Open AccessUnintended consequences: Factors influencing oil palm plantation expansion
Author(s) -
Sangdao Wongsai,
Jutaporn Keson,
Noppachai Wongsai
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
iop conference series. earth and environmental science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1755-1307
pISSN - 1755-1315
DOI - 10.1088/1755-1315/538/1/012022
Subject(s) - drainage , palm oil , unintended consequences , land use, land use change and forestry , logistic regression , land use , palm , agroforestry , geography , environmental science , forestry , mathematics , engineering , ecology , statistics , civil engineering , physics , quantum mechanics , political science , law , biology
We investigated the landscape variables affecting the current dramatic expansion of oil palm plantations in Lam Thap district Krabi Province Thailand. THEOS satellite data was used to map land use classifications using the support vector machine method. Seven land use classes were consolidated into oil palm plantations and other rural uses. A logistic regression model was then applied to search for the relationship between two land use classes and the landscape variables of slope (three classes) and soil drainage (four classes). Overall, slope and drainage were statistically significant in explaining oil palm plantation expansion. Flat areas with poor drainage were the strongest factors. This contradicts the known optimal agronomic requirements for oil palms of well drainage. We suggest that what is observed is an unintended consequence of government oil palm support policies.