A new global data set makes it possible to track near-real-time changes in several types of vegetation across different ecosystems, including grasslands, savannas, shrublands, croplands, temperate forests and boreal forests.
Called DIST-ALERT, the new product can be visualized on the Global Forest Watch platform of the World Resource Institute (WRI).
GFW has long offered the ability to track near-real-time changes within tropical forests through its integrated deforestation alerts. However, in 2024, researchers at the University of Maryland, U.S., and NASA’s OPERA project developed a monitoring system that can map changes to tree and vegetation cover across different ecosystems at a resolution of 30 meters (100 feet). The alerts acquire satellite data for each pixel every two to four days, as long as the ground isn’t obscured by cloud cover or snow.
This was “a huge undertaking requiring large amounts of data, and processing capacity,” Sarah Carter, research associate at GFW, told Mongabay by email. “It’s a major accomplishment having the data openly available to all [and] represents a great opportunity for land management worldwide.”
Since the new alert system allows users to see changes in both natural areas and human-managed areas like agricultural fields, the researchers say they hope the data “can give an early indication of unplanned or undesired changes to valuable ecosystems, including those which have historically been less well served by data such as grasslands and savannas.”
Moreover, since the alerts are made available to the end user in just a few days of the vegetation change actually occurring, the users can take action before the changes intensify or expand further, Carter said.
According to the researchers, one potential application of the new monitoring system is to track company compliance with regulations like the European Union’s anti-deforestation regulation. Known as the EUDR, it bans the import into the EU market of forest-related products derived from timber, beef, palm oil, soy, coffee, cocoa or rubber products if they originate from land deforested after Dec. 31, 2020.
Since DIST alerts can be triggered by any disturbance to different forest types as well as agriculture, they can be used by researchers and regulators to track violations of the EUDR’s requirements, Carter said.
The researchers, however, caution that not all changes detected by DIST-ALERT will be meaningful, and that additional information should be sought to understand the local context of the changes being detected.
GFW offers some context, such as whether the alerts are in a protected area or in a concession, which “helps to narrow down which should be investigated further,” Carter said.
Banner image: Screenshot of DIST-ALERT viewed on Global Forest Watch platform, courtesy of GFW.
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