Observe > Forest, land and biodiversity
Forests, land and biodiversity
Watch how forest, farmland and cities have changes across 42 countries in the Global South since 2001, and see where gaps in biodiversity data are holding back conservation.
How to read this
1. Choose a country to zoom the map to it and update the figures. The three cards show much of the land is forest, and farmland, and how many biodiversity records exist.
2. Use the year slider, or press Play, to watch land cover change from 2001 onwards. Look for dark green forest shrinking, red cropland spreading, or grey urban areas growing.
3. Follow the forest over chart. It shows the long-term trend since 1990, and the dashed brown line marks the year you're viewing on the map, with that year's forest share.
4. Read the policy panel for three plain-language takeaways about forests, farming pressure and biodiversity data for the selected country.
About the data
Land cover map:
Forest and agricultural land:
Biodiversity records:
Map outlines:
Licences:
NASA MODIS Land Cover Type (MCD12Q1), produced each year from Terra and Aqua satellite observations at 500 m resolution and classified into 17 land cover types. Served through NASA's Global Imagery Browse Services (GIBS).
World Bank World Development Indicators, using figures reported by countries to the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO).
total species occurrence records for each country on the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF), compared with the UK as a reference.
Natural Earth.
NASA data is free to use, including commerically. World Bank data is CC BY 4.0. Natural Earth is public domain. GBIF figures are shown as totals only.
Keep in mind: Each map pixel covers about 500 m by 500 m, so the map shows broad patterns, not individual fields or small patches of forest. Satellite classifications aren't perfect, and some year-to-year flickering between similar classes, such as savanna and grassland, is normal rather than a real change. Look for consistent trends over several years. The forest chart and the map come from different sources (national reports to FAO versus satellite classification), so their figures won't match exactly; FAO also counts land as forest based on how it's used, not just tree cover. Gains in forest can include plantations, which support far less biodiversity than natural forest. Biodiversity record counts reflect how much has been recorded and shared, not how much biodiversity exists, so low numbers often point to underfunded monitoring rather than few species. Recent years may not be available on the map until NASA releases them.
Using this in your work?
You're welcome to share or reference it. Please cite:
AstroNoir (2026). Forests, land and biodiversity. Data: NASA MODIS Land Cover Type (MCD12Q1) via NASA GIBS; World Bank World Development Indicators / FAO (CC BY 4.0); GBIF.org; Natural Earth. [www.astronoir.org/observe/forest-land-and-biodiversity]
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