Global Forest Watch Research Articles

Spatiotemporal changes in forest loss and its linkage to burned areas in China

Fire-induced forest loss has substantially increased worldwide over the last decade. In China, the connection between forest loss and frequent fires on a national scale remains largely unexplored. In this study, we used a data set for a time-series of forest loss from the Global Forest Watch and for a MODIS-derived burned area for 2003–2015 to ascertain variations in forest loss and to explore its relationship with forest fires (represented by burned areas) at the country- and forest-zone levels. We quantified trends in forest loss during 2003–2015 using linear regression analysis and assessed the relation between forest loss and burned areas using Spearman’s correlation. Forest loss increased significantly (264.8 km2 a−1; R2 = 0.54, p < 0.01) throughout China, with an average annual increase of 11.4% during 2003–2015. However, the forest loss trend had extensive spatial heterogeneity. Forest loss increased mainly in the subtropical evergreen broadleaf forest zone (315.0 km2 a−1; R2 = 0.69, p < 0.01) and tropical rainforest zone (38.8 km2 a−1; R2 = 0.66, p < 0.01), but the loss of forest decreased in the cold temperate deciduous coniferous forest zone (− 70.8 km2 year−1; R2 = 0.75, p < 0.01) and the temperate deciduous mixed broadleaf and coniferous forest zone (− 14.4 km2 a−1; R2 = 0.45, p < 0.05). We found that 1.0% of China’s area had a significant positive correlation (r ≥ 0.55, p < 0.05) with burned areas and 0.3% had a significant negative correlation (r ≤ − 0.55, p < 0.05). In particular, forest loss had a significant positive relationship with the burned area in the cold temperate deciduous coniferous forest zone (16.9% of the lands) and the subtropical evergreen broadleaf forest zone (7.8%). These results provide a basis for future predictions of fire-induced forest loss in China.

Detección de amenazas y oportunidades para la conservación en la cuenca baja del Usumacinta a partir de técnicas de percepción remota

Gallardo-Cruz, J.A., Fernanzdez-Montes de Oca, A., Rives, C. 2019. 2019. Detecting conservation threats and opportunities in the lower Usumacinta basin based on remote sensing techniques. Ecosistemas 28(2): 82-99. Doi.: 10.7818/ECOS.1611 Since 1930, the Usumacinta low basin has a process of environmental degradation, however, in this region there are still areas to be conserved. To achieve this goal, it is necessary to know the threats and opportunities of the region. Therefore, this research proposes to analyze the spatial and temporal variation of environmental degradation, identify areas with less negative impact and assess those with conservation potential. The used methodology is based on information from the Global Forest Watch, specifically, 2000 – 2012 forest cover data, relevant cartography and in situ observations. With this information, forest cover loss and wetland and grazing cover to plantations were evaluated for five counties of the Usumacinta low basin. According to this information, four study windows were selected as potential areas for conservation. In these windows, a study about loss and gain of forest cover was conducted. It was observed that forest cover change has increased, specially, in Balancan and Tenosique counties (from 251 to 1190 ha and from 263 to 525 ha, respectively). Nevertheless, in Centla and Emiliano Zapata counties it has decreased (0.6 ha). About the study windows, it was observed that El Cometa window has the lowest transformation, while, Balancan window, has the most important forest cover loss increment (6925 ha). However, Balancan window could work as a biological corridor between Mexican and Guatemalan natural areas.

Assessing Harvested Sites in a Forested Boreal Mountain Catchment through Global Forest Watch

Global Forest Watch (GFW) provides a global map of annual forest cover loss (FCL) produced from Landsat imagery, offering a potentially powerful tool for monitoring changes in forest cover. In managed forests, FCL primarily provides information on commercial harvesting. A semi-autonomous method for providing data on the location and attributes of harvested sites at a landscape level was developed which could significantly improve the basis for catchment management, including risk mitigation. FCL in combination with aerial images was used for detecting and characterising harvested sites in a 1607 km2 mountainous boreal forest catchment in south-central Norway. Firstly, the forest cover loss map was enhanced (FCLE) by removing small isolated forest cover loss patches that had a high probability of representing commission errors. The FCLE map was then used to locate and assess sites representing annual harvesting activity over a 17-year period. Despite an overall accuracy of &gt;98%, a kappa of 0.66 suggested only a moderate quality for detecting harvested sites. While errors of commission were negligible, errors of omission were more considerable and at least partially attributed to the presence of residual seed trees on the site after harvesting. The systematic analysis of harvested sites against aerial images showed a detection rate of 94%, but the area of the individual harvested site was underestimated by 29% on average. None of the site attributes tested, including slope, area, altitude, or site shape index, had any effect on the accuracy of the area estimate. The annual harvest estimate was 0.6% (standard error 12%) of the productive forest area. On average, 96% of the harvest was carried out on flat to moderately steep terrain (&lt;40% slope), 3% on steep terrain (40% to 60% slope), and 1% on very steep terrain (&gt;60% slope). The mean area of FCLE within each slope category was 1.7 ha, 0.9 ha, and 0.5 ha, respectively. The mean FCLE area increased from 1.0 ha to 3.2 ha on flat to moderate terrain over the studied period, while the frequency of harvesting increased from 249 to 495 sites per year. On the steep terrain, 35% of the harvesting was done with cable yarding, and 62% with harvester-forwarder systems. On the very steep terrain (&gt;60% slope), 88% of the area was harvested using cable yarding technology while harvesters and forwarders were used on 12% of the area. Overall, FCL proved to be a useful dataset for the purpose of assessing harvesting activity under the given conditions.

ПРОВЕДЕННЯ ГЕОСИСТЕМНОГО МОНІТОРИНГУ ВИРУБКИ ЛІСІВ У ЧЕРНІГІВСЬКОМУ РАЙОНІ

Urgency of the research. The process of constructing modern forest monitoring systems, the development of technical facilities, high frequency, efficiency and availability of remote sensing materials allow realize the tasks the tasks of effective control of the modern environment. The experience gained by domestic experts allows us to use the results of processing these images to calculate changes in forest areas, determining the types of forests, their species composition and age mainly at the regional level. The deterioration of forests in Ukraine today is one of the most pressing problems, the solution of which is quite effective with the use of modern systems of geosystem environmental monitoring. Target setting. At the current stage of Ukraine's development, there is a problem of monitoring the country's forests, since at the same time, illegal deforestation has increased, which carries threats to the country's ecology and increases the level of corruption and financial losses of the state budget. The estimation of the number of forests of the Pukul village council of Chernihiv oblast was estimated from 2000 to 2017 using the Global Forest Watch service as well as using the ArcMap geodetic software product. After the performed measurements, it is possible to estimate the state of the forest complex of the research site and to propose measures for elimination of the revealed problems. Actual scientific researches and issues analysis. The latest publications on this topic, which are presented in open access, including scientific journals, study guides and data from the global Internet network, were reviewed. Uninvestigated parts of general matters defining. The processes of organization and monitoring of forests should be considered as a single information complex, which makes it possible to assess the state of the country and determine the size of forest plantations and, most importantly, illegal logging, which will affect the environmental and financial situation in the state. And in order to prevent the negative impact of deforestation on the environment, it is necessary to use modern geoinformation software complexes, which allow to estimate the scale of forest areas fairly quickly and precisely and to decide on environmental measures for effective management in forests of Ukraine. The research objective. It is quite effective to use the open system of "Global Forest Watch" for monitoring of forest areas in Ukraine because it enables to determine the chosen site in a certain territory, but the systems do not give data on the areas of each cut area, therefore to get such parameters it is suggested to use the software ArcMap on the basis base map, which enables the data from attribute tables to determine the area of each individual cutting area of the forest. The statement of basic materials. The area of forest plantations with an area of 6200 ha was chosen for forest monitoring in the Chernihiv district of the Pukulsky village council. The monitoring was carried out using the open system "Global Forest Watch", since it enables to determine the amount of forest plantations in the selected area, and then for obtaining more accurate data on the area of forest plantations, the parameters were adapted to the ArcMap software based on the base map, which makes it possible to estimate the area forest areas of cut and planted forest for the selected period of time. Conclusions. Based on the performed researches, it was established that for monitoring of forest plantations in Ukraine it is quite effective to use the open system "Global Forest Watch", which combines data from different sources. This system helps to determine forest areas in the country and their location in the regions of the state. However, in order to improve the accuracy of determining the areas of cuttings and re-planted, it is recommended to use the ArcMap software package, which enables to increase the monitoring of the forest and prevent illegal felling of forest areas.

An interdisciplinary analysis with data mining and visualization tools applied on multiple and multi-source time series - The case of the forest fund in Romania

Starting from the idea of poor biodiversity conservation which continues to be one of the major both national and international current problems, this paper focuses on the analysis of the evolution of the forest fund and also on the validation of a set of hypothesis regarding specific indicators related to this evolution with a special consideration for interrelations and future trends based on a custom data mining model. The time series data was provided by the Romanian Ministry of the Environment, National Bank of Romania, Romanian Court of Accounts, National Institute of Statistics, Eurostat, Global Forest Watch, Global Forest Change, Google Earth and Transparency International. This data was filtered, calibrated, exported in order to be collected and integrated into a single online spreadsheet shared for open access and then progressively refined. It served as source of online representations under the form of interactive charts and maps or other visual metaphors able to capture the space-time evolution and distribution and provide basic support for querying. Finally, it was also the starting point for further time series analysis by using data mining tools. The results confirm the hypotheses formulated also on the basis of worrying satellite data and supported by the scientific literature. They also emphasize the influence of some historical moments associated with the appearance of specific laws progressively allowing an increasing private share of forests and also with the Romania’s alignment to the European Union on the evolution of some forest fund indicators.

Using annual Landsat imagery to identify harvesting over a range of intensities for non-industrial family forests

The monitoring of forested landscapes dominated by many small private forest owners is difficult or not possible without spatially explicit and up-to-date information on land cover change. Analysis of time series multispectral data from the Landsat series of satellites have the spatial and temporal characteristics required to detect sub-hectare and non-stand replacing harvest events over large areas. We identified harvests that occurred in six western upper Michigan counties from 1985 to 2011 using Landsat best available pixel (BAP) image composites and the Composite2Change (C2C) approach. We detected a total of 7071 harvesting events with size ranging from 0.5 to 171.36 ha and average size of 6.42 ha, and analyzed their temporal trajectory. To gain confidence in our harvest mapping, we compared our findings to the overlapping decade of Global Forest Watch (GFW) data. Agreement between the datasets was high, with 94.24% of the C2C and GFW harvest pixels identified with the same change year and improving to 98.74% within ±1 year. This automated harvest detection system, which can capture small and otherwise missed harvests, is valuable to natural resource agencies responsible for monitoring and compliance with regulations over large areas, and researchers requiring estimates of harvest levels and the nature of forest cover status and trends on family forests.

A local perspective on drivers and measures to slow deforestation in the Andean-Amazonian foothills of Colombia

Colombia’s Andean-Amazonian foothills are among the most pressing deforestation hotspots in the country. Yet, the relationships and dependencies of underlying deforestation drivers are not well understood. For an adequate territorial reorganization in the post-conflict era that is sensitive to local context, a targeted analysis of the present situation at the local level is required. This study investigates direct and indirect deforestation drivers, relationships among these and potential measures to lower deforestation post-conflict. The analysis uses spatial data of the Global Forest Watch project as a starting point for semi-structured interviews with 25 locally and regionally engaged stakeholders, triangulated with existing literature on the social, political and economic situation in the region. The results suggest that deforestation is not only caused by uncontrolled land colonization, but also related to the armed conflict, specifically the eradication of illicit crops and waves of migration due to the displacement of communities. Interviewees stressed the ambiguous role of armed groups and the responsibility of the state in incentivizing deforestation through building roads for the oil industry, fostering extractive industries and cattle ranching. The study reveals a high level of uncertainty among stakeholders regarding the possible effects of the peace agreement between the government and the FARC. Interviewees emphasized the crucial role of good governance and state sovereignty when working towards the establishment of alternative profitable industries, the implementation of environmental compensation schemes and an increased investment into environmental education.

Predicting the origins of next forest-based emerging infectious disease.

Land use change near dense forests is the single major cause of emergence of forest-based emerging infectious diseases (EIDs) among humans. In an attempt to predict where the next EID would originate from, we are hypothesizing that future EIDs would originate from a region having high population density, excessive poverty, and is located near dense vegetation. Using ArcGIS, we identified forest regions in ten countries across the globe that meet all the three conditions identified in the hypothesis. We further narrowed down the locations using Global Forest Watch data, which eliminates locations next to protected forests and fragmented forests. Our results indicate that there is high likelihood of next infectious disease originating from the southern and eastern forests around Freetown in Sierra Leone, the forest region around Douala in Cameroon, or the southern forest region in Nigeria. Concerted efforts need to be made to identify any new disease in the areas as soon as it emerges in the human population and contain the spread within the population.

Rapid MODIS-based detection of tree cover loss

This paper reports on recent improvements made to the FORMA (Hammer et al., 2014a) data product. The resulting system, FORMA250, is a 250-m alerting system updated daily. FORMA250 alerts are available through Global Forest Watch. These alerts can empower law enforcement officials, government agencies responsible for protecting forests, nongovernmental organizations, companies committed to sustainable forest management practices and supply chains, indigenous groups and forest-dependent communities. In addition, the alerts provide useful information for researchers who study temporal and spatial patterns of forest clearing.

Annual dynamics of forest areas in South America during 2007–2010 at 50-m spatial resolution

South America has the largest tropical rainforests and the richest biodiversity in the world. It is challenging to map tropical forests and their spatio-temporal changes because forests are facing fragmentation from human activities (e.g., logging, deforestation), drought, and fire, as well as persistent clouds. Here we present a robust approach to map forests in South America during 2007–2010 and analyze the consistency and uncertainty among eight major forest maps in South America. Greenness-relevant MOD13Q1 NDVI and structure/biomass-relevant ALOS PALSAR time series data recorded 2007 through 2010 were coupled to identify and map forests at 50-m spatial resolution. Both area and spatial comparison were conducted to analyze the consistency and uncertainty of these eight forest maps. Annual 50-m PALSAR/MODIS forest maps were generated during 2007–2010 and the total forest area in South America was about 8.63×106km2 in 2010. Large differences in total forest area (8.2×106km2–12.7×106km2) existed among these forest products, especially in the forest edges, semi-humid tropical, and subtropical regions. Forest products generated under a similar forest definition had similar or even larger variation than those generated with contrasting forest definitions. We also find out that one needs to consider leaf area index as an adjusting factor and use much higher threshold values in the Vegetation Continuous Field (VCF) datasets to estimate forest cover areas. Analyses of PALSAR/MODIS forest maps in 2008/2009 showed a relatively small rate of loss (3.2×104km2year−1) in net forest cover, similar to that of FAO FRA (3.3×104km2year−1), but much higher annual rates of forest loss and gain. The rate of forest loss (0.195×106km2year−1) was higher than that of Global Forest Watch (0.081×106km2year−1). PALSAR/MODIS forest maps showed that more deforestation occurred in the unfragmented forest areas. Caution should be used when using the different forest maps to analyze forest loss and make policies regarding forest ecosystem services and biodiversity conservation. The integration of PALSAR and MODIS images during 2007–2010 provides annual maps of forests in South America with improved accuracy and reduced uncertainty.

Forest loss maps from regional satellite monitoring systematically underestimate deforestation in two rapidly changing parts of the Amazon

Accurate, consistent reporting of changing forest area, stratified by forest type, is required for all countries under their commitments to the Paris Agreement (UNFCCC Adoption of the Paris Agreement (Paris: UNFCCC)). Such change reporting may directly impact on payments through comparisons to national Reference (Emissions) Levels under the Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation (REDD+) framework. The emergence of global, satellite-based forest monitoring systems, including Global Forest Watch (GFW) and FORMA, have great potential in aiding this endeavour. However, the accuracy of these systems has been questioned and their uncertainties are poorly constrained, both in terms of the spatial extent of forest loss and timing of change. Here, using annual time series of 5 m optical imagery at two sites in the Brazilian Amazon, we demonstrate that GFW more accurately detects forest loss than the coarser-resolution FORMA or Brazil’s national-level PRODES product, though all underestimate the rate of loss. We conclude GFW provides robust indicators of forest loss, at least for larger-scale forest change, but under-predicts losses driven by small-scale disturbances (< 2 ha), even though these are much larger than its minimum mapping unit (0.09 ha).

Detection of forest loss on Black Stork (Ciconia nigra L.) breeding sites in the Rivne region (Polissia) by a GIS analysis

The study aims to assess the scale of forest loss (mostly caused by logging) on breeding sites of the local Black Stork breeding population in the Rivne region of Ukraine, within the Polissia nature zone. The study is based on a GIS analysis of the Global Forest Watch data in intersection of circular buffers of different sizes around 141 Black Stork nests. Forest logging was detected on 38,3% of breeding sites in the region, in 100 m buffers around nests. On more than 14% of breeding territories (in 100 m buffers) forest loss exceeded 20% of the total forest area. Therefore, logging is one of the major threats for the local Black Stork population. The method used for the forest loss detection by a GIS analysis seems to be effective for the search of territories with the violation of protection regime for rare birds when resources are limited.

Restoration Templates for Sahyadri (Northern Western Ghats)

Sahyadri mountains are witnessing a great change in land use pattern and lifestyle of local people overthe last few decades because of modern development and construction of dams. As a result ecologicalsystems within the catchment have changed resulting in a change in socio-economic conditions. The usualapproach to tackle this situation is plantation or afforestation. However, this approach does not consider therevival of ecosystems. As mitigation measures, the Ecological Society, in 1986, had conducted experimentsin the Panshet dam catchment. This resulted in the development of restoration methods for the bioclimaticregion of Sahyadri. The approach of this experiment was using a low-cost restoration methodology. In this,enhancement of the ecosystem in early stages of restoration provides ecosystem services and products, suchas fodder in the intermediate stage to the local communities. By using similar techniques, oikos forecological services, a company engaged in ecological restoration, undertook several ecological restorationprograms on private lands within the Sahyadri region. The results showed significant improvement inecosystems and biodiversity, thereby improving livelihood options for the local communities.Funded by a grant from Global Forest Watch, Ecological Society conducted an assessment of changes inland use and status of biodiversity in Panshet, in 2014-15. The Panshet dam catchment forms a part ofSahyadri and similar conditions are encountered elsewhere in the region. This study made an assessmentof the potential for restoration in the catchment area. Based on this study and earlier studies by oikos forecological services, we created templates which are intended to guide restoration process of degraded landsin Sahyadri.The templates are backed by the experience of actual implementation of restoration techniques on variousland patches within Sahyadri during the last 30 years. Three templates are presented to guide the completeprocess of restoration.

Recent increases in human pressure and forest loss threaten many Natural World Heritage Sites

Natural World Heritage Sites (NWHS), via their formal designation through the United Nations, are globally recognized as containing some of the Earth's most valuable natural assets. Understanding changes in their ecological condition is essential for their ongoing preservation. Here we use two newly available globally consistent data sets that assess changes in human pressure (Human Footprint) and forest loss (Global Forest Watch) over time across the global network of terrestrial NWHS. We show that human pressure has increased in 63% of NWHS since 1993 and across all continents except Europe. The largest increases in pressure occurred in Asian NWHS, many of which were substantially damaged such as ManasWildlifeSanctuary. Forest loss occurred in 91% of NWHS that contain forests, with a global mean loss of 1.5% per site since 2000, with the largest areas of forest lost occurring in the Americas. For example WoodBuffaloNationalPark and RíoPlátanoBiosphereReserve lost 2581km2 (11.7%) and 365km2 (8.5%) of their forest respectively. We found that on average human pressure increased faster and more forest loss occurred in areas surrounding NWHS, suggesting they are becoming increasingly isolated and are under threat from processes occurring outside their borders. While some NWHS such as the SinharajaForestReserve and ManaPoolsNationalPark showed minimal change in forest loss or human pressure, they are in the minority and our results also suggest many NWHS are rapidly deteriorating and are more threatened than previously thought.

Humid tropical forest disturbance alerts using Landsat data

A Landsat-based humid tropical forest disturbance alert was implemented for Peru, the Republic of Congo and Kalimantan, Indonesia. Alerts were mapped on a weekly basis as new terrain-corrected Landsat 7 and 8 images were made available; results are presented for all of 2014 and through September 2015. The three study areas represent different stages of the forest land use transition, with all featuring a variety of disturbance dynamics including logging, smallholder agriculture, and agroindustrial development. Results for Peru were formally validated and alerts found to have very high user’s accuracies and moderately high producer’s accuracies, indicating an appropriately conservative product suitable for supporting land management and enforcement activities. Complete pan-tropical coverage will be implemented during 2016 in support of the Global Forest Watch initiative. To date, Global Forest Watch produces annual global forest loss area estimates using a comparatively richer set of Landsat inputs. The alert product is presented as an interim update of forest disturbance events between comprehensive annual updates. Results from this study are available for viewing and download at http://glad.geog.umd.edu/forest-alerts and www.globalforestwatch.org.

A Report on Socio-Economic Status in Villages of the Panshet Dam Catchment Region

In 1985, Ecological Society had conducted a detailed ecological and socio-economic survey of the Panshet dam catchment region near Pune. In 2014, thanks to a grant from Global Forest Watch, a detailed ecological survey was repeated for the region. A dipstick study was also conducted across six villages to assess the current socio-economic aspects and man-nature relationship in the region. Data on population, households, occupations, income, land use, agricultural practices, cattle, vegetation, forest resources, schools and other amenities, and social bonds was collected. These findings were compared with the 1985 study to assess ongoing changes in the catchment. We found that the process of degradation of forests has continued. As a result, the worsening of human-nature relationship has also continued. Decline in agriculture, lack of profits in ancillary occupations, migration out of the catchment, and land acquisition by urban property owners and developers, complicate the region’s socioeconomic picture. Many of the 1985 study recommendations, if implemented with good governance, had the potential to nurture a sustainable, natural resource-centric economy in the region, however this did not happen. Going forward, a landscape ecological approach, managed by a quasi-government Catchment Authority, is suggested. The report makes recommendations for new implementation vehicles, such as a Model Eco-Sensitive Zone Initiative, a Landowner-Conservators’ Collective, an Incubator for Sustainable Local Economy, and a Reverse Migration Program.

Observations of China&amp;rsquo;s forest change (2000&amp;ndash;2013) based on Global Forest Watch dataset

了解森林的变化,是评价生物多样性变化趋势和制订有效保护行动的基础,也是公共政策及广大公众普遍关心的议题,然而国内一直都没有可供空间分析的森林分布及变化的公开数据。Hansen等于2013年在Global Forest Watch网站上发布了基于Landsat数据的30 m分辨率的全球森林变化数据集,第一次提供给研究者一套高分辨率的公开数据。我们解读了2000–2013年的数据,并与已有的国家森林清查、China Cover、Globe Land30等数据集进行比较。结果表明,Global Forest Watch数据质量可靠,其与Globe Land30数据集的森林分布有较高的空间重合度,后者森林类别的生产者精度为87%,用户精度为89%。在大于20%的树木覆盖度下,估算出2000年森林面积为1,780,472 km2,与同期国家森林清查数据1,749,092 km2相近,解读结果表明2000–2010年间森林减少面积在37,551–42,031 km2之间,而同期其他几套数据显示森林面积增量为2,370–433,810 km2。森林面积年减少量最大值出现在2008年,以该年为拐点,森林每年减少面积的变化趋势在此之前为显著增加,在此之后为显著降低,林地变化最活跃的区域在广西、广东、福建、江西和云南等南方省份。到2013年底,占保护区总面积约60%以上的407个国家级保护区仅覆盖了森林面积的5.03%,对森林保护的面积覆盖有限,保护区对其内部的森林保护有成效,区内森林面积净减1.39%,低于全国平均水平（3.46%）,相当于少毁林1,856 km2,但仍有1,200 km2的净减。

Dispatches

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Global Forest Watch Initiative Provides Opportunity for Worldwide Monitoring

A new initiative is using advances in satellite technology, open access to data, cloud computing, and crowdsourcing to try to stem deforestation around the world.

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Dispatches