Monitoring Changes and Soil Characterization in Mangrove Forests of the United Arab Emirates Using the Canonical Correlation Forest Model by Multitemporal of Landsat Data

Abstract

Mangrove forests are an important indicator of blue carbon storage and biodiversity and provide several benefits to the environment. This study showed the first attempt to apply the canonical correlation forest (CCF) model to classify mangroves and monitor changes in the mangrove forests of the entire region. The CCF model obtained a satisfactory accuracy with an F1 score of more than 0.90. Compared to Sentinel-2, Landsat 8 exhibited good temporal resolution with relatively little mangrove details. The resultant mangrove maps (1990–2020) were used to monitor changes in mangrove forests by applying a threshold value ranging from +1 to −1. The results showed a significant increase in the UAE mangroves over the period from 1990 to 2020. To characterize soil in mangrove forests, a set of interpolated maps for calcium carbonate, salinity concentration, nitrogen, and organic matter content was constructed. The results showed that there is a positive relationship between mangrove distribution and the calcium carbonate, nitrogen, salinity, and organic matter concentrations in the soil of the mangrove forests. Our results are of great importance to the ecological and research community. The new maps presented in this study will be a good reference and a useful source for the coastal management organization.