Global forest land-use change from 1990 to 2005: Initial results from an FAO global remote sensing survey

Global area in forest land use continues to decline... Source Year Remote Sensing Global Forest Resource Assessment In millions of hectares1990 3 767 4 1682000 3 694 4 061

...but not as much as previously thought• FAO Forest Resources Assessment estimated a loss of 107 million ha from 1990 to 2005• This survey detected a change of 73 million ha for the same period• A difference of 32%

Nearly 80% of the world’s forests are in the tropics and boreal zones

Net change was positive in each climatic zone except the tropics Boreal Temperate Subtropical Tropical World 90-00 00-05 90-00 00-05 90-00 00-05 90-00 00-05 90-00 00-05 10 000thousands hectares (‘000) Gross gain Gross loss Net change -10 000

Global forest area by region

Area in forest land use by region Source Remote Sensing Global Forest Resource Assessment Region In millions of hectares 1990 2005 1990 2005Africa 518 492 749 691Asia 497 516 576 584Europe (including Russia) 1 080 1 071 989 1 001North and Central America 736 723 708 705Oceania 117 115 199 197South America 857 804 946 882

Most forest conversion to other land uses was in South America and Africa Africa Asia Europe N. America Oceania S. America 90-00 00-05 90-00 00-05 90-00 00-05 90-00 00-05 90-00 00-05 90-00 00-05 4 000thousands hectares (‘000) Gross gain Gross loss Net change -4 000

How did we obtain these findings?Landsat imagery was classified from sample sites – classified, reviewed and analyzed

A systematic 1 degree grid...> 13,000 sites worldwide~10,000 with tree cover

Forest or Non-forest Processing Land cover changes1990 Gain in trees (green) Loss (red stripes) Shrubs (young trees?)2000 Change =

Review and revision by 200national experts....

Conclusions• Net conversion of forest land is substantially lower than previously estimated• The conversion of forest land into other land uses continues most actively in the tropics...• ... but is also occurring in Europe, North America/Central America and Africa• The methods used in this survey can be used a means of improving estimates of forest land use change at national, regional and global scales

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Global forest land-use change from 1990 to 2005: Initial results from an FAO global remote sensing survey

by Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations on Nov 29, 2011

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Global forest land-use change from 1990 to 2005: Initial results from an FAO global remote sensing survey — Presentation Transcript