MAPPING THE DECLINE: A RANDOM FOREST APPROACH TO ASSESSING CEDAR FOREST DEGRADATION IN ALGERIA'S BELEZMA N.P USING SENTINEL-2 AND CLIMATE DATA
Keywords:
Belezma National Park - Atlas cedar - remote sensing - Geographic Information Systems (GIS) - machine learning - Google Earth Engine (GEE)Abstract
A detailed study was performed to determine the condition of the Atlas cedar forests (cedrus atlantica) in the Belezma National Park (Batna Province, Algeria) Belezma’s cedar forests are a vital part of Algeria’s natural heritage, and this study provides the scientific evidence needed to save them before it’s too late. By using technology like Google Earth Engine, experts can keep a close watch on these forests and take action to ensure they survive for future generations.
with the support of Google Earth Engine (GEE) for providing advanced remote sensing and geographical information system (GIS) approaches. The study utilized satellite imagery (Sentinel-2) between 2016 and 2023 and derived accurate vegetation indices such as NDVI and EVI using a machine learning technique (Random Forest and SVM) for the classification of vegetation. Results showed that a larg area of cedar forest disappeared, where the degradation is focused on moderate slope areas of the southern and eastern sectors. The analysis showed
