Identifying forest invasive species in Fiji and Tonga using machine learning: A Pacific Islands case study
Forest and land cover across the Pacific are undergoing rapid transformation. In many areas, the removal of native vegetation and deforestation, whether through agriculture, urban development, or natural disasters such as cyclones, have made ecosystems increasingly vulnerable to invasion by non-native plant species. Among these, aggressive colonisers like Cordia alliodora and Spathodea campanulata (African Tulip) are threatening biodiversity, ecosystem health, food security and local economies.