While protected areas (PAs) are an important conservation strategy to protect vulnerable ecosystems and species, recent analyses question their effectiveness in curbing deforestation and maintaining landscape connectivity. The spatial arrangement of forests inside and outside of PAs may affect ecosystem functioning and wildlife movement. The Osa Peninsula—and Costa Rica in general—are unique conservation case studies due to their high biodiversity, extensive PA network, environmental policies, and payment for ecosystem services (PES) programs. This study explores the relationship between forest management initiatives—specifically PAs, the 1996 Forest Law, and PES—and forest cover and landscape metrics in the Osa Conservation Area (ACOSA). The Google Earth Engine API was used to process Surface Reflectance Tier 1 Landsat 5 Thematic Mapper and Landsat 8 Operational Land Imager data for 1987, 1998, and 2019, years with relatively cloud-free satellite imagery. Land use/land cover (LULC) maps were generated with the pixel-based random forest machine learning algorithm, and Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI), and functional landscape metrics were calculated. The LULC maps are the first to track land use change, from 1987 to 2019 and the first to separately classify mature and secondary forest in the region, and have already proven useful for conservation efforts. The results suggest that forest cover, NDVI, EVI, and structural connectivity increased from 1987 to 2019 across the study area, both within and surrounding the PAs, suggesting minimal deforestation encroachment and local leakage. These changes may have contributed to the increasing vertebrate abundance observed in the region. PAs, especially national parks with stricter conservation regulations, displayed the highest forest cover and connectivity. Forest cover increased in properties receiving PES payments. Following the Forest Law’s 1996 deforestation ban, both forest conversion and reforestation rates decreased, suggesting the law curbed deforestation but did not drive reforestation across the region. Connectivity outside of PAs slightly declined following the adoption of the law, so the subsequent forest growth likely occurred in mostly previously unforested areas. Forest expansion alone does not ensure connectivity. We highlight the importance of developing policies, PES programs, and monitoring systems that emphasize conserving and restoring large, connected forest patches for biodiversity conservation and landscape resilience. Resumen: Aunque las áreas protegidas (APs) son una importante estrategia de conservación para proteger ecosistemas y especies vulnerables, algunos análisis recientes cuestionan su eficacia para frenar la deforestación y mantener la conectividad del paisaje. La distribución espacial de los bosques dentro y fuera de las AP puede afectar el funcionamiento de los ecosistemas y los movimientos de la fauna. La Península de Osa–y Costa Rica en general–constituyen casos de estudio únicos de conservación debido a su elevada biodiversidad, su extensa red de AP, sus políticas medioambientales y sus programas de Pago por Servicios Ambientales (PSA). Este estudio explora la relación entre APs, la Ley Forestal de 1996, PSA, cobertura y métricas del paisaje en el Área de Conservación Osa (ACOSA). Se utilizó la plataforma Google Earth Engine API para procesar datos de Reflectancia Superficial Tier 1 Landsat 5 Thematic Mapper y Landsat 8 Operational Land Imager para 1987, 1998 y 2019, años con imágenes satelitales relativamente libres de nubes. Se generaron mapas de uso del suelo con el algoritmo de aprendizaje automático basado en pixeles Random Forest, y se calcularon el índice de vegetación de diferencia normalizada (NDVI), el índice de vegetación mejorado (EVI) y las métricas de paisaje funcionales. Estos mapas, los primeros en clasificar por separado los bosques maduros y secundarios de la región, han demostrado su utilidad para los esfuerzos de conservación. Los resultados sugieren que la cobertura forestal, el NDVI, el EVI y la conectividad estructural aumentaron entre 1987 y 2019 en toda la región de estudio, tanto dentro de las AP como en sus alrededores, lo que sugiere una expansión mínima de la deforestación dentro y fuera de las AP. Estos cambios pueden haber contribuido al aumento de la abundancia de vertebrados observado en la región. Las AP, especialmente los parques nacionales con regulaciones de conservación más estrictas, mostraron la mayor cobertura forestal y conectividad. La cobertura forestal aumentó en aquellas propiedades que recibieron PSA. Tras la prohibición de la deforestación por la Ley Forestal de 1996, disminuyeron tanto las tasas de conversión forestal como las de reforestación, lo que sugiere que la ley frenó la deforestación, pero no impulsó la reforestación. La conectividad fuera de las AP disminuyó ligeramente tras la entrada en vigor de la ley, lo que sugiere que el crecimiento forestal posterior se produjo en zonas que antes no estaban forestadas. Por lo tanto, la expansión forestal por sí sola no garantiza la conectividad. Resaltamos la importancia de desarrollar políticas, programas PSA y sistemas de monitoreo que hagan hincapié en la conservación y restauración de grandes zonas forestales conectadas para apuntalar la conservación de la biodiversidad y la resiliencia del paisaje. Full article

Over the past two decades, and particularly since 2018, Central Europe has experienced several droughts with strong impacts on ecosystems and food production. It is expected that under accelerating climate change, droughts and resulting vegetation and ecosystem stress will further increase. Against this background, there is a need for techniques and datasets that allow for monitoring of the timing, extent and effects of droughts. Vegetation indices (VIs) based on satellite Earth observation (EO) can be used to directly assess vegetation stress over large areas. Here, we use a MODIS Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI) time series to analyze and characterize the vegetation stress on Germany’s croplands and grasslands that has occurred since 2000. A special focus is put on the years from 2018 to 2022, an extraordinary 5-year period characterized by a high frequency of droughts and heat waves. The study reveals strong variations in agricultural drought patterns during the past major drought years in Germany (such as 2003 or 2018), as well as large regional differences in climate-related vegetation stress. The northern parts of Germany showed a higher tendency to be affected by drought effects, particularly after 2018. Further, correlation analyses showed a strong relationship between annual yields of maize, potatoes and winter wheat and previous vegetation stress, where the timing of strongest relationships could be related to crop-specific development stages. Our results support the potential of VI time series for robustly monitoring and predicting effects of climate-related vegetation development and agricultural yields. Full article