IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jlands/v7y2018i3p92-d160769.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Estimation of Forest Area and Canopy Cover Based on Visual Interpretation of Satellite Images in Ethiopia

Author

Listed:
  • Zerihun Asrat

    (Faculty of Environmental Sciences and Natural Resource Management, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, P.O. Box 5003, 1432 Ås, Norway)

  • Habitamu Taddese

    (Faculty of Science and Technology, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, P.O. Box 5003, 1432 Ås, Norway)

  • Hans Ole Ørka

    (Faculty of Environmental Sciences and Natural Resource Management, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, P.O. Box 5003, 1432 Ås, Norway)

  • Terje Gobakken

    (Faculty of Environmental Sciences and Natural Resource Management, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, P.O. Box 5003, 1432 Ås, Norway)

  • Ingunn Burud

    (Faculty of Science and Technology, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, P.O. Box 5003, 1432 Ås, Norway)

  • Erik Næsset

    (Faculty of Environmental Sciences and Natural Resource Management, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, P.O. Box 5003, 1432 Ås, Norway)

Abstract

Forests, particularly in the tropics, are suffering from deforestation and forest degradations. The estimation of forest area and canopy cover is an essential part of the establishment of a measurement, reporting, and verification (MRV) system that is needed for monitoring carbon stocks and the associated greenhouse gas emissions and removals. Information about forest area and canopy cover might be obtained by visual image interpretation as an alternative to expensive fieldwork. The objectives of this study were to evaluate different types of satellite images for forest area and canopy cover estimation though visual image interpretation, and assess the influence of sample sizes on the estimates. Seven sites in Ethiopia with different vegetation systems were subjectively identified, and visual interpretations were carried out in a systematical design. Bootstrapping was applied to evaluate the effects of sample sizes. The results showed that high-resolution satellite images (≤5 m) (PlanetScope and RapidEye) images produced very similar estimates, while coarser resolution imagery (10 m, Sentinel-2) estimates were dependent on forest conditions. Estimates based on Sentinel-2 images varied significantly from the two other types of images in sites with denser forest cover. The estimates from PlanetScope and RapidEye were less sensitive to changes in sample size.

Suggested Citation

  • Zerihun Asrat & Habitamu Taddese & Hans Ole Ørka & Terje Gobakken & Ingunn Burud & Erik Næsset, 2018. "Estimation of Forest Area and Canopy Cover Based on Visual Interpretation of Satellite Images in Ethiopia," Land, MDPI, vol. 7(3), pages 1-17, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jlands:v:7:y:2018:i:3:p:92-:d:160769
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/7/3/92/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/7/3/92/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Sisay Nune Hailemariam & Teshome Soromessa & Demel Teketay, 2016. "Land Use and Land Cover Change in the Bale Mountain Eco-Region of Ethiopia during 1985 to 2015," Land, MDPI, vol. 5(4), pages 1-22, November.
    2. Nigel Dudley & Sue Stolton, 2003. "Running Pure : The Importance of Forest Protected Areas to Drinking Water," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 15006, April.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. World Bank, 2010. "Convenient Solutions to an Inconvenient Truth : Ecosystem-based Approaches to Climate Change," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 2686, April.
    2. Belay Manjur Gebru & Woo-Kyun Lee & Asia Khamzina & Sonam Wangyel Wang & Sungeun Cha & Cholho Song & Munkhansan Lamchin, 2021. "Spatiotemporal multi-index analysis of desertification in dry Afromontane forests of northern Ethiopia," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 23(1), pages 423-450, January.
    3. Biao, Zhang & Wenhua, Li & Gaodi, Xie & Yu, Xiao, 2010. "Water conservation of forest ecosystem in Beijing and its value," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 69(7), pages 1416-1426, May.
    4. Sandra L. Postel & Barton H. Thompson, 2005. "Watershed protection: Capturing the benefits of nature's water supply services," Natural Resources Forum, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 29(2), pages 98-108, May.
    5. Su Wu & Neema Simon Sumari & Ting Dong & Gang Xu & Yanfang Liu, 2021. "Characterizing Urban Expansion Combining Concentric-Ring and Grid-Based Analysis for Latin American Cities," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(5), pages 1-14, April.
    6. World Bank, 2021. "Banking on Protected Areas," World Bank Publications - Reports 35737, The World Bank Group.
    7. Negasi Solomon & Hadgu Hishe & Ted Annang & Opoku Pabi & Isaac K Asante & Emiru Birhane, 2018. "Forest Cover Change, Key Drivers and Community Perception in Wujig Mahgo Waren Forest of Northern Ethiopia," Land, MDPI, vol. 7(1), pages 1-16, March.
    8. Bingzhen Du & Lin Zhen & Rudolf De Groot & Xin Long & Xiaochang Cao & Ruizi Wu & Chuanzhun Sun & Chao Wang, 2015. "Changing Food Consumption Patterns and Impact on Water Resources in the Fragile Grassland of Northern China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 7(5), pages 1-20, May.
    9. Nunez, Daisy & Nahuelhual, Laura & Oyarzun, Carlos, 2006. "Forests and water: The value of native temperate forests in supplying water for human consumption," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 58(3), pages 606-616, June.
    10. Hishe, Hadgu & Giday, Kidane & Van Orshoven, Jos & Muys, Bart & Taheri, Fatemeh & Azadi, Hossein & Feng, Lei & Zamani, Omid & Mirzaei, Mohsen & Witlox, Frank, 2021. "Analysis of Land Use Land Cover Dynamics and Driving Factors in Desa’a Forest in Northern Ethiopia," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 101(C).
    11. Tola Gemechu Ango & Kristoffer Hylander & Lowe Börjeson, 2020. "Processes of Forest Cover Change since 1958 in the Coffee-Producing Areas of Southwest Ethiopia," Land, MDPI, vol. 9(8), pages 1-29, August.
    12. Stefano Pagiola & Gunars Platais & Marcos Sossai, 2019. "Protecting Natural Water Infrastructure in Espírito Santo, Brazil," Water Economics and Policy (WEP), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 5(04), pages 1-24, October.
    13. Mengist, Wondimagegn & Soromessa, Teshome & Feyisa, Gudina Legese & Jenerette, G. Darrel, 2022. "Socio-environmental determinants of the perceived value of moist Afromontane forest ecosystem services in Kaffa Biosphere Reserve, Ethiopia," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 136(C).
    14. Kflay Gebrehiwot & Ermias Teferi & Zerihun Woldu & Mekbib Fekadu & Temesgen Desalegn & Sebsebe Demissew, 2021. "Dynamics and drivers of land cover change in the Afroalpine vegetation belt: Abune Yosef mountain range, Northern Ethiopia," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 23(7), pages 10679-10701, July.
    15. Wakjira Takala Dibaba & Tamene Adugna Demissie & Konrad Miegel, 2020. "Drivers and Implications of Land Use/Land Cover Dynamics in Finchaa Catchment, Northwestern Ethiopia," Land, MDPI, vol. 9(4), pages 1-20, April.
    16. Admassie, Assefa & Abebaw, Degnet, 2021. "Ethiopia – Land, energy, climate change, and agricultural development: A study in the Sudano-Sahel Initiative for Regional Development, Jobs, and Food Security," Working Papers 308804, University of Bonn, Center for Development Research (ZEF).
    17. Sonam Wangyel Wang & Belay Manjur Gebru & Munkhnasan Lamchin & Rijan Bhakta Kayastha & Woo-Kyun Lee, 2020. "Land Use and Land Cover Change Detection and Prediction in the Kathmandu District of Nepal Using Remote Sensing and GIS," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(9), pages 1-18, May.
    18. Stalnacke, Per et.al., 2016. "Land and water use interactions: Emerging trends and impact on land-use changes in the Tungabhadra and Tagus river basins," Working Papers 352, Institute for Social and Economic Change, Bangalore.
    19. Ashebir WoldeYohannes & Marc Cotter & Girma Kelboro & Wubneshe Dessalegn, 2018. "Land Use and Land Cover Changes and Their Effects on the Landscape of Abaya-Chamo Basin, Southern Ethiopia," Land, MDPI, vol. 7(1), pages 1-17, January.
    20. Jeffrey R. Vincent & Ismariah Ahmad & Norliyana Adnan & Walter B. Burwell & Subhrendu K. Pattanayak & Jie-Sheng Tan-Soo & Kyle Thomas, 2016. "Valuing Water Purification by Forests: An Analysis of Malaysian Panel Data," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 64(1), pages 59-80, May.

    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:7:y:2018:i:3:p:92-:d:160769. 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.