Harvested area did not increase abruptly—how advancements in satellite-based mapping led to erroneous conclusions
Johannes Breidenbach, David Ellison, Hans Petersson, Kari Korhonen, Helena M. Henttonen, Jörgen Wallerman, Jonas Fridman, Terje Gobakken, Rasmus Astrup, Erik Næsset
Abstract
Abstract Key message Using satellite-based maps, Ceccherini et al. (Nature 583:72-77, 2020) report abruptly increasing harvested area estimates in several EU countries beginning in 2015. Using more than 120,000 National Forest Inventory observations to analyze the satellite-based map, we show that it is not harvested area but the map’s ability to detect harvested areas that abruptly increases after 2015 in Finland and Sweden.
Topics & Concepts
SatelliteRemote sensingEnvironmental scienceKey (lock)GeographyPhysical geographyMeteorologyComputer scienceEngineeringAerospace engineeringComputer securityForest Management and PolicyWildlife Ecology and ConservationForest Ecology and Biodiversity Studies