GFC2020: a global map of forest land use for year 2020 to support the EU Deforestation Regulation

作者：Clément Bourgoin, Astrid Verhegghen, Silvia Carboni, Iban Ameztoy, Lucas Degreve, Steffen Fritz, Martin Herold, Nandika Tsendbazar, Myroslava Lesiv, Frédéric Achard, René R. Colditz · 发表于：Earth system science data · 年份：2026 · DOI：10.5194/essd-18-1331-2026 · 被引用次数：6 · 研究领域：Remote Sensing and LiDAR Applications、Remote Sensing in Agriculture、Fire effects on ecosystems

Remote sensing-based observations are used to map tree cover extent, estimate canopy height, detect disturbances, and classify land cover and land use. However, comprehensive global information on forest cover, capturing both physical characteristics and land use components as defined by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), remains limited. Here, we present a harmonized and globally consistent map of forest presence or absence at 10 m spatial resolution for the year 2020, hereafter referred to as GFC2020. Our approach combines multiple spatial datasets, primarily derived from Earth observation (EO), to harness their complementary strengths within a transparent, flexible, and open science framework. GFC2020 maps 4562 million hectares (Mha) of forests globally, which is 9.5 % more than the estimate from latest FAO Global Forest Resources Assessment (FRA) for 2020. GFC2020 forest area does not include 578 Mha of tree cover (11 % of the global tree cover area) because these areas do not meet the height threshold or occur on agricultural or urban land. Conversely, around 0.6 % (∼ 25 Mha) of the area classified as forest in GFC2020 is unstocked, due to forest management practices or natural disturbances such as fire. Based on the reinterpretation of a previously collected reference set of 21 752 sample units, GFC2020 achieves an overall accuracy of 91 %, with a commission error of 18 % and an omission error of 8 % for forest. Improvements in EO products, such...