Remote sensing based forest cover classification using machine learning

Background

The forest ecosystem plays a vital role in preserving environmental equilibrium through pollution mitigation, flood regulation, and soil erosion prevention. The Food and Agricultural Organization recommends a forest cover of 20–30% for a country¹. Pakistan has a limited forest cover, comprising 5.1 percent of the total land area, equivalent to 4.478 million hectares². This translates to just 0.021 hectares per person, significantly below the global average of 1 hectare per person. Over the past thirty years, over 60 percent of the Himalayan Forest has undergone destruction³….