ISPRS-Annals ISPRS Annals of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences ISPRS-Annals ISPRS Ann. Photogramm. Remote Sens. Spatial Inf. Sci. 2194-9050 Copernicus Publications Göttingen, Germany 10.5194/isprs-annals-XI-3-2026-501-2026 Community Managed vs. Protected Forests: A Remote Sensing Workflow for Assessing Forest Conservation in Liberia (2002–2024) Aragón Amanda D. 1 2 Madden Marguerite 1 Auer Matthew R. 3 Center for Geospatial Research, Department of Geography, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA Forsite Consultants Ltd., Canada School of Public and International Affairs, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA 08 07 2026 XI-3-2026 501 506 Copyright: © 2026 Amanda D. Aragón et al. 2026 This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this licence, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ This article is available from https://isprs-annals.copernicus.org/articles/XI-3-2026/501/2026/isprs-annals-XI-3-2026-501-2026.html The full text article is available as a PDF file from https://isprs-annals.copernicus.org/articles/XI-3-2026/501/2026/isprs-annals-XI-3-2026-501-2026.pdf

This study assesses long-term forest change in Liberia’s Community Forest Management Areas for Conservation (CFMACs) and Protected Areas (PAs) from 2002 to 2024 using an integrated Landsat–Google Earth Engine (GEE) and an ArcGIS Pro workflow. Annual dry-season composites for three time periods were classified using a Random Forest model with 81.7% accuracy (Kappa = 0.781). Results show contrasting governance outcomes: CFMACs experienced modest forest gains from 2002–2014 and localized losses thereafter, while PAs exhibited larger overall gains but also greater cumulative forest loss, particularly along concession boundaries. Stability analysis revealed that PAs retained a higher proportion of Mature Forest, whereas CFMACs showed more dynamic turnover and localized regrowth. The combined GEE/ArcGIS approach provides a scalable, transparent monitoring framework and demonstrates how governance type influences forest persistence, degradation, and recovery across Liberia’s tropical landscapes.