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Articles containing the keyword 'protected areas'

Category : Research article

article id 23009, category Research article
Abubakari H. Munna, Nyambilila A. Amuri, Proches Hieronimo, Dino A. Woiso. (2023). Modelling ecological niches of Sclerocarya birrea subspecies in Tanzania under the current and future climates. Silva Fennica vol. 57 no. 3 article id 23009. https://doi.org/10.14214/sf.23009
Keywords: climate change; conservation; GIS; agroforestry; domestication; MaxEnt; protected areas network
Highlights: Tanzania harbors ecological niches of Sclerocarya birrea (S. birrea) subsp. caffra, multifoliata and birrea in the eastern, southern-central-northern, and northeastern part of the country, covering 184 814 km2, 139 918 km2 and 28 446 km2 of Tanzania’s land area, respectively; Ecological niches will contract under future warming climates; Currently, significant parts of ecological niches for Sclerocarya birrea subspecies are beyond Tanzania’s protected areas network.
Abstract | Full text in HTML | Full text in PDF | Author Info
The information on ecological niches of the Marula tree, Sclerocarya birrea (A. Rich.) Horchst. subspecies are needed for sustainable management of this tree, considering its nutritional, economic, and ecological benefits. However, despite Tanzania being regarded as a global genetic center of diversity of S. birrea, information on the subspecies ecological niches is lacking. We aimed to model ecological niches of S. birrea subspecies in Tanzania under the current and future climates. Ecological niches under the current climate were modelled by using ecological niche models in MaxEnt using climatic, edaphic, and topographical variables, and subspecies occurrence data. The Hadley Climate Center and National Center for Atmospheric Research's Earth System Models were used to predict ecological niches under the medium and high greenhouse gases emission scenarios for the years 2050 and 2080. Area under the curves (AUCs) were used to assess the accuracy of the models. The results show that the models were robust, with AUCs of 0.85–0.95. Annual and seasonal precipitation, elevation, and soil cation exchange capacity are the key environmental factors that define the ecological niches of the S. birrea subspecies. Ecological niches of subsp. caffra, multifoliata, and birrea are currently found in 30, 22, and 21 regions, and occupy 184 814 km2, 139 918 km2, and 28 446 km2 of Tanzania's land area respectively, which will contract by 0.4–44% due to climate change. Currently, 31–51% of ecological niches are under Tanzania’s protected areas network. The findings are important in guiding the development of conservation and domestication strategies for the S. birrea subspecies in Tanzania.
  • Munna, Department of Soil and Geological Sciences, Sokoine University of Agriculture, P.O. Box 3008, Morogoro, Tanzania ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8858-0457 E-mail: amabmunna81@gmail.com (email)
  • Amuri, Department of Soil and Geological Sciences, Sokoine University of Agriculture, P.O. Box 3008, Morogoro, Tanzania ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3092-3458 E-mail: namuri@sua.ac.tz
  • Hieronimo, Department of Agricultural Engineering, Sokoine University of Agriculture, P.O. Box 3003 Morogoro, Tanzania ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4450-5073 E-mail: phmusigula@gmail.com
  • Woiso, Department of Biosciences, Sokoine University of Agriculture, P.O. Box 3038 Morogoro, Tanzania E-mail: dino@sua.ac.tz
article id 10515, category Research article
Alwin A. Hardenbol, Anton Kuzmin, Lauri Korhonen, Pasi Korpelainen, Timo Kumpula, Matti Maltamo, Jari Kouki. (2021). Detection of aspen in conifer-dominated boreal forests with seasonal multispectral drone image point clouds. Silva Fennica vol. 55 no. 4 article id 10515. https://doi.org/10.14214/sf.10515
Keywords: Populus tremula; deciduous trees; mixed forest; protected areas; tree species classification; unmanned aerial vehicles
Highlights: Four boreal tree species (Scots pine, Norway spruce, birches and European aspen) classified with an overall accuracy of 95%; Presence of European aspen detected with excellent accuracy (UA: 97%, PA: 96%); Late spring is the best time for species classification by remote sensing; Best time to separate aspen from birch was when birch had leaves, but aspen did not.
Abstract | Full text in HTML | Full text in PDF | Author Info

Current remote sensing methods can provide detailed tree species classification in boreal forests. However, classification studies have so far focused on the dominant tree species, with few studies on less frequent but ecologically important species. We aimed to separate European aspen (Populus tremula L.), a biodiversity-supporting tree species, from the more common species in European boreal forests (Pinus sylvestris L., Picea abies [L.] Karst., Betula spp.). Using multispectral drone images collected on five dates throughout one thermal growing season (May–September), we tested the optimal season for the acquisition of mono-temporal data. These images were collected from a mature, unmanaged forest. After conversion into photogrammetric point clouds, we segmented crowns manually and automatically and classified the species by linear discriminant analysis. The highest overall classification accuracy (95%) for the four species as well as the highest classification accuracy for aspen specifically (user’s accuracy of 97% and a producer’s accuracy of 96%) were obtained at the beginning of the thermal growing season (13 May) by manual segmentation. On 13 May, aspen had no leaves yet, unlike birches. In contrast, the lowest classification accuracy was achieved on 27 September during the autumn senescence period. This is potentially caused by high intraspecific variation in aspen autumn coloration but may also be related to our date of acquisition. Our findings indicate that multispectral drone images collected in spring can be used to locate and classify less frequent tree species highly accurately. The temporal variation in leaf and canopy appearance can alter the detection accuracy considerably.

  • Hardenbol, University of Eastern Finland, School of Forest Sciences, P.O. Box 111, FI-80101 Joensuu, Finland ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0615-505X E-mail: alwin.hardenbol@uef.fi (email)
  • Kuzmin, University of Eastern Finland, School of Forest Sciences, P.O. Box 111, FI-80101 Joensuu, Finland; University of Eastern Finland, Department of Geographical and Historical Studies, P.O. Box 111, FI-80101 Joensuu, Finland E-mail: anton.kuzmin@uef.fi
  • Korhonen, University of Eastern Finland, School of Forest Sciences, P.O. Box 111, FI-80101 Joensuu, Finland E-mail: lauri.korhonen@uef.fi
  • Korpelainen, University of Eastern Finland, Department of Geographical and Historical Studies, P.O. Box 111, FI-80101 Joensuu, Finland E-mail: pasi.korpelainen@uef.fi
  • Kumpula, University of Eastern Finland, Department of Geographical and Historical Studies, P.O. Box 111, FI-80101 Joensuu, Finland E-mail: timo.kumpula@uef.fi
  • Maltamo, University of Eastern Finland, School of Forest Sciences, P.O. Box 111, FI-80101 Joensuu, Finland E-mail: matti.maltamo@uef.fi
  • Kouki, University of Eastern Finland, School of Forest Sciences, P.O. Box 111, FI-80101 Joensuu, Finland E-mail: jari.kouki@uef.fi

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