TITLE:
High-Resolution Mapping of Decadal Forest Cover Change in the Phou Pha Nang NBCA, Central Laos
AUTHORS:
Chittana Phompila, Kethsa Nanthavongduangsy, Vongphet Sihapanya, Saengmany Boutthavong
KEYWORDS:
Deforestation, High-Resolution Imagery, Random Forest, Land-Use Change, Phou Pha Nang NBCA, Laos
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Geoscience and Environment Protection,
Vol.14 No.7,
July
23,
2026
ABSTRACT: The surge in state-promoted land concessions across Laos since the mid-2000s has accelerated the expansion of monoculture timber plantations. This transition has resulted in widespread deforestation and posed a severe, systemic threat to the region’s rich biodiversity. Monitoring these dynamics is historically complex due to persistent cloud cover and the spectral similarities between commercial plantations (such as Rubber, Acacia, and Eucalyptus) and secondary natural forests. This study aims to quantify decadal forest cover changes and produce high-resolution distribution maps for the Phou Pha Nang National Biodiversity Conservation Area (NBCA) across a 2015-2025 timeframe. Utilizing the Google Earth Engine platform, we processed high-resolution (4.77 m) Planet NICFI satellite imagery. An automated Random Forest machine learning classifier, trained using reference data derived from the ESA WorldCover, was applied to generate annual binary forest masks to track spatiotemporal deforestation patterns. The analysis reveals a severe and accelerating trajectory of habitat loss within the NBCA. While initial deforestation manifested as isolated, fragmented pockets, a definitive shift toward extensive, contiguous canopy clearing occurred later in the decade. The protected area experienced an unprecedented surge in forest loss between 2023 and 2025, peaking at 7367.28 hectares in 2023 alone. This massive conversion is heavily concentrated in the central and lower-middle corridors, indicating systematic anthropogenic encroachment rather than minor localized disturbances. Accelerated landscape fragmentation within this vital forest ecosystem not only destabilizes its intrinsic ecological integrity but also undermines national conservation mandates. While the structural drivers precipitating this abrupt escalation in forest loss require further elucidation, comprehensive field-based validation and high-fidelity carbon stock assessments remain imperative to fully parameterize the environmental consequences. Ultimately, the accelerating rate of habitat conversion documented in this study underscores a critical window of opportunity to optimize existing conservation frameworks and bolster resource management strategies before the ecological integrity of Phou Pha Nang is irreversibly compromised.