Google Earth Creates First Detailed Global Map of Forest Change [VIDEO]

In a collaborative effort, 15 universities along with Google and the U.S. government have produced the first detailed high resolution map of global forest changes that have taken place from the beginning of this century.

The global map produced satellite images measuring the changes in forest cover from 2000-2012. The new study reports a global loss of 2.3 million square kilometers of forest since the beginning of this century. At the same time there was a gain of nearly 800,000 square kilometers of new forest.

"This is the first map of forest change that is globally consistent and locally relevant," says University of Maryland Professor of Geographical Sciences Matthew Hansen, team leader of the study, in the journal Science where the study has been published. "Losses or gains in forest cover shape many important aspects of an ecosystem including, climate regulation, carbon storage, biodiversity and water supplies, but until now there has not been a way to get detailed, accurate, satellite-based and readily available data on forest cover change from local to global scales."

They used Landsat 7 data right from 1999-2012 that was available at the U.S. Geological Survey Center for Earth Resources Observation and Sciences (EROS). The final data set of the forest extent and change was produced after processing over 650,000 Landsat images. Using Google Earth Engine computing, the researchers applied the models for characterizing the Landsat data.

This latest high resolution map enhances the knowledge of global forest cover as it accurately calculates the annual gain or loss of forest cover over the 21st century. This mapping database will be updated annually and it will calculate the forest stand-replacement disturbances that are caused either due to storms, fire or disease.

The map highlights the Brazilian government's effort to curb the loss of rainforest that has been effective and also reveals loss of forest cover in Indonesian,  Malaysia, Paraguay, Bolivia, Zambia, and Angola. Drastic changes were noticed in the subtropical forests that were mainly due to the forestry land use. The rate of change of the North American subtropical forests in Southeast U.S. was four times more than compared to the South American rainforests.

In the U.S. southeastern region, it was seen that 31 percent was either lost or gained. According to the study researchers, this data will help in understanding the local and global implications of these environmental,  natural, economic and societal systems changes.

This study was reported in Science Paper.