Identifying Intensively Managed Coffee Forests in Southwest Ethiopia using Satellite Imagery

The high forests in southwest Ethiopia, some of the last remaining Afromontane forests in the country, are home to significant forest coffee production. While considered as beneficial in maintaining forests, there have been growing concerns about the degradation caused by intensive coffee production in the forests. However, yet no suitable methods have been developed to map the intensively managed coffee forests. In this study, we explore the feasibility of monitoring the extent of the degradation within the intensively managed coffee forests by using satellite imagery (Landsat-8 and Sentinel-2). For this, we conducted in-situ field canopy photo and tree surveys, and the results were analysed with satellite-derived vegetation indices such as NDVI and NBR. This feasibility study informed us that the detection of the intensively managed forest coffee areas (disturbances caused by this practice) using satellite imagery can be possible, as the dry-season forest structure (canopy, undergrowth) and vegetation indices in the intensively managed coffee forests are significantly distinctive from those in natural forests. This study will contribute to the long-term sustainable management of the coffee forest.