Forest Change Mapping in Southwestern Madagascar Using Landsat-5 TM Imagery, 1990 –2010
FACULTY OF ENGINEERING AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT Department of Industrial Development, IT and Land Management Forest Change Mapping in Southwestern Madagascar using Landsat-5 TM Imagery, 1990 –2010 Jeroen Grift 22 June 2016 Student Thesis, Master (15 ECTS) Geomatics Master Programme in Geomatics Supervisor: Markku Pyykkönen Examiners: Anders Brandt and Sadegh Jamali Abstract The main goal of this study was to map and measure forest change in the southwestern part of Madagascar near the city of Toliara in the period 1990-2010. Recent studies show that forest change in Madagascar on a regional scale does not only deal with forest loss, but also with forest growth However, it is unclear how the study area is dealing with these patterns. In order to select the right classification method, pixel-based classification was compared with object-based classification. The results of this study shows that the object-based classification method was the most suitable method for this landscape. However, the pixel-based approaches also resulted in accurate results. Furthermore, the study shows that in the period 1990–2010, 42% of the forest cover disappeared and was converted into bare soil and savannahs. Next to the change in forest, stable forest regions were fragmented. This has negative effects on the amount of suitable habitats for Malagasy fauna. Finally, the scaling structure in landscape patches was investigated. The study shows that the patch size distribution has long-tail properties and that these properties do not change in periods of deforestation. Keywords: Deforestation, pixel-based classification, object-based classification, landscape metrics, scaling structure II Table of Contents Abstract .................................................................................................................................................
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