Žiga Malek

Žiga Malek

orcid

Research Focus & Metrics

Academic Career Length

13Years (2014-Present)

(Calculated once Scilit publication data is synced: current year − year of first publication + 1)

Representative Publications

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22 November 2018 in Global Change Biology
Verified
Journal Article
Open access
PDF file
MLMyroslava Lesiv
Myroslava Lesiv
JBJuan Carlos Laso Bayas
Juan Carlos Laso Bayas
LSLinda See
Linda See
MDMartina Duerauer
Martina Duerauer
DDDomian Dahlia
Domian Dahlia
SFSteffen Fritz
Steffen Fritz
There is an increasing evidence that smallholder farms contribute substantially to food production globally, yet spatially explicit data on agricultural field sizes are currently lacking. Automated field size delineation using remote sensing or the estimation of average farm size at subnational level using census data are two approaches that have been used. However, both have limitations, for example, automatic field size delineation using remote sensing has not yet been implemented at a global scale while the spatial resolution is very coarse when using census data. This paper demonstrates a unique approach to quantifying and mapping agricultural field size globally using crowdsourcing. A campaign was run in June 2017, where participants were asked to visually interpret very high resolution satellite imagery from Google Maps and Bing using the Geo‐Wiki application. During the campaign, participants collected field size data for 130 K unique locations around the globe. Using this sample, we have produced the most accurate global field size map to date and estimated the percentage of different field sizes, ranging from very small to very large, in agricultural areas at global, continental, and national levels. The results show that smallholder farms occupy up to 40% of agricultural areas globally, which means that, potentially, there are many more smallholder farms in comparison with the two different current global estimates of 12% and 24%. The global field size map and the crowdsourced data set are openly available and can be used for integrated assessment modeling, comparative studies of agricultural dynamics across different contexts, for training and validation of remote sensing field size delineation, and potential contributions to the Sustainable Development Goal of Ending hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture.

1 June 2019 in Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability
Verified
Journal Article
Closed access
PVPeter H Verburg
Peter H Verburg
PAPeter Alexander
Peter Alexander
TETom Evans
Tom Evans
Nicholas MaglioccaNicholas Magliocca
Nicholas Magliocca
ŽMŽiga Malek
Žiga Malek
JVJasper Van Vliet
Jasper Van Vliet

10 May 2022 in Scientific Data
Verified
Journal Article
Open access
PDF file
MLMyroslava Lesiv
Myroslava Lesiv
Dmitry SchepaschenkoDmitry Schepaschenko
Dmitry Schepaschenko
MBMarcel Buchhorn
Marcel Buchhorn
Linda SeeLinda See
Linda See
MDMartina Dürauer
Martina Dürauer
SFSteffen Fritz
Steffen Fritz
Spatially explicit information on forest management at a global scale is critical for understanding the status of forests, for planning sustainable forest management and restoration, and conservation activities. Here, we produce the first reference data set and a prototype of a globally consistent forest management map with high spatial detail on the most prevalent forest management classes such as intact forests, managed forests with natural regeneration, planted forests, plantation forest (rotation up to 15 years), oil palm plantations, and agroforestry. We developed the reference dataset of 226 K unique locations through a series of expert and crowdsourcing campaigns using Geo-Wiki (https://www.geo-wiki.org/). We then combined the reference samples with time series from PROBA-V satellite imagery to create a global wall-to-wall map of forest management at a 100 m resolution for the year 2015, with forest management class accuracies ranging from 58% to 80%. The reference data set and the map present the status of forest ecosystems and can be used for investigating the value of forests for species, ecosystems and their services.

1 December 2017 in Science of The Total Environment
Verified
Journal Article
Closed access
LPLuca Pisano
Luca Pisano
veronica zumpanoveronica zumpano
veronica zumpano
ŽMŽiga Malek
Žiga Malek
CRC.M. Rosskopf
C.M. Rosskopf
MPM. Parise
M. Parise

1 January 2020 in Land Use Policy
Verified
Journal Article
Closed access
BSBagher Shirmohammadi
Bagher Shirmohammadi
Arash MalekianArash Malekian
Arash Malekian
ASAli Salajegheh
Ali Salajegheh
BTBahram Taheri
Bahram Taheri
HAHossein Azarnivand
Hossein Azarnivand
PVPeter H. Verburg
Peter H. Verburg

1 May 2018 in Global Environmental Change
Verified
Journal Article
Open access
ŽMŽiga Malek
Žiga Malek
PVPeter H Verburg
Peter H Verburg
IGIlse R Geijzendorffer
Ilse R Geijzendorffer
ABAlberte Bondeau
Alberte Bondeau
WCWolfgang Cramer
Wolfgang Cramer