Document Type
Honors Project - Open Access
Abstract
Invasive tree species can alter fire regimes and threaten biodiversity. We investigated the spatio-temporal dynamics of Melaleuca quinquenervia in the Agnalazaha Forest reserve, southeastern Madagascar, using Sentinel-2 imagery and Random Forest classification. In 2024, M. quinquenervia occupied 264.5 ha (11.4%) of the reserve. A binary Random Forest model trained with 2024 data and applied to 2017 and 2021 imagery showed a decline from 110.2 ha in 2017 to 99.2 ha in 2021, followed by expansion to 153.8 ha in 2024. dNBR analysis indicated that M. quinquenervia-dominated areas were about twice as likely to burn than non-invaded areas across the reserve.
Recommended Citation
Matus-Bond, Oliver, "Spatio-temporal dynamics of Melaleuca quinquenervia and its interaction with fire in southeastern Madagascar" (2026). Geography Honors Projects. 87.
https://digitalcommons.macalester.edu/geography_honors/87
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