The global map of forest cover was created by combining available global datasets (wall-to-wall or global in their scope) on tree cover, tree height, land cover and land use into a single harmonized globally-consistent representation of where forests existed in 2020.
The workflow consists in first mapping the global maximum extent of tree cover circa the year 2020 from the combination of ESA World Cover 2020 and 2021, WRI Tropical Tree Cover 2020, UMD Global land cover and land use 2019, Global Mangrove Watch 2020 and JRC Tropical Moist Forest 2020 datasets. In a second step, a series of overlays and decision rules are applied to reduce this maximum extent of tree cover and align it with the Forest definition using datasets covering cropland and commodity expansion, land use change, built-up and water.
Forthcoming technical reports will describe the methodology and accuracy of the global map of forest cover version 2. A JRC Science for Policy report (Bourgoin et al. 2024) describes the input layers and mapping approach of the global map of forest cover version 1.
The following tables show a non-exhaustive list of issues that have not been corrected in the map. The table “by region” lists issues of broader, more general nature. Specific issues are listed in the table “by coordinates”, where the coordinates point approximately to the centre location where the issue was found. Occasionally, these lists may be updated. Improvements of the map (higher versions) will aim to alleviate some of the known issues.
| Region | Description of the issue | Date | Source |
|---|
| Longitude | Latitude | Description of the issue | Date | Source |
|---|
The global forest cover map of 2020 version 2 is available for download by 10°x10° tiles. The tiling starts at 180°W and 80°N with tile ID “N80” and “W180”, respectively. Tiles over the ocean are not provided. The file format is GEOTIFF.
The naming convention is as follows JRC_GFC2020_V2_[lat]_[lon].tif, where:
Map coordinates are in latitude and longitude, referenced to the WGS84 datum.
Click on the tile in the image below to start the download.
The previous version of the global forest cover map of 2020 (JRC_GFC2020_V1) is available here
Each of the downloadable files can be displayed in desktop GIS tools. The table below contains symbology files to display the colourmap and labels for the values in QGIS and ArcGIS.
| Dataset | QGIS | ArcGIS |
|---|---|---|
| Global forest cover map 2020, Version 2 | JRC_GFC2020_V2.qml | JRC_GFC2020_V2.lyr |
The files for download are geolocated (latitude and longitude with WGS84 datum) but do not contain any metadata information. Please right-click in the table below to download the metadata file.
| Dataset | ISO 19139 Metadata file |
|---|---|
| Global forest cover map 2020, Version 2 | JRC_GFC2020_V2.xml |
Interactive visualization of the global forest cover map along with frequently asked questions and other information can be found at the EU Observatory on deforestation and forest degradation website.
The global forest cover map of 2020 can also be viewed in other websites or GIS clients as WMS (Web Map Service). They are not suitable for analysis as the data are represented only as RGB images. The WMS URL is: https://ies-ows.jrc.ec.europa.eu/iforce/gfc2020/wms.py?
The Global forest cover map 2020 (Version 2) can also be accessed and used in the Google Earth Engine platform: https://developers.google.com/earth-engine/datasets/catalog/JRC_GFC2020_V2
All data here are produced under studies funded by the Directorate-General for Environment of the European Commission through the Dev-ForObs project. All data are provided free-ofcharge, without restriction of use. For the full license information see the Copernicus Regulation of the European Commission.
Publications, models and data products that make use of this dataset must include proper acknowledgement, including citing dataset as in the following citation:
Bourgoin, Clement; Verhegghen, Astrid; Degreve, Lucas; Ameztoy, Iban; Carboni, Silvia; Colditz, Rene; Achard, Frederic (2024): Global map of forest cover 2020 - version 2. European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) [Dataset] PID: http://data.europa.eu/89h/e554d6fb-6340-45d5-9309-332337e5bc26.
The designations employed and the presentation of material on this map do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the European Union concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.
