African Forest Cover Map from 1995 Satellite Imagery

Five land cover classes delineate Africa's forests circa 1995, including closed forest and open or fragmented forest. The U.S. Geological Survey EROS Data Center produced this map using AVHRR composite imagery. This snapshot reflects the continent's forest status in the mid-1990s.

Use Cases

• Analyze the spatial distribution of the 'Closed Forest' class versus 'Open or Fragmented Forest' to assess forest density.
• Track changes in the 'Other Wooded Land' category over time by comparing this 1995 baseline with newer data.
• Model habitat connectivity by identifying regions classified as 'Other Land Cover' that may fragment forest ecosystems.
• Use the 'Water' class to mask out aquatic bodies for terrestrial ecological studies.

Strengths

• Provides a continent-wide spatial snapshot for Africa.
• Classifies land cover into five distinct, defined categories (e.g., Closed Forest, Other Wooded Land).

Limitations

• Data is from a single year (circa 1995) and is not current.
• The classification methodology is based on 1990s-era AVHRR sensor technology with coarser resolution than modern satellites.

Provenance

Source

U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) EROS Data Center (EDC).

Collection Method

Produced from monthly AVHRR composite images using a hybrid maximum-NDVI and minimum-red compositing technique.

Time Range

circa 1995

Freshness

null

Geography

Africa