Google DeepMind and Google Research, working with the World Resources Institute (WRI) and the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA), have released Forest Typology 2020 (ForTy), a global map classifying land in 10-by-10-meter areas. It distinguishes six forest and land-use types, offering more detail than maps that show only whether tree cover is present.
The categories are primary forest, naturally regenerating forest, planted forest, plantation forest, tree crops and agroforestry, and other land. The definitions are based on those of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization. ForTy is intended to help users distinguish natural forests from planted areas and tree-crop farms, which can look similar in satellite imagery but differ in their ecological value.
The release also includes an early time series tracking changes each year from 2017 to 2025. It shows not only where forest was lost, but also what replaced it, such as a plantation, a tree-crop farm or other land.
The map builds on Natural Forests of the World 2020, released by the same organizations last year, which identified whether land was natural forest in 2020. ForTy adds detail about the type of forest and how it changes over time. The organizations describe it as a baseline for the European Union’s deforestation regulation, which requires relevant products to meet rules concerning land conversion and forest degradation.
Sources: Google DeepMind Blog.