Global map of deforestation, 2000-2012 Posted on November 20th, 2013 by

Global forest change from 2000-2012. Map created by the University of Maryland's Department of Geographical Sciences.

Global forest change from 2000-2012. Green areas are forested. Red represents forest loss, blue forest gain, and pink both loss and gain. Map created by the University of Maryland’s Department of Geographical Sciences.

Geographers working with Google cloud computing experts have released a new interactive map of forest losses and gains between 2000 and 2012.The map is created from Landsat satellite imagery. Humans are the main cause of forest lost, followed by fire, especially in temperate boreal forests. Nearly a third of deforestation occurred in the tropics, with deforestation increasing in Indonesia while slowing in Brazil. In the North American West, forest loss from fire, logging, and pine beetle infestations is readily apparent.

The study is published in the 15 November 2013 issue of Science. For a summary of the research results, read this.

 

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