Combining spaceborne lidar from the Global Ecosystem Dynamics Investigation with local knowledge for monitoring fragmented tropical landscapes: A case study in the forest-agriculture interface of Ucayali, Peru.

ABSTRACT: Improving our ability to monitor fragmented tropical ecosystems is a critical step in supporting the stewardship of these complex landscapes. We investigated the structural characteristics of vegetation classes in Ucayali, Peru, employing a co-production approach. The vegetation classes included three agricultural classes (mature oil palm, monocrop cacao, and agroforestry cacao plantations) and three forest regeneration classes (mature lowland forest, secondary lowland forest, and young lowland vegetation regrowth). We combined local knowledge with spaceborne lidar from NASA's Global Ecosystem Dynamics Investigation mission to classify vegetation and characterize the horizontal and vertical structure of each vegetation class. Mature lowland forest had consistently higher mean canopy height

SUBMITTER: Cooley SS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11303661 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature