Megan Garms signed up for the Center Scholars Program, a research experience for undergraduates that teams motivated juniors with GSCE scientists. She has been working with Dr. Izaya Numata (at right in picture) and, earlier, Dr. Mark Cochrane to use geospatial technologies to analyze the regrowth and development of forests in the Amazon Basin in areas where logging had occurred. Megan has worked up to 10 hours per week during the school year (SP17, FA17, SP18) and more hours last summer. An Honors student, Megan is graduating in May from SDSU with a BS in Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences and a minor in Animal Health. She will be pursuing a DVM at Iowa State University in the fall. Congratulations to Megan!
The goal of this project was to monitor and study the dynamics of secondary forests in the Amazon over 31 years using available satellite data. The activities involve 1) development of annual land cover maps using a decision tree classification technique; 2) assess the accuracy of land cover map products using high spatial resolution data; and 3) identify spatial and temporal changes of secondary forest areas, its ages throughout a 1985 – 2016 study period. Based upon the results from 3), potential implications of secondary forest dynamics for carbon cycle in the Amazon will be discussed.