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A GIS-based tool to estimate carbon stock related to changes in land use due to tourism in Phuket Island, Thailand

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Abstract

According to the National Statistical Office (NSO), Phuket receives a large and increasing number of visitors each year, generating revenue and assisting in the development of both the local and the national economies. The impact of the increase in tourist numbers visiting Phuket is not only economic, but also social and environmental. The most noticeable changes in urban areas are the extreme levels of traffic congestion, increases in living expenses and a loss of green areas. This rapid and largely haphazard development is causing concern among the citizens of Phuket as they fear irreversible damages that could ruin the tourism industry in the long term. This paper presents a study conducted using geographic information system (GIS) as a tool to determine changes in land use and the carbon stored in soil from 2000 to 2013. On the basis of this information, the trend of the tourism carrying capacity, green space and global warming potential from the release of CO2 from the soil surface can be analysed to assess the environmental status of the tourism industry in Phuket. The data show a negative trend requiring the enactment and implementation of stricter legislation for the management of tourism and the environment in Phuket.

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Abbreviations

A:

Other agricultural land

AL :

Land area, ha

A1:

Paddy fields

F:

Other forest

FI :

Stock change factor for the input of organic matter, dimensionless

FLU :

Stock change factor for land-use systems, dimensionless

FMG :

Stock change factor for the management regime, dimensionless

F1:

Evergreen forest

GHG:

Greenhouse gas

GIS:

Geographic information system

LULC:

Land use/land cover

LU2000:

Land use/land cover of Phuket for the year 2000

LU2009:

Land use/land cover of Phuket for the year 2009

LU2013:

Land use/land cover of Phuket for the year 2013

M:

Miscellaneous land use

NA:

Area not classified as to Phuket’s land use

NSO:

National statistical office

SOC:

Soil organic carbon stock, t of carbon

SOCREF :

Reference carbon stock, t of carbon ha−1

U:

Other urban and built-up land

UTM:

Universal transverse mercator

U502:

Factories

U602:

Golf courses

W:

Other water bodies

WGS84:

World geodetic system 1984

W2:

Built-up reservoir

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Acknowledgements

The authors gratefully acknowledge the funding of this work by the National Science and Technology Development Agency (NSTDA), under the project, ‘An analysis of green gross provincial product (GPP) of Phuket, a tourist city’. Special thanks go to Assoc. Prof. Dr. Raymond James Ritchie for editing the English language of the manuscript. We also want to thank the two anonymous reviewers for their comments and suggestions which were very helpful in improving the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Andaman Environment and Natural Disaster Research Center, Interdisciplinary Graduate School of Earth System Science and Andaman Natural Disaster Management, Prince of Songkla University, Phuket Campus, Phuket, 83120, Thailand

    Kritana Prueksakorn & Jorge Carlos Gonzalez

  2. Andaman Environmental Research and Innovation Center, Faculty of Technology and Environment, Prince of Songkla University, Phuket Campus, Phuket, 83120, Thailand

    Jutaporn Keson

  3. Faculty of Technology and Environment, Prince of Songkla University, Phuket Campus, Phuket, 83120, Thailand

    Sangdao Wongsai

  4. Department of Mathematics and Computer Science, Faculty of Science and Technology, Prince of Songkla University, Pattani Campus, Pattani, 94000, Thailand

    Noppachai Wongsai

  5. Integrated Science and Technology Research Center (Applied Chemistry/Environmental Management/Software Engineering), Faculty of Technology and Environment, Prince of Songkla University, Phuket Campus, Phuket, 83120, Thailand

    Pensiri Akkajit

Authors
  1. Kritana Prueksakorn
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  2. Jorge Carlos Gonzalez
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  3. Jutaporn Keson
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  4. Sangdao Wongsai
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  6. Pensiri Akkajit
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Correspondence to Kritana Prueksakorn.

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Prueksakorn, K., Gonzalez, J.C., Keson, J. et al. A GIS-based tool to estimate carbon stock related to changes in land use due to tourism in Phuket Island, Thailand. Clean Techn Environ Policy 20, 561–571 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10098-017-1455-5

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