Abstract
Key messageUsing satellite-based maps, Ceccherini et al. (Nature 583:72-77, 2020) report abruptly increasing harvested area estimates in several EU countries beginning in 2015. Using more than 120,000 National Forest Inventory observations to analyze the satellite-based map, we show that it is not harvested area but the map’s ability to detect harvested areas that abruptly increases after 2015 in Finland and Sweden.
Highlights
Using satellite-based maps, Ceccherini et al (2020) report abruptly increasing harvested area estimates in several EU countries beginning in 2015
Because Landsat became more sensitive in detecting forest cover loss over time, many losses that occurred in or before the first period are detected in the second period
We certainly agree with the authors that one of the more important elements of the Paris Agreement is to “achieve a balance between anthropogenic emissions by sources and removals by sinks of greenhouse gases in the second half of this century” (UN 2015)
Summary
Using satellite-based maps, Ceccherini et al (2020) report abruptly increasing harvested area estimates in several EU countries beginning in 2015. Ceccherini et al (2020) use satellite-based Global Forest Change (GFC) (Hansen et al 2013) data to estimate the yearly harvest area in each of 26 EU states over the period 2004 to 2018. They claim that an increase of harvested areas will impede the EU’s forest-related climate-change mitigation strategy, triggering additional required efforts in other sectors to reach the EU climate neutrality target by 2050
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