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Publication Details
AFRICAN RESEARCH NEXUS
SHINING A SPOTLIGHT ON AFRICAN RESEARCH
general
More than one quarter of Africa’s tree cover is found outside areas previously classified as forest
Nature Communications, Volume 14, No. 1, Article 2258, Year 2023
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Description
The consistent monitoring of trees both inside and outside of forests is key to sustainable land management. Current monitoring systems either ignore trees outside forests or are too expensive to be applied consistently across countries on a repeated basis. Here we use the PlanetScope nanosatellite constellation, which delivers global very high-resolution daily imagery, to map both forest and non-forest tree cover for continental Africa using images from a single year. Our prototype map of 2019 (RMSE = 9.57%, bias = −6.9%). demonstrates that a precise assessment of all tree-based ecosystems is possible at continental scale, and reveals that 29% of tree cover is found outside areas previously classified as tree cover in state-of-the-art maps, such as in croplands and grassland. Such accurate mapping of tree cover down to the level of individual trees and consistent among countries has the potential to redefine land use impacts in non-forest landscapes, move beyond the need for forest definitions, and build the basis for natural climate solutions and tree-related studies. © 2023, The Author(s).
Authors & Co-Authors
Reiner, Florian
Denmark, Copenhagen
Københavns Universitet
Brandt, Martin S.
Denmark, Copenhagen
Københavns Universitet
Tong, Xiaoye
Denmark, Copenhagen
Københavns Universitet
Skole, David L.
United States, East Lansing
Michigan State University
Kariryaa, Ankit
Denmark, Copenhagen
Københavns Universitet
Ciais, Philippe
France, Gif-sur-yvette
Commissariat a L'energie Atomique et Aux Energies Alternatives
Davies, Andrew B.
United States, Cambridge
Harvard University
Hiernaux, Pierre
France, Caylus
Pastoralisme Conseil
Chave, Jérôme
France, Paris
Cnrs Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique
Mugabowindekwe, Maurice
Denmark, Copenhagen
Københavns Universitet
Igel, Christian
Denmark, Copenhagen
Københavns Universitet
Gieseke, Fabian Cristian
Denmark, Copenhagen
Københavns Universitet
Germany, Munster
University of Münster
Li, Sizhuo
Denmark, Copenhagen
Københavns Universitet
France, Gif-sur-yvette
Université Paris-saclay
Saatchi, Sassan S.
United States, Pasadena
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Boucher, Peter Brehm
United States, Cambridge
Harvard University
Singh, Jenia
United States, Cambridge
Harvard University
Taugourdeau, Simon
France, Paris
Cirad
Dendoncker, Morgane
Belgium, Louvain-la-neuve
Université Catholique de Louvain
Mertz, Ole
Denmark, Copenhagen
Københavns Universitet
Tucker, Compton J.
United States, Greenbelt
Nasa Goddard Space Flight Center
Fensholt, R.
Denmark, Copenhagen
Københavns Universitet
Statistics
Citations: 12
Authors: 21
Affiliations: 13
Identifiers
Doi:
10.1038/s41467-023-37880-4
ISSN:
20411723