THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY UNIVERSITY OF AGRICULTURE AND FORESTRY KING JOSHUA ALMADRONES-REYES SPATIO-TEMPORAL LANDSCAPE UTILIZATION USING TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATIONS ADDRESSING ONE HEALTH AND SUSTAINABILITY: CASE STUDIES IN THE PHILIPPINES MASTER’S THESIS Study Mode: Full-time Major: Master of Environmental Science Faculty: Advanced Education Program Office Batch: 2021-2023 Thai Nguyen, 04/07/2023 DOCUMENTATION PAGE WITH ABSTRACT Thai Nguyen University of Agriculture and Forestry Degree Program MASTER OF SCIENCE IN ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE Student name KING JOSHUA ALMADRONES-REYES Student ID DTN21CH311027 SPATIO-TEMPORAL LANDSCAPE UTILIZATION USING TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATIONS ADDRESSING ONE Thesis Title HEALTH AND SUSTAINABILITY: CASE STUDIES IN THE PHILIPPINES A/PROF. Supervisor NAT Supervisor’s Signature Abstract: The Philippines is home to diverse species and unique landscapes that are under threats of anthropogenic activities and climate change. This study utilizes technological innovations to achieve the sustainable development goals (SDGs) and One Health Approach which integrates remote sensing, species distribution modeling, and coastal vulnerability assessment to analyze issues in three landscapes: urban, mountainous, and coastal. Firstly, the first case study aims to understand the dynamics of land use and its implications for land-use changes and human well being.
Remote sensing techniques are employed to analyze satellite imagery and gather information on land cover, land use changes, and urbanization patterns in urban areas. Secondly, in the mountainous regions, the study utilizes species distribution models to assess the impact of human activities and changing climate on potential distribution of an endangered bovine species. Lastly, in the coastal landscape, coastal vulnerability assessments are conducted to evaluate the susceptibility of coastal areas to natural hazards, such as sea-level rise, storm surges, and erosion. The findings contribute to 1 the development of effective land management strategies, informed conservation planning, and sustainable development practices which emphasizes the need for integrated approaches that consider the interactions between ecological, social, and economic systems for effective landscape management and resilient communities in the face of environmental challenges in the Philippines.
Keywords: coasts, wildlife, niche, urban planning, SDGs, Number of pages 95 2 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT Cheers to another manuscript that people will not read (unless it’s published or if I made them, lol). But, welcome to the acknowledgement section! My favorite part of the manuscript to write. Okay! My masters’ journey has hella lots of ups and downs, losses and finds, it also has COVID, but it was fun, really FUN. And I would like to thank the following people for making this 2-year career path possible and worth it.
First, to my supervisor, Dr. Nikki Heherson Dagamac, I cannot put into words how much I am grateful for your guidance and support, ever since my undergraduate days. You do not have but you always find the best opportunities for me. I will be forever grateful.
My family, first, to my mom, Jocelyn Reyes, and dad, Efren Reyes, thank you for being the best parents in the world and I hope I make you proud. To my Tita Dory and Tito Joey Zapanta, I really appreciate the support you have given me since the beginning. To my Lola Flor, for constantly checking up on me. To the peers I met here in Vietnam, Vera, Julia, Geng, Trizha, Kiah, Jed, Keith, Jan 1 Jan 2, Inara, Zan, Bea, Stef thank you for all the beers, rice wine, board games, and krat- (I’m not sure if I can write it haha).
Shoutout to my basketball homies, Duc, and Tor. I will always remember our 2v1s! ‘Till we meet again. Oh yeah, my classmates and the first batch of DAAD scholars- Gerald, Ryan, Thet, Ninis, Ahmad, Loi, Huyen, Thao and Chi Thanh. My research colleagues, James and Alexis, appreciate all the remote sensing tips and tricks, and publications.
To Nikki and Nanay Rose, thanks for letting me crash for almost a year. I promise I will help clean the flat if I’m gonna be around! To my partner, Maria Yssabella Sinfuego, I am really lucky to have you as my partner. I really appreciate your visit here in Vietnam all the way from the land down under (Oz) which made these masters' journeys more memorable. Thank you for always being here for me! 3 And of course (drumroll), the DAAD, which funded my research, studies, vacations, MacBook, AirPods… just kidding! Thank you for this gift of learning that I will definitely use for the good of mankind (I did not just quote Doctor Octopus).
I am proud to be one of the DAAD scholars and I know that my role as one will not end after getting this degree. And that’s it! Thanks for reading! But why are you still here? Seriously, if you made it this far, thanks a lot. I hope you find this study really interesting and I hope I inspire the inner fuel in you to believe in excellency, like my mentor once told me. ‘Success is my only option, failure’s not’ -Eminem 4 TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Figures……………………………………………………………….8 List of Tables…………………………………………………………………….……9 List of abbreviations………………………………………………………………….
Research Questions and Hypotheses……………………………. Assessing the land use/land-cover change and land surface temperature in Metro Manila, Philippines……………………………. Habitat suitability mapping for Tamaraw in Mindoro, Philippines…………………………………………. Modeling of coastal vulnerability in La Union, Philippines……………………………………….
Scope and Limitations………………………………. Definition of terms……………………………. Land Use/land-cover change and land surface temperature………. Predicting Habitat Suitability of Tamaraw (Bubalus mindorensis) under changing climate scenarios…………….
Understanding coastal vulnerability patterns…………. Land use/land-cover change and land surface temperature in Metropolitan Manila Philippines using Landsat imagery……………………. Landsat Satellite Image and Metro Manila Boundary………. Land Surface Temperature retrieval using Landsat 7 ETM+.
Calculation of NDVI and NDBI using Landsat 7………………. Land-use/land cover (LULC) and Accuracy Assessment…………. Predicting habitat suitability of Tamaraw……………. Applying InVEST model to assess vulnerability of the coastal areas of La Union, Philippines based on multiple bio-geophysical hazards….
Data preparation and inputs………………. Coastal Vulnerability Assessment using InVEST………………. Habitat protection scenarios……………………………………. Land use/land cover change and land surface temperature in Metropolitan Manila Philippines using Landsat imagery………….
Temporal variation and correlation of LST, NDVI and NDBI…………. Comparison of LULC of 2001 and 2019…………………. Predicting habitat suitability of Tamaraw………….1 Model performance and influential variables………………….2 Niche identification using response curves………………………….3 Predictive areas in Mindoro Island and ground truthing…………………. Applying InVEST model to assess the vulnerability of the coastal areas of La Union, Philippines…….1 Exposure index in La Union….2 Habitats roles and scenarios………………………………….
Land use/land cover change and land surface temperature in Metropolitan Manila Philippines using Landsat imagery………….1 The decline of green spaces due to the urban sprawl in Metro Manila….2 Building materials influence the heat in MM……………………. Predicting habitat suitability of Tamaraw………………………….1 Maxent performance evaluation…………………………….2 Importance of precipitation as a key variable to Tamaraws………….3 Reduction of highly suitable habitats in the SSP3-7.3 Applying InVEST model to assess the vulnerability of the coastal areas of La Union, Philippines……………………………………………….1 Exposure patterns in the coastline of La Union……….2 Roles of natural habitats in coastal protection and other ecosystem services……………………………………………………………………………….3 InVEST coastal vulnerability model limitations and future directions….68 7 LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1. The study area of Metropolitan Manila, Philippines with its respective municipalities Figure 2. The study area, Mindoro, along with its administrative boundaries.
Mindoro is located at the southwest part of Luzon. Direct and indirect presence records of Tamaraw based on surveys (left) and the final occurrence points used in the MaxEnt modeling after data thinning with spThin package (right) Figure 4. Study Area of La Union Province, Philippines with its respective municipalities Figure 5. The LST, NDVI, NDBI and LULC maps of Metro Manila in 2001 and 2019 Figure 6.
Graphs of LST between NDVI and NDBI which showed directly proportional and indirectly proportional relationship, respectively Figure 7. Response curves for the highest contributing environmental variables for Tamaraw for current AB, optimistic CD, pessimistic EF climate scenarios Figure 8. Habitat suitability models of Tamaraw under the current (1970 - 2000) and future climate change (2081-2100) scenarios Figure 9. Exposure index map of La Union “with natural habitats” (A) and “without natural habitats” (B) scenarios with their distribution as depicted by the pie charts found on the upper left Figure 6.
Habitat suitability models of Tamaraw under the current (1970-2000) and future climate change scenarios (2081-2100) Figure 7. The study area of La Union, Philippines with its respective municipalities Figure 8. Exposure index along the coast of La Union with habitats (left) and without habitats (right) scenarios 8 LIST OF TABLES Table 1. Data specifications Table 2.
Landsat 7 ETM+ Bands Table 3. Classification of Schema for LULC Table 4. List of all the environmental variables used in MaxEnt modeling Table 5. Coastal vulnerability model data inputs and sources Table 6.
Retrieved Land Surface Temperature using Landsat 7 ETM+ Table 7. Environmental variables that contribute to the suitability model (Percent Contribution) of Tamaraw in current and future climate scenarios Table 8. LULC classification area size comparison in square kilometers in 2001 and 2019 9 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS CVI Coastal Vulnerability Index CSV Comma delimited file format ETM+ Enhanced Thematic Mapper+ InVEST Integrated Valuation of Environmental Services and Trade-offs LST Land Surface Temperature LULC Land-use/Land cover MM Metro Manila MCWS Mt. Calavite Wildlife Sanctuary MIBNP Mt.
Iglit-Baco National Park NDVI Normalized Difference Vegetation Index NDBI Normalized Difference Built-up Index NIR Near Infrared SDM Species Distribution Model SWIR Short Wave Infrared UHI Urban Heat Island 10 PART I. Research rationale Technologies such as remote sensing and species distribution modeling have become increasingly important tools for addressing global challenges such as climate change and biodiversity conservation. Remote sensing techniques, such as the utilization of satellite imagery, allow for the monitoring and mapping of the Earth’s surface through land cover change studies. On the other hand, modeling techniques such as species distribution modeling, provides insights into the potential impact of the changing climate to a species which can then lead to effective management strategies and adaptive coastal management plans.
With these technologies, this study aims (i) to investigate the impact of of land-use/land-cover change on land surface temperature in Metropolitan Manila, Philippines using Landsat imagery, (ii) to predict the habitat suitability of the endangered Tamaraw (Bubalus mindorensis) in Mindoro, Philippines using species distribution modelling approach and (iii) to conduct a coastal vulnerability assessment using the (Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Tradeoffs) InVEST software in La Union, Philippines that target the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and One Health Agenda. These three different approaches using remote sensing and modeling, are significant because they address pressing environmental issues in the Philippines. For instance, Metropolitan Manila, a highly urbanized area, is facing rapid land-use/land- cover change throughout the years, which can have significant impacts on local climate, especially the land surface temperature. The understanding of patterns on Metropolitan Manila’s landscape can aid the development of environmental policies and management plans to ensure the sustainability of urban areas for the betterment of the quality of urban life.
On the other hand, the Tamaraw is a critically endangered species that is endemic to the island of Mindoro, Philippines. Habitat loss and fragmentation have led to a decline in the Tamaraw population that was once common in the island of Mindoro. Species distribution models that integrate various environmental factors with known presence data can provide a comprehensive understanding of the factors affecting these 11 species to aid the ongoing conservation and management efforts. Finally, coastal vulnerability assessment using the InVEST software in La Union, Philippines that will provide information on the exposure, sensitivity, and adaptive capacity of coastal areas.
The results of this study can guide policymakers and stakeholders in implementing measures to reduce the vulnerability of coastal communities to climate change and promote sustainable coastal management. Research questions and hypotheses The use of remote sensing and modeling in these independent research topics can contribute to the One Health Approach and Sustainable Development Goals. The One Health is a holistic approach that recognizes the interconnectedness of human, animal, and environmental health. The land-use/land-cover change in Metropolitan Manila, habitat suitability of the Tamaraw in Mindoro, and coastal vulnerability assessment in La Union, Philippines are all important research topics that have implications for human and animal health, as well as the environment.