Forestry and land-use data

Forests and land use sit at the heart of climate and nature agendas, and satellite data makes them measurable. This guide covers forestry and land-use data and how to source it.

Why forestry data matters now

Deforestation rules, carbon and nature commitments, and supply-chain due diligence all need forest and land-use data. Earth observation has made it possible to monitor change at scale.

The forestry data landscape

• Forest cover and change: extent and loss over time.
• Biomass and carbon: stock estimates.
• Deforestation monitoring: alerts and verification.
• Land classification: land-use and land-cover maps.

Common use cases

Deforestation due diligence and compliance, carbon and nature reporting, agricultural and supply-chain provenance, and conservation and risk assessment.

Earth observation backbone

Most forestry data derives from satellite EO (including Copernicus and global forest-monitoring initiatives), combined with ground data. Resolution and revisit frequency matter for monitoring change.

Sourcing considerations

Much data is open but needs processing into usable indicators and combining with supply-chain or asset data via geocoding. Licensing for derived products should be confirmed.

In a managed model

A managed partner can source EO and ground data, derive forest and land-use indicators, and deliver them matched to your geographies.

EO underpins it

Deforestation rules and nature commitments drive demand, and most forestry data, cover, change, biomass, deforestation alerts, derives from satellite EO combined with ground data. Resolution and revisit frequency matter, and the deliverable is usually derived indicators.

Match to chains

Combine with supply-chain or asset data via geocoding, and confirm licensing on derived products.

Sources & further reading

• Copernicus Land Monitoring Service and EO providers.
• EUR-Lex: EU Deforestation Regulation.
• FAO: forest resources assessment.
• Global forest-monitoring initiatives.