This study delved into the spatiotemporal evolution and impact mechanisms of areca palm (Areca catechu L.) plantations in China. Using Landsat and Google Earth imagery combined with machine learning, the geographical distribution of areca palm was mapped at a 30 m resolution from 1987 to 2022, achieving an overall classification accuracy of 0.67 in 2022. The plantation area rapidly expanded from 8064 hectares in 1987 to 193,328 hectares in 2022. Spatially, there was a pronounced trend of overall agglomeration in areca palm plantations, primarily displaying two distribution patterns: high-value aggregation and low-value aggregation. Moreover, the plantation area exhibited a significant positive correlation with both GDP (r = 0.98, p < 0.001) and total population (r = 0.92, p < 0.01), while negatively correlating with rural population (r = −0.76, p < 0.05). No significant correlation was observed with environmental factors. This study elucidated the patterns and trends concerning economic development across regions and the impact of monoculture on Hainan Island’s ecological environment. Comprehensive, large-scale, long-term mapping of areca palms will enhance our understanding of global agriculture’s sustainability challenges and inform policy development.

Biomass carbon sequestration and sink capacities of tropical rainforests are vital for addressing climate change. However, canopy height must be accurately estimated to determine carbon sink potential and implement effective forest management. Four advanced machine-learning algorithms—random forest (RF), gradient boosting decision tree, convolutional neural network, and backpropagation neural network—were compared in terms of forest canopy height in the Hainan Tropical Rainforest National Park. A total of 140 field survey plots and 315 unmanned aerial vehicle photogrammetry plots, along with multi-modal remote sensing datasets (including GEDI and ICESat-2 satellite-carried LiDAR data, Landsat images, and environmental information) were used to validate forest canopy height from 2003 to 2023. The results showed that RH80 was the optimal choice for the prediction model regarding percentile selection, and the RF algorithm exhibited the optimal performance in terms of accuracy and stability, with R² values of 0.71 and 0.60 for the training and testing sets, respectively, and a relative root mean square error of 21.36%. The RH80 percentile model using the RF algorithm was employed to estimate the forest canopy height distribution in the Hainan Tropical Rainforest National Park from 2003 to 2023, and the canopy heights of five forest types (tropical lowland rainforests, tropical montane cloud forests, tropical seasonal rainforests, tropical montane rainforests, and tropical coniferous forests) were calculated. The study found that from 2003 to 2023, the canopy height in the Hainan Tropical Rainforest National Park showed an overall increasing trend, ranging from 2.95 to 22.02 m. The tropical montane cloud forest had the highest average canopy height, while the tropical seasonal forest exhibited the fastest growth. The findings provide valuable insights for a deeper understanding of the growth dynamics of tropical rainforests.

As an essential blue carbon ecosystem, mangroves play a vital role in coastal protection, biodiversity conservation, and climate regulation. However, their complex and variable growth environments pose challenges for precise monitoring. Hainan Island represents a region within China where mangrove forests are the most concentrated and diverse in type. In recent years, ecological restoration efforts have led to the recovery of their coverage areas. This study analyzed the spatial distribution, canopy height, and aboveground carbon storage variations in Hainan mangrove forests. Deep-learning and multiple machine-learning algorithms were used to integrate multitemporal Sentinel-2 remote sensing imagery from 2019 to 2023 with unmanned aerial vehicle observations and field survey data. Multi-rule image fusion and deep-learning techniques effectively enhanced mangrove identification accuracy. The mangrove classification achieved an overall accuracy exceeding 90%. The mangrove area in Hainan increased from 3948.83 ha in 2019 to 4304.29 ha in 2023. Gradient-boosted decision tree (GBDT) models estimated average canopy height with a high coefficient of determination (R² = 0.89), and Random Forest (RF) models yielded the best estimations of total above-ground carbon stock with strong agreement to field observations. Integrating multisource remote sensing data with artificial intelligence algorithms enabled high-precision dynamic monitoring of mangrove distribution, structure, and carbon storage to provide scientific support for the assessment, management, and carbon sink accounting of Hainan mangrove ecosystems.