Earth Observation based Forest Monitoring and Conservation in Biodiversity Hotspots of South Asia

摘要

Biodiversity hotspots are large regions where an exceptional concentration of biodiversity and endemism exists. Biodiversity hotspots were first proposed set of global priority regions for conservation. The role of earth observation data in biodiversity monitoring was recognized in international biodiversity targets. Earth observation data provides unique information on biodiversity with reference to composition, structure and function across the scales. This study presents state of art earth observation based analysis for forest biodiversity and conservation in 'biodiversity hotspots' of seven South Asian countries. The spatial indicators of biodiversity have been derived from multi-temporal satellite data in terms of land cover, forest cover, forest type, forest fragmentation and fire occurrences. Forest cover change analysis indicates highest loss (35.8%) of forest area in the Western Ghats-Sri Lanka hotspot followed by Indo-Burma (parts of Bangladesh, Andaman and North East), Himalayas (parts of India, Nepal, Bhutan, Pakistan and Afghanistan) and Sundaland (Nicobar) over last eight decades. Forest fragmentation had major spatial variation across the biodiversity hotspots. Fire monitoring specifies the widespread occurrence of fires in deciduous forests of the Indo-Burma and the Western Ghats from 2005 to 2016. Analysis of forest cover change from 2005 to 2014 indicates increasing conservation effectiveness in the Himalayas and Western Ghats-Sri Lanka. Currently, Indo-Burma hotspot is undergoing a significant rate of deforestation and degradation with higher extents of perforated forests and annual fires. The results demonstrate ensured continuity of earth observations as a key requirement for an understanding of biodiversity change and to achieve sustainable development goals.