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- Remote sensing (8)
- MODIS (7)
- PICS (6)
- Landsat (5)
- Cross-calibration (3)
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- Landsat 8 (3)
- Radiometric Calibration (3)
- Aboveground biomass (2)
- Biomass burning (2)
- Climate change (2)
- EPICS (2)
- Fire (2)
- Land Surface Phenology (2)
- Land surface phenology (2)
- Land use change (2)
- NDVI (2)
- Satellite imagery (2)
- Virtual Constellation (2)
- Woody encroachment (2)
- AMSR passive microwave (1)
- Absolute Calibration (1)
- Actual evapotranspiration (1)
- Africa (1)
- Agricultural land area (1)
- Anthropogenic impact (1)
- Arable Mark 2 (1)
- Artificial Neural Network (1)
- Atmometer (1)
- BRDF (1)
- BRDF correction (1)
Articles 1 - 30 of 42
Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences
Extended Cross-Referenced Analysis Using Data From The Landsat 8 And 9 Underfly Event, Garrison Gross
Extended Cross-Referenced Analysis Using Data From The Landsat 8 And 9 Underfly Event, Garrison Gross
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
The Landsat 8 and 9 Underfly Event occurred in November 2021, where Landsat 9 flew beneath Landsat 8 in the final stages before settling in its final orbiting path. An analysis was performed on the images taken during this event, which resulted in a cross-referenced with uncertainties estimated to be less than 0.5%. This level of precision was due in part to the near-identical sensors aboard each instrument as well as the underfly event itself, which allowed the sensors to take nearly the exact same image at nearly the exact same time. This initial calibration was applied before the end …
The Development Of Dark Hyperspectral Absolute Calibration Model Using Extended Pseudo Invariant Calibration Sites At A Global Scale: Dark Epics-Global, Padam Bahadur Karki
The Development Of Dark Hyperspectral Absolute Calibration Model Using Extended Pseudo Invariant Calibration Sites At A Global Scale: Dark Epics-Global, Padam Bahadur Karki
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
This research aimed to develop a novel dark hyperspectral absolute calibration (DAHAC) model using stable dark targets of "Global Cluster - 36" (GC-36), one of the clusters from "300 Class Global Classification." The stable dark sites were identified from GC-36 called "Dark EPICS-Global" covering the surface types viz; dark rock, volcanic area, and dark sand. The Dark EPICS-Global shows a temporal variation of 0.02 unit reflectance. This work uses the Landsat-8 (L8) Operational Land Imager (OLI) , Sentinel-2A (S2A) Multispectral Instrument (MSI) , and Earth Observing One (EO-1) Hyperion data for the DAHAC model development, where well-calibrated L8 and S2A …
Method Of Validating Satellite Surface Reflectance Product Using Empirical Line Method, Meghraj Kc
Method Of Validating Satellite Surface Reflectance Product Using Empirical Line Method, Meghraj Kc
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Atmospherically corrected surface reflectance (SR) products are used for reliable monitoring of land surfaces and are the standard products of Landsat sensors. Due to increased demand for SR products, a need exists to verify that the L2C2 (Level-2 Collection-2) SR products are precise and accurate. The Level-2 Collection 2 (L2C2) SR Product is processed satellite imagery data that corrects for atmospheric effects such as absorption and scattering, providing a more accurate representation of Earth's surface. The validation of SR products using ground truth measurement is essential. This study aims to develop and evaluate a validation methodology for satellite SR products. …
Evaluation Of Low-Cost Radiometer For Surface Reflectance Re-Trieval And Orbital Sensor’S Validation, Dinithi Siriwardana Pathiranage
Evaluation Of Low-Cost Radiometer For Surface Reflectance Re-Trieval And Orbital Sensor’S Validation, Dinithi Siriwardana Pathiranage
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
This paper evaluates the Arable Mark 2 sensor, an automated and low-cost radiometer, for its potential to retrieve surface reflectance data and validate orbital sensors such as the Landsat-8 (L8) Operational Land Imager (OLI) Level 2 product. While orbital sensors are widely used for monitoring solar radiation changes, managing natural resources, and understanding climatic trends, atmospheric effects can make it challenging to obtain accurate measurements. Equipped with multiple sensors, including long-wave and short-wave radiometers, the Arable Mark 2 sensor can measure upwelling and downwelling irradiance to calculate surface reflectance. To assess the accuracy and consistency of the Arable Mark 2 …
Fire Emissions In The Tropical Indonesia: Improved Estimation And Driving Forces Investigation, Xiaoman Lu
Fire Emissions In The Tropical Indonesia: Improved Estimation And Driving Forces Investigation, Xiaoman Lu
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Indonesia has experienced frequent fires since the 1970s due to large-scale peatland conversion and extensive drainage for agricultural development. Fire emissions released from these fires have led to Indonesia being the world’s 3rd largest emitter of greenhouse gases in certain years. Given that fire emissions severely affect climate, weather, and the human environment, numerous approaches have been developed to estimate fire emissions. However, existing emission estimates differ largely by a factor of four in this tropical country because of frequent cloud interferences and low-temperature smoldering fires. Therefore, this dissertation aims to improve the quantification of Indonesian fire emissions through enhanced …
Relative Radiometric Correction Of Pushbroom Satellites Using The Yaw Maneuver, Christopher Begeman
Relative Radiometric Correction Of Pushbroom Satellites Using The Yaw Maneuver, Christopher Begeman
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Earth imaging satellites commonly acquire multispectral imagery using linear array detectors formatted as a pushbroom scanner. Landsat 8, a well-known example, uses pushbroom scanning and thus has 73,000 individual detectors. These 73,000 detectors are split among 14 different focal plane modules (FPM), and each detector and FPM exhibit unique behavior when monitoring a uniform radiance value. To correct for each detectors differences in sensor measurement a novel technique of relative gain estimation that employs an optimized modified Signal-to-Noise Ratio through a 90˚ yaw maneuver, also known as side slither, is presented that allows for both FPM and detector level relative …
Classification And Evaluation Of Extended Pics (Epics) On A Global Scale For Calibration And Stability Monitoring Of Optical Satellite Sensors, Juliana Maria Fajardo Rueda
Classification And Evaluation Of Extended Pics (Epics) On A Global Scale For Calibration And Stability Monitoring Of Optical Satellite Sensors, Juliana Maria Fajardo Rueda
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
As targets for the calibration and monitoring of optical satellite sensors, historically stable areas across North Africa have been used, known as Pseudo Invariant Calibration Sites PICS. However, two major drawbacks exist for these sites; first is the dependency on a single location to be always invariant, and second is the limited amount of observation achieved using these sites. As a result, longer time periods are needed to construct a dense data set to assess the radiometric performance of on-orbit optical sensors, and be convinced that the change detected is sensor-specific rather than site-specific. This work presents a global land …
Detection Of Change Points In Pseudo-Invariant Calibration Sites Time Series Using Multi-Sensor Satellite Imagery, Neha Khadka
Detection Of Change Points In Pseudo-Invariant Calibration Sites Time Series Using Multi-Sensor Satellite Imagery, Neha Khadka
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
The remote sensing community has extensively used Pseudo-Invariant Calibration Sites (PICS) to monitor the long-term in-flight radiometric calibration of Earth-observing satellites. The use of the PICS has an underlying assumption that these sites are invariant over time. However, the site’s temporal stability has not been assured in the past. This work evaluates the temporal stability of PICS by not only detecting the trend but also locating significant shifts (change points) lying behind the time series. A single time series was formed using the virtual constellation approach in which multiple sensors data were combined for each site to achieve denser temporal …
Using New And Long-Term Multi-Scale Remotely Sensed Data To Detect Recurrent Fires And Quantify Their Relationship To Land Cover/Use In Indonesian Peatlands, Yenni Vetrita
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Indonesia has committed to reducing its greenhouse gases emissions by 29% (potentially up to 41% with international assistance) by 2030. Achieving those targets requires many efforts but, in particular, controlling the fire problem in Indonesia’s peatlands is paramount, since it is unlikely to diminish on its own in the coming decades. This study was conducted in Sumatra and Kalimantan peatlands in Indonesia. Four MODIS-derived products (MCD45A1 collection 5.1, MCD64A1 (collection 5.1 and 6), FireCCI51) were initially assessed to explore long-term fire frequency and land use/cover change relationships. The results indicated the product(s) could only detect half of the fires accurately. …
Quantifying The Impacts Of Land Use, Management And Climate Change On Water Resources In Missouri River Basin, Arun Bawa
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
A location-specific evaluation of hydrological landscape responses concerning past and projected climate and land use land cover (LULC) changes can provide a powerful intellectual basis for developing efficient and profitable agroecosystems, and overcoming uncertain and detrimental consequences of LULC and climate shifts. This dissertation assessed the impacts of land use, management, and climate change on water resources in the Missouri River Basin (MRB) through four specific studies that included: (i) to study the responses of leached nutrient concentrations and soil health to winter rye cover crop (CC) under no-till corn (Zea mays L.)-soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] rotation, (ii) to …
Extended Pseudo Invariant Calibration Site-Based Trend-To-Trend Cross-Calibration Of Optical Satellite Sensors, Prathana Khakurel
Extended Pseudo Invariant Calibration Site-Based Trend-To-Trend Cross-Calibration Of Optical Satellite Sensors, Prathana Khakurel
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Satellite sensors have been extremely useful and are in massive demand in the understanding of the Earth’s surface and monitoring of changes. For quantitative analysis and acquiring consistent measurements, absolute radiometric calibration is necessary. The most common vicarious approach of radiometric calibration is cross-calibration, which helps to tie all the sensors to a common radiometric scale for consistent measurement. One of the traditional methods of cross-calibration is performed using temporally and spectrally stable pseudo-invariant calibration sites (PICS). This technique is limited by adequate cloud-free acquisitions for cross-calibration which would require a longer time to study the differences in sensor measurements. …
Use And Improvement Of Remote Sensing And Geospatial Technologies In Support Of Crop Area And Yield Estimations In The West African Sahel, Kaboro Samasse
Use And Improvement Of Remote Sensing And Geospatial Technologies In Support Of Crop Area And Yield Estimations In The West African Sahel, Kaboro Samasse
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
In arid and semi-arid West Africa, agricultural production and regional food security depend largely on small-scale subsistence farming and rainfed crops, both of which are vulnerable to climate variability and drought. Efforts made to improve crop monitoring and our ability to estimate crop production (areas planted and yield estimations by crop type) in the major agricultural zones of the region are critical paths for minimizing climate risks and to support food security planning. The main objective of this dissertation research was to contribute to these efforts using remote sensing technologies. In this regard, the first analysis documented the low reliability …
Vicarious Methodologies To Assess And Improve The Quality Of The Optical Remote Sensing Images: A Critical Review, Sakib Kabir
Vicarious Methodologies To Assess And Improve The Quality Of The Optical Remote Sensing Images: A Critical Review, Sakib Kabir
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Over the past decade, number of optical Earth observing satellites performing remote sensing has increased substantially, dramatically increasing the capability to monitor the Earth. The quantity of remote sensing satellite increase is primarily driven by improved technology, miniaturization of components, reduced manufacturing, and launch cost. These satellites often lack on-board calibrators that a large satellite utilizes to ensure high quality (e.g., radiometric, geometric, spatial quality, etc.) scientific measurement. To address this issue, this work presents “best” vicarious image quality assessment and improvement techniques for those kinds of optical satellites which lacks on-board calibration system. In this article, image quality categories …
Responses Of Land Surface Phenology To Wildfire Disturbances In The Western United States Forests, Jianmin Wang
Responses Of Land Surface Phenology To Wildfire Disturbances In The Western United States Forests, Jianmin Wang
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Land surface phenology (LSP) characterizes the seasonal dynamics in the vegetation communities observed for a satellite pixel and it has been widely associated with global climate change. However, LSP and its long-term trend can be influenced by land disturbance events, which could greatly interrupt the LSP responses to climate change. Wildfire is one of the main disturbance agents in the western United States (US) forests, but its impacts on LSP have not been investigated yet. To gain a comprehensive understanding of the LSP responses to wildfires in the western US forests, this dissertation focused on three research objectives: (1) to …
How Are Interannual Variations Of Land Surface Phenology In The Highland Pastures Of Kyrgyzstan Modulated By Terrain, Snow Cover Seasonality, And Climate Oscillations? An Investigation Using Multi-Source Remote Sensing Data, Monika Anna Tomaszewska
How Are Interannual Variations Of Land Surface Phenology In The Highland Pastures Of Kyrgyzstan Modulated By Terrain, Snow Cover Seasonality, And Climate Oscillations? An Investigation Using Multi-Source Remote Sensing Data, Monika Anna Tomaszewska
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
In the semiarid, continental climates of montane Central Asia, with its constant moisture deficit and low relative humidity, agropastoralism constitutes the foundation of the rural economy. In Kyrgyzstan, an impoverished, landlocked republic in Central Asia, herders of the highlands practice vertical transhumance—the annual movement of livestock to higher elevation pastures to take advantage of seasonally available forage resources. Dependency on pasture resource availability during the short mountain growing season makes herds and herders susceptible to changing weather and climate patterns. This dissertation focuses on using remote sensing observations over the highland pastures in Kyrgyzstan to address five interrelated topics: (i) …
Evaluation Of An Extended Pics (Epics) For Calibration And Stability Monitoring Of Optical Satellite Sensors, Md Nahid Hasan
Evaluation Of An Extended Pics (Epics) For Calibration And Stability Monitoring Of Optical Satellite Sensors, Md Nahid Hasan
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Pseudo Invariant Calibration Sites (PICS) have been increasingly used as an independent data source for on-orbit radiometric calibration and stability monitoring of optical satellite sensors. Generally, this would be a small region of land that is extremely stable in time and space, predominantly found in North Africa. Use of these small regions, referred to as traditional PICS, can be limited by: i) the spatial extent of an individual Region of Interest (ROI) and/or site; ii) and the frequency of how often the site can be acquired, based on orbital patterns and cloud cover at the site, both impacting the time …
Methods For Earth-Observing Satellite Surface Reflectance Validation, Moe Talal Badawi
Methods For Earth-Observing Satellite Surface Reflectance Validation, Moe Talal Badawi
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
In this study an initial validation of the Landsat 8 (L8) Operational Land Imager (OLI) Surface Reflectance (SR) product was performed. The OLI SR product is derived from the L8 Top-of-Atmosphere product via the Landsat Surface Reflectance Code (LaSRC) software and generated by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center. The goal of this study is to develop and evaluate proper validation methodology for the OLI L2 SR product. Validation was performed using near-simultaneous ground truth SR measurements during Landsat 8 overpasses at 13 sites located in the U.S., Brazil, Chile and France. The ground …
Land Cover Changes Within And Around Protected Areas In Côte D’Ivoire From 1986 To 2017: A Case Study Of The Mabi-Yaya-Songan-Tamin Reserved Forests, Olena Boiko
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Tropical forests mitigate climate change, provide habitat for the most biologically diverse terrestrial communities, and yield ecosystem services that support human wellbeing. These forests are some of the most threatened ecosystems because of the increasing human impact on the environment. Côte d’Ivoire has one of the highest deforestation rates in sub-Saharan Africa, and the expansion of agriculture to produce cash crops, such as cocoa and rubber, is presented as the primary reason for forest loss. These changes are apparent even within the boundaries of the protected areas, which raises concerns about the effectiveness of the protection strategies. This project illustrates …
Tropical Forest Canopy Height And Aboveground Biomass Estimation Using Airborne Lidar And Landsat-8 Data, A Sensitivity Study With Respect To Landsat-8 Data Temporal Availability, In Mai Ndombe Province, Democratic Republic Of Congo, Herve B. Kashongwe
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Tropical forests’ structure information, such as forest canopy height, is a key component in any estimate of carbon stock. Tropical rainforests constitute the most forested ecosystems that harbor the largest biodiversity on Earth and store more carbon (above and belowground biomass) than any other ecosystem in the world. However, estimates of forest canopy structure is lacking over most of the regions that host this ecosystem because of both the structure’s complexity of this ecosystems and the incomplete or lack of up-to-date national forest inventory data necessary to derive forest canopy height and aboveground biomass. This study explores the capability of …
Empirical Absolute Calibration Model For Multiple Pseudo-Invariant Calibration Sites, Bipin Raut
Empirical Absolute Calibration Model For Multiple Pseudo-Invariant Calibration Sites, Bipin Raut
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
This work extends an empirical absolute calibration model initially developed for the Libya 4 Pseudo-Invariant Calibration Site (PICS) to five additional Saharan Desert PICS (Egypt 1, Libya 1, Niger 1, Niger 2, and Sudan 1), and demonstrates the efficacy of the resulting models at predicting sensor top-of-atmosphere (TOA) reflectance. It attempts to generate absolute calibration models for these PICS that have an accuracy and precision comparable to or better than the current Libya 4 model, with the intent of providing additional opportunities for sensor calibration. In addition, this work attempts to validate the general applicability of the model to other …
Classification Of North Africa For Use As An Extended Pseudo Invariant Calibration Sites (Epics) For Radiometric Calibration And Stability Monitoring Of Optical Satellite Sensors, Mahesh Shrestha
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
An increasing number of Earth-observing satellite sensors are being launched to meet the insatiable demand for timely and accurate data to help the understanding of the Earth’s complex systems and to monitor significant changes to them. The quality of data recorded by these sensors is a primary concern, as it critically depends on accurate radiometric calibration for each sensor. Pseudo Invariant Calibration Sites (PICS) have been extensively used for radiometric calibration and temporal stability monitoring of optical satellite sensors. Due to limited knowledge about the radiometric stability of North Africa, only a limited number of sites in the region are …
New Approach For Temporal Stability Evaluation Of Pseudo-Invariant Calibration Sites (Pics), Fatima Tuz Zafrin Tuli
New Approach For Temporal Stability Evaluation Of Pseudo-Invariant Calibration Sites (Pics), Fatima Tuz Zafrin Tuli
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Pseudo-Invariant Calibration Sites (PICS) are one of the most popular methods for in-flight vicarious radiometric calibration of Earth remote sensing satellites. The fundamental question of PICS temporal stability has not been adequately addressed. However, the main purpose of this work is to evaluate the temporal stability of a few PICS using a new approach. The analysis was performed over six PICS (Libya 1, Libya 4, Niger 1, Niger 2, Egypt 1 and Sudan 1). The concept of a “Virtual Constellation” was developed to provide greater temporal coverage and also to overcome the dependence limitation of any specific characteristic derived from …
Characterizing Spatiotemporal Patterns Of White Mold In Soybean Across South Dakota Using Remote Sensing, Confiance L. Mfuka
Characterizing Spatiotemporal Patterns Of White Mold In Soybean Across South Dakota Using Remote Sensing, Confiance L. Mfuka
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Soybean is among the most important crops, cultivated primarily for beans, which are used for food, feed, and biofuel. According to FAO, the United States was the biggest soybeans producer in 2016. The main soybean producing regions in the United States are the Corn Belt and the lower Mississippi Valley. Despite its importance, soybean production is reduced by several diseases, among which Sclerotinia stem rot, also known as white mold, a fungal disease that is caused by the fungus Sclerotinia sclerotiorum is among the top 10 soybean diseases. The disease may attack several plants and considerably reduce yield. According to …
Augmenting Land Cover/Land Use Classification By Incorporating Information From Land Surface Phenology: An Application To Quantify Recent Cropland Expansion In South Dakota, Lan Hoang Nguyen
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Understanding rapid land change in the U.S. NGP region is not only critical for management and conservation of prairie habitats and ecosystem services, but also for projecting production of crops and biofuels and the impacts of land conversion on water quality and rural transportation infrastructure. Hence, it raises the need for an LCLU dataset with good spatiotemporal coverage as well as consistent accuracy through time to enable change analysis. This dissertation aims (1) to develop a novel classification method, which utilizes time series images from comparable sensors, from the perspective of land surface phenology, and (2) to apply the land …
Cross Calibration And Validation Of Landsat 8 Oli And Sentinel 2a Msi, M. M. Farhad
Cross Calibration And Validation Of Landsat 8 Oli And Sentinel 2a Msi, M. M. Farhad
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
This work describes a proposed radiometric cross calibration between the Landsat 8 Operational Land Imager (OLI) and Sentinel 2A Multispectral Instrument (MSI) sensors. The cross calibration procedure involves i) correction of the MSI data to account for spectral band differences with the OLI; and ii) correction of BRDF effects in the data from both sensors using a new model accounting for the view zenith/azimuth angles in addition to the solar zenith/view angles. Following application of the spectral and BRDF corrections, standard least-squares linear regression is used to determine the cross calibration gain and offset in each band. Uncertainties related to …
Mapping And Risk Assessment Of Juniper Encroachment Into A Prairie Landscape, Kyle D. Kaskie
Mapping And Risk Assessment Of Juniper Encroachment Into A Prairie Landscape, Kyle D. Kaskie
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Juniper encroachment is a considerable threat to the prairie ecosystems of the Great Plains because it has the potential to alter native grasslands by changing soil characteristics, limiting herbaceous biomass, and hindering native community regeneration. Accurate maps of juniper cover and predictions of areas at risk for future expansion are needed to support proactive management measures. Therefore, our objectives are to: (1) Develop a practical workflow for large-scale juniper mapping using Landsat 8 Operational Land Imager (OLI) imagery and partial unmixing techniques, (2) Compare the classification accuracies from the resulting map based on different juniper density thresholds and different types …
A Study Of African Savanna Vegetation Structure, Patterning, And Change, Christoffer R. Axelsson
A Study Of African Savanna Vegetation Structure, Patterning, And Change, Christoffer R. Axelsson
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
African savannas cover roughly half of the continent, are home to a great diversity of wildlife, and provide ecosystem services to large populations. Savannas showcase a great diversity in vegetation structure, resulting from variation in climatic, edaphic, topographic, and biological factors. Fires play a large role as savannas are the most frequently burned ecosystems on Earth. To study how savanna vegetation structure shifts with environmental factors, it is necessary to gather site data covering the full gradient of climatic and edaphic conditions. Several earlier studies have used coarse resolution satellite remote sensing data to study variation in woody cover. These …
Biomass Burning In The Conterminous United States: A Comparison And Fusion Of Active Fire Observations From Polar-Orbiting And Geostationary Satellites For Emissions Estimation, Fangjun Li
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Biomass burning is an important source of atmospheric greenhouse gases and aerosol emissions that significantly influence climate and air quality. Estimation of biomassburning emissions (BBE) has been limited to the conventional method in which parameters (i.e., burned area and fuel load) can be challenging to quantify accurately. Recent studies have demonstrated that the rate of biomass combustion is a linear function of fire radiative power (FRP), the instantaneous radiative energy released from actively burning fires, which provides a novel pathway to estimate BBE. To obtain accurate and timely BBE estimates for near real-time applications (i.e., air quality forecast), the satellite …
Satellite Remote Sensing Of Woody And Herbaceous Leaf Area For Improved Understanding Of Forage Resources And Fire In Africa, Milkah Njoki Kahiu
Satellite Remote Sensing Of Woody And Herbaceous Leaf Area For Improved Understanding Of Forage Resources And Fire In Africa, Milkah Njoki Kahiu
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
In sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) tree-grass systems commonly referred to as savannas dominating drylands, play a critical role in social, cultural, economic and environmental systems. These coupled natural-human systems support millions of people through pastoralism, are important global biodiversity hotspots and play a critical role in global biogeochemical cycles. Despite the importance of SSA savannas, they have been marginalized for years as most governments neglect dryland resources in favor of agricultural research and development assistance. Hence, lack of spatially and temporally accurate information on the status and trends in savanna resources has led to poor planning and management. This scenario calls …
Vulnerability Of Protected Areas To Human Encroachment, Climate Change And Fire In The Fragmented Tropical Forests Of West Africa, Francis Kwabena Dwomoh
Vulnerability Of Protected Areas To Human Encroachment, Climate Change And Fire In The Fragmented Tropical Forests Of West Africa, Francis Kwabena Dwomoh
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
The Upper Guinean region of West Africa is home to some of the most globally significant tropical biodiversity hotspots, providing ecosystem services that are crucial for the region’s socio-economic and environmental wellbeing. Nonetheless, following decades of human-caused destruction of natural habitats, protected areas currently remain the only significant refugia of original vegetation relics in landscapes that are highly fragmented. Aside from having strong geographic variation in land use, climate, vegetation, and human population, the region has also experienced remarkable biophysical and socio-economic changes in recent decades. All these factors influence the fire regime and the vulnerability of forests within protected …