Thesis Project
"Assessing Climate Change Resilience in Tanzania Agroforestry: Spatial Analysis Using GIS and Remote Sensing Data"
Biography
Mengtan Zhou is an MSc candidate in Geography at the University of Waterloo, specializing in spatial statistics and GIS-based analysis of agricultural systems. Born and raised in Tanzania, he was motivated to investigate pressing issues affecting his country of birth, which naturally led him to focus on the agricultural sector — a cornerstone of Tanzania's economy that supports millions through coffee production along intensifying climate challenges. This personal connection inspired his research under the supervision of Dr. Su-Yin Tan, where Mengtan’s research focuses on coffee agroforestry and climate resilience in Tanzania, combining Exploratory Spatial Data Analysis (ESDA), spatial regression, and suitability modelling to understand how environmental conditions shape smallholder coffee yields. He has developed a multi-source, verified regional coffee yield dataset and applied advanced clustering and hotspot methods to identify vulnerability and opportunity zones for targeted interventions. Beyond his thesis, Mengtan has participated in the WaterLeadership Workshop series to strengthen his science communication skills and is interested in applying spatial analytics to real-world policy and planning for sustainable agriculture and rural livelihoods.
Research Areas
Mengtan’s research examines climate resilience in Tanzania’s coffee agroforestry systems through an integrated spatial analysis framework that links climate, topography, and yield outcomes. His work combines climatic variables from satellite data, and regional coffee yield statistics to model current and future coffee suitability under changing temperature and rainfall regimes. Using ESDA tools such as Moran’s I, Local Indicators of Spatial Association, Getis‑Ord Gi, and Local Geary, alongside OLS, spatial lag, and spatial error regression models, he quantifies how variables like temperature, elevation, and precipitation influence spatial patterns of coffee productivity and identifies emerging hotspots and coldspots across Tanzania. The goal of this research area is to produce actionable suitability and vulnerability maps that guide climate-smart agroforestry interventions, support smallholder farmers’ adaptation strategies, and inform evidence-based policy for Tanzania’s coffee sector and other climate-sensitive crops in sub-Saharan Africa.
Education
Master of Science in Geography (Expected October 2027)
University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Canada
Bachelor of Environmental Studies in Geomatics (June 2025)
University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Canada
University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Canada
Bachelor of Environmental Studies in Geomatics (June 2025)
University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Canada
Experience
Teaching Assistant (2025-present)
University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Canada
Courses: GEOG 207 – Climate Change Fundamentals; GEOG/PLAN 281 – Introduction to GIS
University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Canada
Courses: GEOG 207 – Climate Change Fundamentals; GEOG/PLAN 281 – Introduction to GIS