DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.10646349
title: Validation dataset for the article 'Rubber planting and deforestation'

description: This repository contains the reference dataset used for validating the rubber layer published in Wang et al.’s paper "High-resolution maps show that rubber causes substantial deforestation".

The repository is organized as follows:





The folder “Code_GEE” contains Google Earth Engine code for:





Extraction of country-wide areas for rubber, rubber deforestation, overlapping area with oil palm and pulpwood, and related statistics (“Code_GEE/Export_areas.js”)




Figure showing the validation datasets from Wang et al. and from this repository and the associated errors for class ‘Rubber’ (“Code_GEE/Figure_validationDatasets”)




Visualization of validation points, high-resolution images from Google Maps, and Sentinel-2 NBR time series (“Code_GEE/Visualize_validationPoints”)






The folder “Screenshots_reference_dataset” contains screenshots of high-resolution images from Google Maps and Sentinel-2 NBR time series in the validation points. The screenshot images are sorted by:





Map class according to the rubber layer in Wang et. al, 2023 (subfolder “Screenshots_reference_dataset/Sorted_by_MapClass”)




Truth class assigned by non-automated visual interpretation of high-resolution images and NBR time series (subfolder “Screenshots_reference_dataset/Sorted_by_TruthClass”)






The file “ReferenceDataset_MattersArising_rubber.xlsx” contains the coordinates of the validation points (‘lat’ and ‘lon’) along with a unique identifier (‘ID’), the mapped and truth classes (‘MapClass’ and ‘TruthClass’) and a boolean specifying whether the points were included in the validation of the entire study area (‘subset_global’) or only the primary forest area (‘subset_primaryForest’). Truth classes are the following:





Class 0 (Non-forest): Areas with permanent non-tree cover. This class includes non-tree covers such as grasslands, annual crops, and water and impervious surfaces.




Class 1 (Forest): Areas with permanent tree cover. This class includes any area with presence of shrublands or trees. Individual trees, clear-cut areas, and tree plantations (except rubber plantations) are included in this class.  




Class 2 (Monoculture rubber): Monoculture rubber plantations, either industrial or smallholder owned.




Class 3 (Agroforest rubber): Jungle rubber (mixed species multi-strata agroforests). 






The file “TotalAreas_Rubber-PrimaryForest-and-Overlap-OilPalm-Pulpwood.xlsx” is the output file generated from the code “Code_GEE/Export_areas.js”.




The file “Validation_RubberLayer-Wang2023.xlsx” contains the calculations for post-stratified accuracy metrics and area estimates. The Excel file includes the following worksheets:





‘ALL_mono’: Validation of the rubber layer for the entire study area (eight countries in Southeast Asia). Class ‘Rubber’ only includes Class 2 ‘Monoculture rubber’. Class ‘Agroforest rubber’ is included in Class 1 ‘Forest’.




‘ALL_mono&agro’: Validation of the rubber layer for the entire study area. Class ‘Rubber’ includes both Class 2 ‘Monoculture rubber’ and Class 3 ‘Agroforest rubber’.




‘DEF_mono’: Validation of the rubber layer only for the primary forest in the study area. Class ‘Rubber’ only includes Class 2 ‘Monoculture rubber’. Class 3 ‘Agroforest rubber’ is included in Class 1 ‘Forest’.




‘DEF_mono&agro’: Validation of the rubber layer only for the primary forest in the study area. Class ‘Rubber’ includes both Class 2 ‘Monoculture rubber’ and Class 3 ‘Agroforest rubber’.