Spatial database of planted forests in East Asia

Area of Science:

• Forestry science
• Ecology
• Remote sensing

Background:

• Planted forests are vital for climate change mitigation and ecosystem services.
• East Asia holds 36% of global planted forests, but data on their distribution and species is scarce.

Purpose of the Study:

• To create the first spatial database of planted forests in East Asia.
• To map geographic distribution and dominant tree genera.
• To enable accurate quantification of planted forests' role in climate change mitigation.

Main Methods:

• Utilized extensive in situ and remote sensing data.
• Employed an ensemble modeling approach for spatial analysis.
• Developed spatially-continuous maps with 95% accuracy and an F1 score of 0.77.

Main Results:

• Identified 948,863 km² of planted forests in East Asia.
• China accounts for 87% of this area, primarily in tropical/subtropical lowlands and the Sichuan Basin.

Conclusions:

• The developed database provides crucial data for understanding planted forest distribution.
• Findings support effective forest conservation, management, and global restoration initiatives.
• Accurate mapping aids in quantifying the climate change mitigation potential of planted forests.