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Remote sensing-derived bioclimatic variables for modeling invasive Prosopis juliflora distribution in a region of limited meteorological stations

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Abstract

Accurate modeling of invasive species in areas of limited distribution of meteorological stations is challenging. In this regard, climate records from satellites are good alternatives. However, the accuracy of these datasets needs to be validated and their performance should be evaluated. Hence, this study aimed at evaluating the performance of four satellite-derived bioclimatic variables for modeling invasive Prosopis juliflora distribution in the dryland ecosystem of Ethiopia. Accordingly, WorldClim1.4 bioclimatic variables were used as a baseline to evaluate their performance, while, gauge-derived bioclimatic variables were used to validate all tested datasets. A total of 240 species occurrence and absence points were used to train and test the performance of all models using the Random Forest algorithm. Accordingly, satellite-derived bioclimatic variables provide better performance with an area under the curve of 0.64 and true skill statistics of 0.4 compared to a reanalysis and WorldClim1.4 derived bioclimatic variables. However, the lower performance of satellite datasets indicates the importance of its integration with other variables.

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Acknowledgements

This paper is part of the doctoral study entitled “Role of remote sensing in invasive species distribution modeling, the case of the lower Awash River basin, Ethiopia”. We would like to thank Wollo University and the Ethiopian Space Science and Technology Institute (ESSTI) for allowing this doctoral study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Remote Sensing, Entoto Observatory and Research Center, Ethiopian Space Science and Technology Institute (ESSTI), Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

    Nurhussen Ahmed & Worku Zewdie

  2. Department of Geography and Environmental Studies, Wollo University, Dessie, Ethiopia

    Nurhussen Ahmed

  3. Institute of Geomatics, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna (BOKU), Peter JordanStraße 82, 1190, Vienna, Austria

    Clement Atzberger

Authors
  1. Nurhussen Ahmed
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  2. Clement Atzberger
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  3. Worku Zewdie
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Correspondence to Nurhussen Ahmed.

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Ahmed, N., Atzberger, C. & Zewdie, W. Remote sensing-derived bioclimatic variables for modeling invasive Prosopis juliflora distribution in a region of limited meteorological stations. Trop Ecol 63, 94–103 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42965-021-00193-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s42965-021-00193-y

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