IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jlands/v11y2022i7p1061-d861281.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Assessment of Forest Cover Changes in Vavuniya District, Sri Lanka: Implications for the Establishment of Subnational Forest Reference Emission Level

Author

Listed:
  • Sharaniya Vijitharan

    (Natural Resources Management, School of Environment, Resources, and Management, Asian Institute of Technology, Pathum Thani 12120, Thailand
    Department of Bio-Science, Faculty of Applied Science, University of Vavuniya, Vavuniya 43000, Sri Lanka)

  • Nophea Sasaki

    (Natural Resources Management, School of Environment, Resources, and Management, Asian Institute of Technology, Pathum Thani 12120, Thailand)

  • Manjunatha Venkatappa

    (Natural Resources Management, School of Environment, Resources, and Management, Asian Institute of Technology, Pathum Thani 12120, Thailand
    LEET Intelligence Co., Ltd., Pathum Thani 12120, Thailand)

  • Nitin Kumar Tripathi

    (School of Engineering and Technology, Asian Institute of Technology, Pathum Thani 12120, Thailand)

  • Issei Abe

    (Faculty of Career Development, Kyoto Koka Women’s University, 38 Kadono-cho, Nishikyogoku, Ukyo-ku, Kyoto 615-0882, Japan)

  • Takuji W. Tsusaka

    (Natural Resources Management, School of Environment, Resources, and Management, Asian Institute of Technology, Pathum Thani 12120, Thailand)

Abstract

Assessment of forest cover changes is required to establish the forest reference emission level (FREL) at any scale. Due to civil conflict, such assessments have not yet been undertaken in Sri Lanka, especially in the conflict zone. Here, we assessed the forest cover changes in Vavuniya District, Sri Lanka, from 2001 to 2020, using a combination of the Google Earth Engine (GEE) platform and the phenology-based threshold classification (PBTC) method. Landsat 5 TM data for 2001, 2006, and 2010, and Landsat 8 OLI data for 2016 and 2020 were used to classify forest cover by categories, and their related changes could be assessed by four categories, namely dry monsoon forest, open forest, other lands, and water bodies. With an overall average accuracy of 87% and an average kappa coefficient of 0.83, forest cover was estimated at 57.6% of the total land area in 2020. There was an increase of 0.46% per annum for the entire district between 2001 and 2010, but a drastic loss of 0.60% per year was observed between 2010 and 2020. Specifically, the dry monsoon forest lost 0.30%, but open forest gained 3.62% annually over the same period. Loss and gain of forest cover resulted in carbon emissions and removals of 165,306.6 MgCO 2 and 24,064.5 MgCO 2 annually, respectively, over the same period. Our findings could be used to set the baseline trend of deforestation, based on which, a subnational forest reference emission level can be established as an emission benchmark, against which comparisons of carbon emissions following the implementation of REDD+ activities can be made, and result-based payment can be claimed under the Paris Agreement.

Suggested Citation

  • Sharaniya Vijitharan & Nophea Sasaki & Manjunatha Venkatappa & Nitin Kumar Tripathi & Issei Abe & Takuji W. Tsusaka, 2022. "Assessment of Forest Cover Changes in Vavuniya District, Sri Lanka: Implications for the Establishment of Subnational Forest Reference Emission Level," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(7), pages 1-25, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jlands:v:11:y:2022:i:7:p:1061-:d:861281
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/11/7/1061/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/11/7/1061/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Alistair W. R. Seddon & Marc Macias-Fauria & Peter R. Long & David Benz & Kathy J. Willis, 2016. "Sensitivity of global terrestrial ecosystems to climate variability," Nature, Nature, vol. 531(7593), pages 229-232, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Feng Xu & Guangqing Chi & Yongheng Rao & Jianjun Zhang, 2022. "Editorial for Special Issue “Land Use Change and Anthropogenic Disturbances: Relationships, Interactions, and Management”," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(9), pages 1-6, September.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Meng Luo & Shengwei Zhang & Lei Huang & Zhiqiang Liu & Lin Yang & Ruishen Li & Xi Lin, 2022. "Temporal and Spatial Changes of Ecological Environment Quality Based on RSEI: A Case Study in Ulan Mulun River Basin, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(20), pages 1-19, October.
    2. Shulin Chen & Zhenghao Zhu & Xiaotong Liu & Li Yang, 2022. "Variation in Vegetation and Its Driving Force in the Pearl River Delta Region of China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(16), pages 1-15, August.
    3. Huang, Ze & Liu, Yu & Qiu, Kaiyang & López-Vicente, Manuel & Shen, Weibo & Wu, Gao-Lin, 2021. "Soil-water deficit in deep soil layers results from the planted forest in a semi-arid sandy land: Implications for sustainable agroforestry water management," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 254(C).
    4. Yuhao Jin & Han Zhang & Yuchao Yan & Peitong Cong, 2020. "A Semi-Parametric Geographically Weighted Regression Approach to Exploring Driving Factors of Fractional Vegetation Cover: A Case Study of Guangdong," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(18), pages 1-19, September.
    5. Henry R. Scharf & Ann M. Raiho & Sierra Pugh & Carl A. Roland & David K. Swanson & Sarah E. Stehn & Mevin B. Hooten, 2022. "Multivariate Bayesian clustering using covariate‐informed components with application to boreal vegetation sensitivity," Biometrics, The International Biometric Society, vol. 78(4), pages 1427-1440, December.
    6. Cecilia Parracciani & Robert Buitenwerf & Jens-Christian Svenning, 2023. "Impacts of Climate Change on Vegetation in Kenya: Future Projections and Implications for Protected Areas," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(11), pages 1-20, November.
    7. Hasibuan, Abdul Muis & Gregg, Daniel & Stringer, Randy, 2020. "Accounting for diverse risk attitudes in measures of risk perceptions: A case study of climate change risk for small-scale citrus farmers in Indonesia," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 95(C).
    8. Shuang Liu & Xuefei Li & Long Chen & Qing Zhao & Chaohui Zhao & Xisheng Hu & Jian Li, 2022. "A New Approach to Investigate the Spatially Heterogeneous in the Cooling Effects of Landscape Pattern," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(2), pages 1-21, February.
    9. Yi-ping Fang & Fu-biao Zhu & Shu-hua Yi & Xiao-ping Qiu & Yong-jiang Ding, 2021. "Ecological carrying capacity of alpine grassland in the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau based on the structural dynamics method," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 23(8), pages 12550-12578, August.
    10. Thaís Pacheco Kasecker & Mario Barroso Ramos-Neto & Jose Maria Cardoso Silva & Fabio Rubio Scarano, 2018. "Ecosystem-based adaptation to climate change: defining hotspot municipalities for policy design and implementation in Brazil," Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change, Springer, vol. 23(6), pages 981-993, August.
    11. Yu-Pin Lin & Chi-Ju Chen & Wan-Yu Lien & Wen-Hao Chang & Joy R. Petway & Li-Chi Chiang, 2019. "Landscape Conservation Planning to Sustain Ecosystem Services under Climate Change," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(5), pages 1-18, March.
    12. Meng Wang & Zhengfeng An, 2022. "Regional and Phased Vegetation Responses to Climate Change Are Different in Southwest China," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(8), pages 1-21, July.
    13. Luyun Chen & Yongheng Gao, 2022. "Global Climate Change Effects on Soil Microbial Biomass Stoichiometry in Alpine Ecosystems," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(10), pages 1-16, September.
    14. Gbenga Abayomi Afuye & Ahmed Mukalazi Kalumba & Israel Ropo Orimoloye, 2021. "Characterisation of Vegetation Response to Climate Change: A Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(13), pages 1-23, June.
    15. Kexin Zhang & Jiajia Luo & Jiaoting Peng & Hongchang Zhang & Yan Ji & Hong Wang, 2022. "Analysis of Extreme Temperature Variations on the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau in Southwestern China over the Past 60 Years," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(14), pages 1-17, July.
    16. Qin Wang & Qin Ju & Yueyang Wang & Quanxi Shao & Rongrong Zhang & Yanli Liu & Zhenchun Hao, 2022. "Vegetation Changing Patterns and Its Sensitivity to Climate Variability across Seven Major Watersheds in China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(21), pages 1-19, October.
    17. Yue Pan & Jian Gong & Jingye Li, 2022. "Assessment of Remote Sensing Ecological Quality by Introducing Water and Air Quality Indicators: A Case Study of Wuhan, China," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(12), pages 1-22, December.
    18. Peng Cheng & Houtian Tang & Yue Dong & Ke Liu & Ping Jiang & Yaolin Liu, 2021. "Knowledge Mapping of Research on Land Use Change and Food Security: A Visual Analysis Using CiteSpace and VOSviewer," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(24), pages 1-22, December.
    19. Jun Ma & Jianpeng Zhang & Jinliang Wang & Vadim Khromykh & Jie Li & Xuzheng Zhong, 2023. "Global Leaf Area Index Research over the Past 75 Years: A Comprehensive Review and Bibliometric Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(4), pages 1-30, February.
    20. Yue, Ping & Zhang, Qiang & Ren, Xueyuan & Yang, Zesu & Li, Hongyu & Yang, Yang, 2022. "Environmental and biophysical effects of evapotranspiration in semiarid grassland and maize cropland ecosystems over the summer monsoon transition zone of China," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 264(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jlands:v:11:y:2022:i:7:p:1061-:d:861281. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.