Google DeepMind and partners release ForTy maps tracking forest types and change

What happened

Google DeepMind, Google Research, WRI and IIASA released Forest Typology (ForTy) 2020, a global 10-meter map classifying land into six forest and land-use categories, alongside an early time series covering 2017 to 2025. Validation across more than 9,000 sites found 90% accuracy for forest types and 95% for distinguishing forest from non-forest land. The datasets are freely available on Google Earth Engine under an open license and show changes including natural forests becoming plantations or farms.

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The story so far

Google DeepMind, Google Research, the World Resources Institute and the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis released Forest Typology (ForTy) 2020, a global map of forest and land-use types, alongside an early time series tracking changes from 2017 to 2025. Both datasets are now freely available on Google Earth Engine under an open license. The 2020 map classifies every 10-by-10-meter patch of land into six forest and land-use categories. Google DeepMind reported that validation across more than 9,000 sites found 90% accuracy for forest types and 95% accuracy for distinguishing forest from non-forest land. The time series shows changes including natural forests becoming plantations or farms; the partners plan to continue improving it.