Tropical forestsclimate variability, vegetation productivity and human disturbance= Bosques tropicales: variabilidad climática, productividad de la vegetación y perturbación humana

Resumen

Abstract The aims of this thesis are: i. To assess the performance of MODIS imaging for mapping different land uses/covers in the Pasoh Forest Reserve, Peninsular Malaysia using unsupervised classification methods . ii. To develop a classification system for drought assessment for the Malaysia Southwest Monsoon season, in a drought-prone area using satellite image data from MODIS. iii. To assess human disturbance impacts on NPP and to develop maps of human appropriation of NPP using human activity criteria (Chapter 3). iv. To compare human population growth impacts on two tropical forests, one in Malaysia and one in Thailand. Tropical forests play an important role in maintaining the environment and mitigating global warming. At the same time, agriculture is critical to support human life as well as a major part of the economy in Southeast Asian countries, particularly Malaysia. This thesis presents the major factors contributing to disturbances in tropical forests and agricultural land in the region, and develops a low-cost modeling system that can be used to assess human impacts on Net Primary Productivity (NPP). The study will assist in better understanding and appreciating the consequences of human disturbances, including population growth and climate change, particularly drought to the forests and agricultural lands in Southeast Asia. Moderate resolution MODIS image along with other publicly available data, are employed to develop this model. The thesis identifies the three most crucial factors: climate variability, vegetation productivity and human disturbance including population growth that cause most of the problems in tropical forests, hence providing insights that can be helpful in developing effective national forest and biodiversity policies. Chapter 1 introduces the method of using MODIS image for developing land use/land cover classification maps. Chapter 2 focuses on monitoring vegetation in natural forests and plantations under drought conditions. Chapter 3 assesses the impact of human activities in these areas, on net primary productivity (known as HANPP), and Chapter 4 to assess net primary productivity consumption per capita, forest resource extraction and pollution from agricultural activity in two tropical forests of Southeast Asia, one in Malaysia and one in Thailand. Chapter 1 assesses the feasibility of using MODIS images, combined with land use and topographical maps and ALOS imaging, for classifying land cover for the study area, particularly for mapping natural forests and plantations. Chapter 2 develops the Malaysia Southwest Monsoon (M-SWM) drought classification using MODIS indices for Peninsular Malaysia. Chapter 3 provides an assessment of human activity impact on net primary productivity that rating human impact levels for forest areas. Chapter 4 compares projected human population growth impacts on NPP, forest resource extraction and pollution on Malaysian and Thai forests, for the next 30 years.