Land Cover Classification of Complex Agroecosystems in the Non-Protected Highlands of the Galapagos Islands

Invasive plants dominate the agricultural landscape of the Galápagos Islands' non-protected highlands, covering 28.5% of the area—more than any other land cover type. This finding emerges from a high-resolution land cover classification study that combined PlanetScope and Sentinel-2 satellite imagery with UAV validation, achieving strong accuracy (overall Kappa: 0.7, R²: 0.69). The research reveals that pastures (22.3%), native vegetation (18.6%), food crops (18.3%), and mixed forest/pioneer plants (11.6%) follow in prevalence, reflecting historical colonization patterns. By leveraging object-based classification with a RandomForest algorithm, the study provides a baseline dataset to support both conservation efforts and agricultural practices, bridging gaps between these critical disciplines.

Laso, F. J., Benítez, F. L., Rivas-Torres, G., Sampedro, C., & Arce-Nazario, J. (2019). Land Cover Classification of Complex Agroecosystems in the Non-Protected Highlands of the Galapagos Islands. Remote Sensing, 12(1), 65. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs12010065