Google DeepMind releases ForTy, a global 10-meter forest type map

Google DeepMind, Google Research, WRI and IIASA released Forest Typology (ForTy) 2020, a global 10-meter map classifying every pixel into six forest and land-use types, plus an early time series from 2017 to 2025 tracking annual changes such as natural forests replaced by plantations or farms. The map is designed as a baseline for the EU deforestation regulation. Validation against more than 9,000 sites reported 90% accuracy for forest-type identification and 95% for forest versus non-forest. The data is openly available on Google Earth Engine.

Key takeaways

• ForTy classifies each 10-by-10-meter patch into six categories: primary, naturally regenerating, planted, plantation, tree crops/agroforestry, and other land.
• A time series covers 2017 to 2025 and shows what replaced lost forest, such as a timber plantation or tree-crop farm.
• Validation against more than 9,000 sites found the correct forest type 90% of the time and forest versus non-forest 95% of the time.
• The map and time series are freely available on Google Earth Engine under an open license.

Why it matters

Distinguishing natural, planted and farmed forests matters for carbon and biodiversity assessments and for compliance with deforestation rules, since tree-cover maps alone cannot show when natural forest was converted into plantations.

Read with care

The time series is described as early-release, and the validation accuracy figures are the authors' reported results, not independently checked.