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Woody vegetation is a primary component of forests ecosystems and contributes significantly to both global and local ecosystem services. Among others, these ecosystem services include carbon sequestration and climate mitigation, support for biodiversity, soil and water conservation, nutrient cycling and flux controls, slope stabilization to reduce mass wasting, sites for recreation and spirituality, control energy and mass exchange between the atmosphere and land surface, and source of food, fuel, and timber (Rasmussen et al., 2017; Kuyah et al., 2016; Van Noordwijk et al., 2014; FAO, 2014). Woody vegetation cover therefore contributes enormously to human wellbeing and socio-ecological resilience. Recent reports (IPBES, 2019; IPCC, 2019) show the intricate linkages between land cover change, biodiversity loss, climate change and the amplification of socio-ecological vulnerabilities to environmental stresses. The imperative for climate change mitigation and adaptation has deepened global interest in the maintenance of woody vegetation and forest ecosystems, especially in the tropics (IADB, 2020). The UN Sustainable Development Goal 15 (life on land) hinges on mobilizing global effort to (i) protect, restore, and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, (ii) sustainably manage forests, and (iii) combat desertification and halt or reverse land degradation and biodiversity loss. Loss of woody vegetation is a good indicator of land degradation and socio-ecological vulnerability. Yet, the rate of spatial expansion of forest and woody vegetation worldwide lags deforestation and forest degradation (FAO and UNEP, 2020). In countries with little or no forest, maintenance of remnant woody vegetation is, therefore, important for socio-ecological resilience.
The Caribbean Tropical Small Island Developing States (SIDS) tend to be biodiversity hotspots, with several endemic species (Mitchell et al., 2019). However, the small landmass and natural resource base place inordinate pressure on land resources, resulting in rapid and pervasive changes in land cover, landscape fragmentation, and land degradation. Here, the tight coupling of terrestrial and marine ecosystem processes, due to short spatial distances between the two, implies improper use of land resources has both direct and indirect impacts on coastal and marine resources on which tourism largely subsists. Yet, land use and land cover (LULC) change is rarely monitored. Barbados is known to have relatively low woody biomass cover compared to the other islands. It is believed that the early European settlers cleared the island of its lush tropical forest to permit plantation-style sugarcane production. There have been intermittent national efforts, post-independence, to re-plant or maintain remnant woody vegetation cover, especially to stabilize slopes in the Scotland District which falls within an important watershed in the East Coast of the island (Sabir and Mahon, 2010). This area contains important recreational and tourist sites such as the Farley Hill National Park, the Barbados Wildlife Reserve, Andromeda Botanic Gardens, and the Welchman Hall Gully. Urbanization, multiplication of smallholder farms, and small landmass place practical limits on large scale afforestation, or the expansion and persistence of woody vegetation. There is strong interest, however, in massive tree planting for multiple ecosystem services, including climate mitigation, soil management, slope stabilization, sustainable agriculture, habitats for biodiversity, and human health. Yet, little is known about the spatio-temporal dynamics of woody vegetation cover in the island to support such a strategy or interest.