Tropical forest cover dynamics for Latin America using Earth observation data: a review covering the continental, regional, and local scale
The tropical forest cover has varied greatly over the last few decades. The rapid advance of agricultural crops and illegal clearings in natural areas has resulted in the conversion of the majority of the world’s forest into desolated patches. Although rates of deforestation have
decreased compared to previous years, forest loss still remains a crucial concern. Latest studies conducted on a global scale identified the Latin American continent as one of the regions exhibiting the highest rates of deforestation in the world. The dynamics of forests over the past 40 years
has attracted numerous remote-sensing-based studies to monitor forest loss, analyse patterns, and understand the drivers of land conversion. This review article provides a comprehensive overview of the remote-sensing-based studies of tropical forest dynamics in Latin America. Following an
introduction with respect to global forest mapping products, a general outline of tropical forest ecoregions and drivers of deforestation in Latin America is provided. Subsequently, a review and categorization of the existing studies is presented, where focus is laid on selected sensors and
data analysis methodologies apply. Furthermore, a case study for the whole of Paraguay is presented; Paraguay is a region which contains highly diverse ecosystems that have been ravaged as a result of deforestation over the past 40 years. The main results, challenges, and future needs
are discussed.
Document Type: Research Article
Affiliations: 1: Department of Geography, Remote Sensing & Environmental Modelling, Kiel University, 24098, Kiel, Germany 2: Agriculture and Land Use Change, World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Deutschland, 10117, Berlin, Germany 3: German Remote Sensing Data Center (DFD), German Aerospace Center (DLR), 82234, Wessling, Germany
Publication date: 18 June 2015
- Editorial Board
- Information for Authors
- Subscribe to this Title
- Ingenta Connect is not responsible for the content or availability of external websites
- Access Key
- Free content
- Partial Free content
- New content
- Open access content
- Partial Open access content
- Subscribed content
- Partial Subscribed content
- Free trial content