A review of remote sensing applications for oil palm studies

Chong, Khai Loong; Kanniah, Kasturi Devi; Pohl, Christine; Tan, Kian Pang

doi:10.1080/10095020.2017.1337317

Cited by 130 publications

(83 citation statements)

References 66 publications

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“…Activity data (Section 2.3) map agro-industrial oil palm plantations but fail to map out the smallholder oil palm plantations that supply up to two-thirds of the national palm oil harvest [40,73] but are nonetheless classified as forest (if established before 2000) or deforestation in the currently available land cover map. This is mainly due to the technical difficulty of the task and the fact that technical advances in reliably mapping oil palm plantations at different scales have only recently become available [74,75]. Acknowledging this lack, the land use model used for the adjustment of the FREL (Section 2.5) relies on national statistics of oil palm supply rather than on the AD and uses emission factors (Section 2.4) developed for all perennial crops.…”

Section: Uncertainties and Limitations Of Approach And Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Determining a Carbon Reference Level for a High-Forest-Low-Deforestation Country

Pirker

Mosnier

Nana³

et al. 2019

Forests

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Research Highlights: A transparent approach to developing a forest reference emissions level (FREL) adjusted to future local developments in Southern Cameroon is demonstrated. Background and Objectives: Countries with low historical deforestation can adjust their forest reference (emission) level (FREL/FRL) upwards for REDD+ to account for likely future developments. Many countries, however, find it difficult to establish a credible adjusted reference level. This article demonstrates the establishment of a FREL for southern Cameroon adjusted to societal megatrends of strong population—and economic growth combined with rapid urbanization. It demonstrates what can be done with available information and data, but most importantly outlines pathways to further improve the quality of future FREL/FRL’s in light of possibly accessing performance-based payments. Materials and Methods: The virtual FREL encompasses three main elements: Remotely sensed activity data; emission factors derived from the national forest inventory; and the adjustment of the reference level using a land use model of the agriculture sector. Sensitivity analysis is performed on all three elements using Monte Carlo methods. Results: Deforestation during the virtual reference period 2000–2015 is dominated by non-industrial agriculture (comprising both smallholders and local elites) and increases over time. The land use model projections are consistent with this trend, resulting in emissions that are on average 47% higher during the virtual performance period 2020–2030 than during the reference period 2000–2015. Monte Carlo analysis points to the adjustment term as the main driver of uncertainty in the FREL calculation. Conclusions: The available data is suitable for constructing a FREL for periodic reporting to the UNFCCC. Enhanced coherence of input data notably for activity data and adjustment is needed to apply for a performance-based payment scheme. Expanding the accounting framework to include forest degradation and forest gain are further priorities requiring future research.

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Section: Uncertainties and Limitations Of Approach And Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Determining a Carbon Reference Level for a High-Forest-Low-Deforestation Country

Pirker

Mosnier

Nana³

et al. 2019

Forests

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“…Oil palm companies have only begun to utilize remote sensing monitoring technology for developing more sustainable management schemes (Chong et al, 2017). Our dronebased methods efficiently differentiated oil palm from tree canopies and clearly depicted the canopy structure of dominant oil palms.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Drone-Based Assessment of Canopy Cover for Analyzing Tree Mortality in an Oil Palm Agroforest

Khokthong

Zemp

Irawan

et al. 2019

Front. For. Glob. Change

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Oil palm monocultures are highly productive, but there are widespread negative impacts on biodiversity and ecosystem functions. Some of these negative impacts might be mitigated by mixed-species tree interplanting to create agroforestry systems, but there is little experience with the performance of trees planted in oil palm plantations. We studied a biodiversity enrichment experiment in the lowlands of Sumatra that was established in a 6-to 12-year-old oil palm plantation by planting six tree species in different mixtures on 48 plots. Three years after tree planting, canopy cover was assessed by drone-based photogrammetry using the structure-from-motion technique. Drone-derived canopy cover estimates were highly correlated with traditional ground-based hemispherical photography along the equality line, indicating the usefulness and comparability of the approach. Canopy cover was further partitioned between oil palm and tree canopies. Thinning of oil palms before tree planting created a more open and heterogeneous canopy cover. Oil palm canopy cover was then extracted at the level of oil palms and individual trees and combined with ground-based mortality assessment for all 3,819 planted trees. For three tree species (Archidendron pauciflorum, Durio zibethinus, and Shorea leprosula), the probability of mortality during the year of the study was dependent on the amount of oil palm canopy cover. We regard the drone-based method for deriving and partitioning spatially explicit information as a promising way for many questions addressing canopy cover in ecological applications and the management of agroforestry systems.

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“…For example, in 2016/17, the two countries contributed 56% (Indonesia) and 30% (Malaysia) to the global supply of palm oil (USDA, 2018). In 2015, oil palm plantations in the two countries combined covered 17 Million hectares (Chong et al, 2017).…”

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confidence: 99%

El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) event reduces CO2 uptake of an Indonesian oil palm plantation

Stiegler¹,

Meijide²,

Fan³

et al. 2019

Preprint

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Abstract. The El Ni&#241;o&#8211;Southern Oscillation (ENSO) in 2015 was one of the strongest observed in almost 20 years and set the stage for a severe drought and the emergence of widespread fires and related smoke emission over large parts of Southeast Asia. In the tropical lowlands of Sumatra, which were heavily affected by the drought and haze, large areas of tropical rainforest have been converted into oil palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.) plantations during the past decades. In this study, we investigate the impact of drought and smoke haze on the CO2 exchange, evapotranspiration and surface energy budget in a commercial oil palm plantation in Jambi province (Sumatra, Indonesia) by using micrometeorological measurements, the eddy covariance method and a multi linear regression model (MLRM). With the MLRM we identify the contribution of meteorological and environmental parameters to net ecosystem CO2 exchange. During the initial part of the drought, when incoming shortwave radiation was elevated, CO2 uptake increased by 50&#8201;% despite a decrease in upper-layer soil moisture by 35&#8201;%, an increase in air temperature by 10&#8201;% and a tripling of atmospheric vapor pressure deficit. Emerging smoke haze decreased incoming solar radiation by 35&#8201;% compared to non-drought conditions and diffuse radiation became almost the sole shortwave radiation flux for two months resulting in a strong decrease in CO2 uptake by 86&#8201;%. Haze conditions resulted in a complete pause of oil palm carbon uptake for about 1.5 months and contributed to a decline in oil palm yield by 35&#8201;%. With respect to climate change and a pronounced drying trend over the western Pacific during El Ni&#241;o, our model showed that an increase in drought may stimulate CO2 uptake while more severe smoke haze, in combination with drought, can lead to pronounced losses in productivity and CO2 uptake highlighting the importance of fire prevention.

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A review of remote sensing applications for oil palm studies

Cited by 130 publications

References 66 publications

Determining a Carbon Reference Level for a High-Forest-Low-Deforestation Country

Determining a Carbon Reference Level for a High-Forest-Low-Deforestation Country

Drone-Based Assessment of Canopy Cover for Analyzing Tree Mortality in an Oil Palm Agroforest

El Niño–Southern Oscillation (<i>ENSO</i>) event reduces CO<sub>2</sub> uptake of an Indonesian oil palm plantation

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A review of remote sensing applications for oil palm studies

Cited by 130 publications

References 66 publications

Determining a Carbon Reference Level for a High-Forest-Low-Deforestation Country

Determining a Carbon Reference Level for a High-Forest-Low-Deforestation Country

Drone-Based Assessment of Canopy Cover for Analyzing Tree Mortality in an Oil Palm Agroforest

El Niño–Southern Oscillation (&lt;i&gt;ENSO&lt;/i&gt;) event reduces CO&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt; uptake of an Indonesian oil palm plantation

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El Niño–Southern Oscillation (<i>ENSO</i>) event reduces CO<sub>2</sub> uptake of an Indonesian oil palm plantation