{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,11]],"date-time":"2025-10-11T00:50:29Z","timestamp":1760143829330,"version":"build-2065373602"},"reference-count":48,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"5","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2024,2,21]],"date-time":"2024-02-21T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1708473600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Andalusian Agency for International Development and Cooperation (AACID)","award":["2017DEC013"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2017DEC013"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Remote Sensing"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Cuba is struggling with a growing environmental problem: the uncontrolled spread of the allochthonous weed species marabou (Dichrostachys cinerea) throughout the country. Over the last 70 years, marabou has become a formidable invasive species that poses a threat to Cuban biodiversity and agricultural productivity. In this paper, we present a free and affordable method for regularly mapping the spatial distribution of the marabou based on the Google Earth Engine platform and ecological surveys. To test its accuracy, we develop an 18-year remote sensing analysis (2000\u20132018) of marabou dynamics using the Valle de los Ingenios, a Cuban UNESCO World Heritage Site, as an experimental model. Our spatial analysis reveals clear patterns of marabou distribution and highlights areas of concentrated growth. Temporal trends illustrate the aggressive nature of the species, identifying periods of expansion and decline. In addition, our system is able to detect specific, large-scale human interventions against the marabou plague in the area. The results highlight the urgent need for remedial strategies to maintain the fragile ecological balance in the region.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/rs16050752","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,2,21]],"date-time":"2024-02-21T10:52:00Z","timestamp":1708512720000},"page":"752","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Analysis and Quantification of the Distribution of Marabou (Dichrostachys cinerea (L.) Wight &amp; Arn.) in Valle de los Ingenios, Cuba: A Remote Sensing Approach"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"16","author":[{"given":"Eduardo","family":"Moreno","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Departamento Ciencias Agroforestales, Escuela Tecnica Superior de Ingenieria, Universidad de Huelva, Av. de las Fuerzas Armadas, S\/N, 21071 Huelva, Spain"}]},{"given":"Encarnaci\u00f3n","family":"Gonzalez","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Departamento Ciencias Agroforestales, Escuela Tecnica Superior de Ingenieria, Universidad de Huelva, Av. de las Fuerzas Armadas, S\/N, 21071 Huelva, Spain"}]},{"given":"Reinaldo","family":"Alvarez","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Departamento de Agronomia, Facultad de Ciencias Agropecuarias, Universidad de Sancti Spiritus \u201cJose Marti\u201d, Av. de los Martires, 360, Sancti Spiritus 60100, Cuba"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6178-7498","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Julio","family":"Menendez","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Departamento Ciencias Agroforestales, Escuela Tecnica Superior de Ingenieria, Universidad de Huelva, Av. de las Fuerzas Armadas, S\/N, 21071 Huelva, Spain"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,2,21]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"e09645","DOI":"10.1111\/oik.09645","article-title":"A Synthesis of Biological Invasion Hypotheses Associated with the Introduction\u2013Naturalisation\u2013Invasion Continuum","volume":"2023","author":"Daly","year":"2023","journal-title":"Oikos"},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"106020","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ecolind.2019.106020","article-title":"Invasive Alien Plant Species: Their Impact on Environment, Ecosystem Services and Human Health","volume":"111","author":"Singh","year":"2020","journal-title":"Ecol. 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