European forest disturbance maps

Description

This repository holds maps of annual forest disturbances across 35 European countries derived from Landsat satellite data. The disturbance maps currently cover the time period 1986-2020 and are accompanied by a map of disturbance severity (for the moment only until 2016) and a forest mask. The methodological details are explained in Senf and Seidl 2021 (see reference blow). The maps are available per country as geoTIFF. The spatial reference system is EPSG 3035 (ETRS89 / LAEA Europe). The most current version is 1.1.0. The maps will be updated annually. The maps can also be explored online.

Citation

Please cite the dataset including version number and following paper when using the maps: Senf, C. and Seidl, R. (2021) Mapping the forest disturbance regimes of Europe. Nature Sustainability. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41893-020-00609-y

Version history

• 1.0.0 - Initial version, covering 2016-1986 and including a forest mask and an estimate of disturbance severity
• 1.1.0 - Map update until 2020 using same methods as in version 1.0.0. Not accompanied by disturbance severity.
• 1.1.1 - Planned update: Adding disturbance severity to version 1.1.0 (expected summer 2021).

Known issues

• Some SLC-off artefacts visible in northern Serbia (both version 1.0.0 and 1.1.0).
• Known false disturbances mapped in Norway in 2020 in version 1.1.0