A review of remote sensing applications in tropical forestry with a particular emphasis in the plantation sector

Abstract

The aim of this article is to evaluate current achievements of remote sensing technologies in forest and plantation monitoring. Despite considerable efforts having been dedicated to monitor tropical forest, some issues remain open for further exploration, including forest type mapping, biomass estimation, change detection and the detection of invasive species. Large-scale forest conversion to plantations makes it necessary to assess applications and methodologies currently published with the aim to provide an outlook for future research. Multispectral datasets have been favoured in this domain, largely because of their long-term availability. Remote sensing applications in plantation forests are often perceived as less problematic than natural forests, perhaps due to their relatively homogenous cover. We present evidence that assumptions of homogeneity in canopy cover may not be fully satisfied. Vital aspects of plantation for management such as stand age mapping, detecting disturbance and productivity measurement have been understudied, which therefore warrant further investigation.

Keywords:

• Forest
• oil palm
• plantation
• rubber
• timber

Acknowledgements

We thank reviewers for their constructive comments leading to a much improved manuscript.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This research was supported by Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) [grant number RA4-1029 and RA6-3004]. The first author would like to express his gratitude to UNSW Australia for research funding through UIPA scholarship.