IFL Data in Scientific Research

The Intact Forest Landscape project presented a new approach for assessment of ecological integrity and intactness at the regional-to-global scale. One of the major applications of the global IFL data is as a baseline for monitoring in the context of deforestation and degradation. The fact that IFL base map is globally consistent and highly detailed is hugely important in this context, as it allows, for the first time, to quantify and compare the extent of remaining large natural forest areas worldwide. It also provides a suitable baseline for operational, cost-effective satellite-based monitoring of forest loss and degradation, where its global scope and consistency is particularly useful for capturing issues of leakage.

Here we will provide a summary of scientific researches and geospatial databases which use or incorporated global or regional IFL data.

Margono B., Potapov P., Turubanova S., Stolle F., Hansen M.C. 2014. Primary forest cover loss in Indonesia over 2000–2012.
Nature Climate Change 4, 730–735
Abstract

Extensive clearing of Indonesian primary forests results in increased greenhouse gas emissions and biodiversity loss. The paper produce a robust estimate of primary forest cover loss and degradation at the national scale. The study combined the the global gross forest loss data with primary forest map and Intact Forest Landscapes dataset. To quantify changes in primary intact forest extent, IFL mapping was employed for 2000, 2005, 2010 and 2012 years. The results highlighted dramatic increase in primary forest loss and degradation.

Mollicone D., Eva H.D., Achard F. 2006. Human role in Russian wild fires.
Nature. 40: 436-437.
Abstract

Forest fires are a natural component of forest dynamics in some regions (e.g. boreal forests), but human development significantly alters natural fire regimes. The authors examined the number of forest-fire events across the boreal Russian Federation for the period 2002 to 2005 in intact forests, defined using Russian Intact Forest Landscapes dataset, and in non-intact forests, which have been shaped by human activity. Their results show that there were more fires in years during which the weather was anomalous, but that more than 87% of fires in boreal Russia were started by people. The fact that recent increases in 'wild' fires in Eurasian boreal forests are primarily a result of human behavior on the ground has implications for the global carbon budget and should be taken into account in future mitigation policies.

Mollicone D., Achard F., Federici S., Eva H.D., Grassi G., Belward A., Raes F.,
Seufert G., Stibig H.-J., Matteucci G., Schulze E.-D. 2007. An incentive mechanism for reducing emissions from conversion of intact and non-intact forests.
Climatic Change 83:477-493.
Abstract

The paper presents a new accounting mechanism in the context of the UNFCCC REDD initiative, including technical options for determining baselines of forest conversions. This proposal builds on the recent scientific achievements related to the estimation of tropical deforestation rates and to the assessment of intact forest areas. The distinction between intact and non intact forests used here arises from experience with satellite-based deforestation measurements and allows accounting for carbon losses from forest degradation. The proposed accounting system would use forest area conversion rates as input data.

Hansen M.C., Stehman S.V., Potapov P.V., Loveland T.R., Townshend J.R.G.,
DeFries R.S., Pittman K.W., Stolle F., Steininger M.K., Carroll M., Dimiceli C. 2008. Humid tropical forest clearing from 2000 to 2005 quantified using multi-temporal and multi-resolution remotely sensed data.
PNAS 105(27): 9439-9444.
Abstract

This paper presented results of a feasible and cost-effective monitoring strategy that enabled timely, precise, and internally consistent estimates of forest clearing within the humid tropics. A probability-based sampling approach that synergistically employs low and high spatial resolution satellite datasets was used to quantify humid tropical forest clearing from 2000 to 2005. To reduce standard error of deforestation estimates within low-change areas, post-stratification was implemented to partition area into post-strata representing areas of near-zero change and areas of some change. The post-stratification used data from the Intact Forest Landscapes project.

Tryse D. Disappearing Forests Google Earth Visualizations. 2008.
On-line database
Download KML file

This KML shows deforestation data from a number of sources for different countries, including a national-scale information pages. The database used data from the World Resources Institute (WRI): The Last Frontier Forests: Ecosystems and Economies on the Edge (1997), Greenpeace: The Worlds Last Intact Forest Landscapes (2006), and United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization: Global Forest Resources Assessment (2005).