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Tutorial #8: Tracking Global Changes in Forest Cover

Instructions:
Download this worksheet to your computer, and save the file as Your Last Name_First Name_Tutorial8.
Type your answers directly onto this worksheet. Upload your completed worksheet to Canvas 
Assignments  Tutorial 8 as a .doc or .docx attachment.

Learning Goals:
 Use satellite imagery and graphs to analyze changes in global forest cover
 Describe trends in forest loss in two countries (Indonesia and Brazil), and give evidence-based
explanations for the observed trends.

This tutorial is graded out of 30 marks. Point values are given in parentheses after each question.

Resources on Canvas:
 Global Forest Change, Google Earth Engine website
 Excel sheet: Annual forest loss data
 Hansen, M.C., et al. (2013). High-Resolution Global Maps of 21st-Century Forest Cover Change.
Science 342: 850-853. (optional resource; for interest only)

Context:

Understanding Earth’s landscapes and how they change over time is key to understanding
environmental science and environmental problems. From 2000 to 2012, high-resolution satellite
imagery captured evidence that 2.3 million square kilometers (km 2) of forest were lost globally (Hansen
et al., 2013). Countries near the equator, known as the tropics, have been the hardest hit. Google Earth
Engine, an open source online Geographic Information System (GIS), was used to calculate and visualize
global trends in forest cover over the study period. While the study revealed an overall increase in
annual forest loss globally, two tropical countries—Indonesia and Brazil—experienced opposite trends in
annual forest loss over the 12-year study period. In this tutorial, you are going to analyze these findings
and work with some updated data to investigate whether these trends have continued over the 6 years
since Hansen et al. published their paper in 2013.

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Part 1: Investigating global forest cover change using Google Earth Engine

Go to https://glad.earthengine.app/view/global-forest-
change#dl=1;old=off;bl=off;lon=20;lat=10;zoom=3
(link also available in Tutorial Resources). These are the results from time-series analysis of Landsat
satellite images characterizing forest extent and change, used by Hansen et al. for their research.

1. How do the researchers define “Forest Cover Loss” and “Forest Cover Gain”? (2)

Under Data Products, select “Loss/Extent/Gain (Red/Green/Blue)” from the drop-down menu. Under
Example Locations, select “Forestry in Riau, Indonesia”, and click “Zoom to area”. This area shows forest
loss and gain on the island of Sumatra.

2. Describe the change in forest cover that is observable on the map in this area. (1)

3. In your own words, summarize the issue with forest loss in this area. Why is it happening, and
what are the environmental consequences? (2)

At the top left of the screen in the “Search places” box, type in “Amazonas, Brazil”. The map will zoom to
the Amazon rainforest in Brazil, South America.

4. Describe the change in forest cover that is observable on the map in this area. How does this
differ from the change in Indonesia? (2)

In their 2013 paper based on data from this database, Hansen et al. found that of all countries globally,
Indonesia exhibited the largest increase in forest loss, and Brazil exhibited the largest decrease in forest
loss in the time frame studied (2000-2012). The trends in forest loss from this time frame are given in
the charts below. “Forest loss annual increment” is the slope of the trendline: a positive number means
that on average forest loss is increasing each year by this amount, and a negative number means that on
average forest loss is decreasing each year by this amount.

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Source: Hansen, M.C., et al. (2013). High-Resolution Global Maps of 21st-Century Forest Cover Change. Science
342: 850-853.

5. According to the graphs, what was the forest loss annual increment from 2000-2012 for: (2)

Brazil?

Indonesia?

6. What does it mean to have an increasing or decreasing trend in forest loss? Is forest loss
occurring faster or slower as time goes on in Indonesia? In Brazil? (2)

7. Do the values of these trends seem to be consistent with the observations you made from the
Google Earth Engine maps? Explain your answer. (1)

8. What do the bars in the graph represent, and what do the trend lines represent? Do the trend
lines appear to accurately represent the trend of the data over the 12 years of the study? (1)

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 9. Using the graphs, make a claim stating which of the two countries you would expect to be at the
greatest risk for forest loss in 2019. Use one piece of evidence to support your claim. What
additional evidence would you gather to make a stronger claim? (3)

Part 2: Analyzing additional forest loss data using Excel

 Download the Excel file Annual Forest Loss Data from Tutorial Resources. Open the spreadsheet
in Excel. These data are forest loss extent in Brazil and Indonesia from 2001-2019, in km 2 per
year, from the same database that Hansen et al. used for their 2013 paper.

 Select the Year column and the Brazil column, and create a Clustered Column chart. Make your
chart large enough so that you can easily read it. Add an appropriate title and axis titles. Now
add a linear trendline to your graph, using the same method you used in the Pika tutorial last
week When you add the trendline, go to Options and check the box beside “Display equation on
chart”.

 Follow the steps above to make a second graph for Indonesia.

Save each of your charts as a picture, and insert them below. (5)

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 10. Do these graphs give you a different picture of the trends in forest loss in Brazil and Indonesia
than in the graphs published in the 2013 paper? Explain your answer. (2)

11. The equation for the trend line that you added to your graphs is in the format y = mx + b, where
m is the slope of the line and indicates the estimated amount of change in forest loss each year
(km2). According to your graphs, what was the forest loss annual increment from 2000-2019 for:
(2)

Brazil?

Indonesia?

12. How do these values compare to the values you answered in Question #5 in Part 1? Are they
consistent with your observations from the Google Earth Engine maps? (3)

13. Now that you have seen an additional 8 years of data, would you change the claim you made in
Question #9? If so, what would it now be? Explain your answer. (1)

14. In your opinion, which way of visualizing data is more effective: using graphs, or the satellite
imagery and geographic information system software? Why? (1)

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