New high-resolution mapping is giving IFB researchers a clearer picture of where rubber is grown across Southeast Asia and helping to explain why its impacts may previously have been underestimated.
IFB Knowledge Exchange Dr Fellow Alexa Varah of the Natural History Museum has been developing an analysis pipeline using spatial data on rubber production. Initial work was carried out at a resolution of 10km, allowing the pipeline to be developed and tested. The analysis is now running at a much finer 1km resolution.
Combined with a new corrected rubber map developed by Dr Antje Ahrends of the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, the higher-resolution analysis reveals significant differences in the distribution of rubber across the region.
The change is particularly clear in Thailand and Cambodia, and on China’s Hainan Island. In the corrected map, brighter yellow and green areas show locations where there is substantially more rubber within individual grid cells than was represented in the original data.
That matters because the quality of the underlying distribution data affects our understanding of rubber's impacts. If rubber production is under-represented in the map, its potential impacts may be underestimated too.
The work demonstrates the importance of improving both the quality and resolution of spatial data. Better maps don't simply show us more detail: they can change our understanding of where pressures are occurring and provide stronger evidence for assessing their potential impacts on biodiversity.
Image caption: The original rubber distribution map (left) and corrected map (right) at 1km resolution. Brighter yellow and green areas in the corrected map indicate locations with more rubber than previously represented, particularly in Thailand, Cambodia and Hainan Island.