Forest carbon removals

This net flux layer is part of the forest greenhouse gas flux model described in Harris et al. (2021). This paper introduces a geospatial monitoring framework for estimating global forest fluxes which can assist a variety of actors and organizations with tracking greenhouse gas (GHG) fluxes from forests and in decreasing emissions or increasing removals by forests. Net forest flux represents the exchange of GHGs between forests and the atmosphere, calculated as the difference between GHGs emitted by forests and carbon removed by (or sequestered by) forests during the model period. Net carbon flux is calculated by subtracting average gross removals from annual gross emissions in each forested pixel; negative values are where forests were net sinks of carbon and positive values are where forests were net sources of GHGs between 2001 and 2025. Net fluxes are calculated following IPCC Guidelines for national greenhouse gas inventories in each pixel where forests existed in 2000 or were established between 2000 and 2020 according to Potapov et al. 2022. This layer reflects the cumulative net flux during the model period (2001-2025) and must be divided by 25 to obtain average annual net flux; net flux values cannot be assigned to individual years of the model. All input layers were resampled to a common resolution of 0.00025 x 0.00025 degrees each to match Hansen et al. (2013). We have made several updates to the model since its original release. For documentation through the current version, please refer to this blog. For a more detailed description of the changes included through the 2023 tree cover loss launch (released spring 2024) and a comparison of the model's fluxes with those from the Global Carbon Budget and national greenhouse gas inventories, please refer to Gibbs et al. (2025). Net flux is available for download in two different area units over the model duration: 1) megagrams of CO2e emissions/ha, and 2) megagrams of CO2e emissions/pixel. The first is appropriate for visualizing (mapping) net flux because it represents the density of GHG fluxes per hectare. The second is appropriate for calculating the net flux in an area of interest (AOI) because the values of the pixels in the AOI can be summed to obtain the total net flux for that area. The values in the latter were calculated by adjusting the net flux per hectare by the size of each pixel, which varies by latitude. When estimating net flux occurring over a defined number of years between 2001 and 2025, divide the values by the model duration and then multiply by the number of years in the period of interest. Both datasets only include pixels within forests, as defined in the methods of Harris et al. (2021) and updated with tree cover gain through 2020. Download data from here. Access data on GEE here Displays the net flux of greenhouse gases from forests, calculated as the difference between gross forest greenhouse gas emissions from stand-replacing forest disturbances and gross carbon removals from forest growth

This emissions layer is part of the forest carbon flux model described in Harris et al. (2021). This paper introduces a geospatial monitoring framework for estimating global forest carbon fluxes which can assist a variety of actors and organizations with tracking greenhouse gas fluxes from forests and in decreasing emissions or increasing removals by forests. Forest carbon emissions represent the greenhouse gas emissions arising from stand-replacing forest disturbances that occurred in each modeled year (megagrams CO2e emissions/ha, between 2001 and 2025). Emissions include all relevant ecosystem carbon pools (aboveground biomass, belowground biomass, dead wood, litter, soil organic carbon) and greenhouse gases (CO2, NH4, N2O). Emissions estimates for each pixel are calculated following IPCC Guidelines for national greenhouse gas inventories where stand-replacing disturbance occurred, as mapped in the Global Forest Change annual tree cover loss data of Hansen et al. (2013). The carbon emitted from each pixel is based on carbon densities in 2000, with adjustment for carbon accumulated between 2000 and the year of disturbance. Emissions reflect a gross estimate, i.e., carbon removals from subsequent regrowth are not included. Instead, gross carbon removals resulting from subsequent regrowth after clearing are accounted for in the companion forest carbon removals layer. The fraction of carbon emitted from each pixel upon disturbance (emission factor) is affected by several factors, including the direct driver of disturbance, whether fire was observed in the year of or preceding the observed disturbance event, whether the disturbance occurred on peat, and more. All emissions are assumed to occur in the year of disturbance. Emissions can be assigned to a specific year using the Hansen tree cover loss data; separate rasters for emissions for each year are not available from GNW. All input layers were resampled to a common resolution of 0.00025 × 0.00025 degrees each to match Hansen et al. (2013). We have made several updates to the model since its original release. For documentation through the current version, please refer to this blog. For a more detailed description of the changes included through the 2023 tree cover loss launch (released spring 2024) and a comparison of the model's fluxes with those from the Global Carbon Budget and national greenhouse gas inventories, please refer to Gibbs et al. (2025). Three variations of emissions rasters are available for download:    1) megagrams CO2e emissions/ha in pixels with >30% tree cover density (TCD) in 2000 or tree cover gain: Used for visualizing (mapping) emissions according to the default GNW TCD threshold because it represents the density of emissions per hectare. You would use this if you want to only include emissions in pixels that are more conservatively defined as forest.    2) megagrams CO2e emissions/pixel in pixels with >30% TCD in 2000 or tree cover gain: Used for calculating the emissions in an area of interest (AOI) according to the default GNW TCD threshold because the values of the pixels in the AOI can be summed to obtain the total emissions for that area. You would use this if you want to only include emissions in pixels that are more conservatively defined as forest.    3) megagrams CO2e emissions/pixel in pixels with any amount of tree cover in 2000 or tree cover gain: Used for calculating the emissions in an area of interest (AOI) without any TCD threshold because the values of the pixels in the AOI can be summed to obtain the total emissions for that area. This would represent the total emissions from tree cover loss in the AOI without applying a TCD threshold. You would use this if you want to include emissions in pixels that have low (<30%) TCD in 2000. The values in the megagrams CO2e/pixel layers were calculated by adjusting the emissions per hectare by the size of each pixel, which varies by latitude. Tree cover density in 2000 is according to Hansen et al. (2013) and tree cover gain between 2000 to 2020 is according to Potapov et al. (2022). Download data from here. Access data on GEE here Displays forest greenhouse gas emissions from stand-replacing disturbances

Annual aboveground carbon removal factor measured in megagrams of carbon per hectare per year, published with Harris et al. 2021 in Nature Climate Change.

This map shows the rate at which forests could capture carbon from the atmosphere and store it in aboveground live biomass over the first 30 years of natural forest regrowth. It was created by combining ground-based measurements at thousands of locations around the world with 66 co-located environmental covariate layers in a machine learning model to produce a wall-to-wall map. Forest plot data used to train the model are sourced from published literature, which can be found in the Forest Carbon database (ForC, maintained by the Smithsonian Institute (https://github.com/forc-db), as well as georeferenced data from publicly available national forest inventories. Although rates were estimated over all forest and savanna biomes globally, they are filtered here by “reforestable” area, as defined in Griscom et al. 2017 (PNAS). Reforestable areas exclude areas of native grasslands and croplands to safeguard the production of food and fiber and habitat for biological diversity.  Estimates the rate at which carbon could be sequestered in aboveground live biomass during the first thirty years of natural forest regrowth in potentially reforestable areas (Mg carbon/ha/yr).

- This data set, a collaboration between the Global Land Analysis & Discovery (GLAD) () lab at the University of Maryland (UMD), Google, USGS, and NASA, measures areas of tree cover loss across all global land (except - Antarctica and other Arctic islands) at approximately 30 × 30 meter resolution. The data were generated using multispectral satellite imagery from the Landsat 5 thematic mapper (TM), the Landsat 7 thematic mapper plus (ETM+), and the Landsat 8 Operational Land Imager (OLI) sensors. Over 1 million satellite images were processed and analyzed, including over 600,000 Landsat 7 images for the 2000-2012 interval, and more than 400,000 Landsat 5, 7, and 8 images for updates for the 2011-2022 interval, and additional images used for 2023, 2024 and 2025. The clear land surface observations in the satellite images were assembled and a supervised learning algorithm was applied to identify per pixel tree cover loss.  - In this data set, “tree cover” is defined as all vegetation greater than 5 meters in height, and may take the form of natural forests or plantations across a range of canopy densities. Tree cover loss is defined as “stand replacement disturbance” which is considered to be clearing of at least half of tree cover within a 30-meter pixel. The exact threshold is variable both through space and time, and is biome-dependent. Tree cover loss may be the result of human activities, including forestry practices such as timber harvesting or deforestation (the conversion of natural forest to other land uses), as well as natural causes such as disease or storm damage. Fire is another widespread cause of tree cover loss, and can be either natural or human-induced.  - This data set has been updated five times since its creation, and now includes loss up to 2025 (Version 1.13). The analysis method has been modified in numerous ways, including new data for the target year, re-processed data for previous years (2011 and 2012 for the Version 1.1 update, 2012 and 2013 for the Version 1.2 update, and 2014 for the Version 1.3 update), and improved modelling and calibration. These modifications improve change detection for 2011-2025, including better detection of boreal loss due to fire, smallholder rotation agriculture in tropical forests, selective losing, and short cycle plantations. Since the entire historical timeseries was not reprocessed with the updated methodology, time-series assessments should be performed with caution. Read more about the Version 1.13 update here:  and access on GEE here: .  - When zoomed out (< zoom level 13), pixels of loss are shaded according to the density of loss at the 30 x 30 meter scale. Pixels with darker shading represent areas with a higher concentration of tree cover loss, whereas pixels with lighter shading indicate a lower concentration of tree cover loss. There is no variation in pixel shading when the data is at full resolution (≥ zoom level 13).  - The tree cover canopy density of the displayed data varies according to the selection - use the legend on the map to change the minimum tree cover canopy density threshold.  Identifies areas of gross tree cover loss

- This is a global, wall-to-wall map of aboveground biomass (AGB) at approximately 30-meter resolution. This data product expands on the methodology presented in Baccini et al. (2012) to generate a global map of aboveground live woody biomass (AGB) density (megagrams biomass per ha) at 0.00025-degree (approximately 30-meter) resolution for the year 2000. Aboveground biomass was estimated using a multi-step process of calculating AGB at more than seven hundred thousand points with LiDAR with regional allometric equations, then using those to train a wall-to-wall model based on Landsat imagery. Pixels without tree canopy were assigned a biomass density of 0 Mg/ha. Additional information on the creation of this map can be found in Harris et al. 2021.  - Aboveground biomass is available for download in two different units: 1) megagrams AGB per hectare, and 2) megagrams AGB per pixel. The first is appropriate for visualizing (mapping) AGB and estimating average AGB density in an area of interest because it represents the density of AGB per hectare. The second is appropriate for calculating the total aboveground biomass stock in an area of interest because the values of the pixels in the AOI can be summed to obtain the total AGB stock in that area. The values in the latter were calculated by adjusting the AGB per hectare by the size of each pixel, which varies by latitude.  Shows aboveground live woody biomass density in the year 2000