Global Forest Classification for IPCC Biomass Estimates at 30-m Resolution

Forest classes delineate global forest status and condition for the year 2020 at approximately 30-meter resolution. The dataset identifies approximately 3.26 billion hectares of forests, categorized as primary, young secondary (≤20 years), and old secondary (>20 years). It was created on the ESA-NASA Multi-mission Analysis and Algorithm Platform (MAAP) to support generating Tier 1 estimates for Aboveground Biomass Density under IPCC guidelines.

Use Cases

• Generating Tier 1 estimates for Aboveground dry woody Biomass Density (AGBD) for national greenhouse gas inventories.
• Analyzing the global distribution and area of primary versus secondary forest classes.
• Serving as a conservative baseline layer for studies on forest degradation, recovery, and carbon sequestration potential.
• Integrating with other Earth Observation products on tree cover, height, and age for change detection analysis.

Strengths

• Provides a conservative, high-resolution (approx. 30-m) global classification minimizing errors of commission.
• Covers approximately 3.26 billion hectares of forests worldwide, offering a substantial spatial extent.
• Classification is based on a Boolean combination of multiple existing EO products from 2000 to 2020, leveraging established data sources.
• Created on the collaborative ESA-NASA MAAP platform, indicating a reproducible, open-science methodology.

Limitations

• Conflicting last updated dates exist between platforms (2026-03-13 and 2020-12 31), creating uncertainty about the most recent version.
• Specific column names, row counts, and dataset size are not provided by any source, limiting detailed technical assessment.
• The classification represents a single snapshot year (2020) and does not constitute a time series of forest change.

Provenance

Source

ORNL_CLOUD

Collection Method

Classification based on a Boolean combination of existing Earth Observation products of forest tree cover, height, age, and land use classification layers (2000-2020).

Time Range

2020

Freshness

2026-03-13 05:42:21.501413

Geography

Global