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. “Loss” indicates the removal or mortality of tree cover and can be due to a variety of factors, including mechanical harvesting, fire, disease, or storm damage. As such, “loss” does not equate to deforestation.

In the original publication, the authors evaluated the overall prevalence of false positives (commission errors) in this data at 13%, and the prevalence of false negatives (omission errors) at 12%, though the accuracy varies by biome and thus may be higher or lower in any particular location. The model often misses disturbances in smallholder landscapes, resulting in lower accuracy of the data in sub-Saharan Africa, where this type of disturbance is more common. The authors are 75 percent confident that the loss occurred within the stated year, and 97 percent confident that it occurred within a year before or after. Users of the data can smooth out such uncertainty by examining the average over multiple years.

Tree Cover Loss - reference layer