal production with a high degree of certainty, as evidence of kiln scars was found in more than 85% of sites sampled with high-resolution imagery across the study areas. The spatial and temporal pattern of mapped kiln scars exposed an intense and fast-paced degradation process, with kiln densities reaching 2.3 kiln/ha, removal of about 79.3% of the aboveground biomass and reductions of 74.2% of tree cover. The analysis revealed that this forest degradation process progressively moves further away from urban centers. In the year 2010, charcoal production took place around 190 km away from Lusaka, whereas extraction areas in 2020 were located around 350 km from this city. These results underline the negative impact of charcoal production on forest resources and question its characterization as localized and periurban. The post-disturbance LCLUC trajectories of degraded woodlands in forest reserves revealed a partial conversion to agricultural land over time, with less than 25% of these woodlands cultivated seven years after charcoal production. The disaggregation of the supply sources of charcoal for the city of Lusaka based on consumption figures and remote sensing deforestation records showed that the charcoal generated as a byproduct of agricultural expansion is not enough to meet the annual charcoal demand of Lusaka. On the contrary, the majority (65%) of this charcoal is the result of a forest degradation process that alters 197.4 km<sup>2</sup> of miombo woodlands annually. These findings highlight the role of charcoal production as a direct driver of forest degradation and suggest that forest degradation resulting from charcoal production has surpassed deforestation due to agricultural expansion as the main tree cover loss process in Zambia. These results provide data-driven evidence to improve the characterization of forest degradation resulting from charcoal production across the woodlands of southern Africa and aid the REDD + monitoring, reporting and verification systems in compliance with international reporting commitments. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T05:59:26Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-e30ce8c929c2448fa3687d86df92a0cb |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2072-4292 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T05:59:26Z |
| publishDate | 2022-07-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Remote Sensing |
| spelling | doaj.art-e30ce8c929c2448fa3687d86df92a0cb2023-12-03T12:10:45ZengMDPI AGRemote Sensing2072-42922022-07-011414335210.3390/rs14143352Influence of Charcoal Production on Forest Degradation in Zambia: A Remote Sensing PerspectiveFernando Sedano0Abel Mizu-Siampale1Laura Duncanson2Mengyu Liang3Directorate for Natural Resources, Joint Research Center European Commission, 21027 Ispra, ItalyForestry Department, Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, Lusaka 50694, ZambiaDepartment of Geographical Sciences, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USADepartment of Geographical Sciences, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USAA multitemporal dataset of medium-resolution imagery was used to document a tree cover loss process in three forest reserves of Zambia. This degradation process was attributed to charcoal production with a high degree of certainty, as evidence of kiln scars was found in more than 85% of sites sampled with high-resolution imagery across the study areas. The spatial and temporal pattern of mapped kiln scars exposed an intense and fast-paced degradation process, with kiln densities reaching 2.3 kiln/ha, removal of about 79.3% of the aboveground biomass and reductions of 74.2% of tree cover. The analysis revealed that this forest degradation process progressively moves further away from urban centers. In the year 2010, charcoal production took place around 190 km away from Lusaka, whereas extraction areas in 2020 were located around 350 km from this city. These results underline the negative impact of charcoal production on forest resources and question its characterization as localized and periurban. The post-disturbance LCLUC trajectories of degraded woodlands in forest reserves revealed a partial conversion to agricultural land over time, with less than 25% of these woodlands cultivated seven years after charcoal production. The disaggregation of the supply sources of charcoal for the city of Lusaka based on consumption figures and remote sensing deforestation records showed that the charcoal generated as a byproduct of agricultural expansion is not enough to meet the annual charcoal demand of Lusaka. On the contrary, the majority (65%) of this charcoal is the result of a forest degradation process that alters 197.4 km<sup>2</sup> of miombo woodlands annually. These findings highlight the role of charcoal production as a direct driver of forest degradation and suggest that forest degradation resulting from charcoal production has surpassed deforestation due to agricultural expansion as the main tree cover loss process in Zambia. These results provide data-driven evidence to improve the characterization of forest degradation resulting from charcoal production across the woodlands of southern Africa and aid the REDD + monitoring, reporting and verification systems in compliance with international reporting commitments.https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/14/14/3352charcoalforest degradationdeforestationremote sensingfuelwoodagricultural expansion |
| spellingShingle | Fernando Sedano Abel Mizu-Siampale Laura Duncanson Mengyu Liang Influence of Charcoal Production on Forest Degradation in Zambia: A Remote Sensing Perspective Remote Sensing charcoal forest degradation deforestation remote sensing fuelwood agricultural expansion |
| title | Influence of Charcoal Production on Forest Degradation in Zambia: A Remote Sensing Perspective |
| title_full | Influence of Charcoal Production on Forest Degradation in Zambia: A Remote Sensing Perspective |
| title_fullStr | Influence of Charcoal Production on Forest Degradation in Zambia: A Remote Sensing Perspective |
| title_full_unstemmed | Influence of Charcoal Production on Forest Degradation in Zambia: A Remote Sensing Perspective |
| title_short | Influence of Charcoal Production on Forest Degradation in Zambia: A Remote Sensing Perspective |
| title_sort | influence of charcoal production on forest degradation in zambia a remote sensing perspective |
| topic | charcoal forest degradation deforestation remote sensing fuelwood agricultural expansion |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/14/14/3352 |
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