Land & Carbon Lab

Do you want to monitor the worlds most extensive land cover type? Okay. Here it is: Global annual grassland extent, split by cultivated and natural/semi-natural. 2000-2022. 30m resolution. Data: https://lnkd.in/e7jWr23G and: https://lnkd.in/edqJ5QAe Google Earth Engine: https://lnkd.in/eXV8EsHa Code: https://lnkd.in/egK_hX4J Blog: https://lnkd.in/e3WwzjPD Paper: https://lnkd.in/eK35tFAs License: CC-BY-4.0 This free, open public good was brought to you by Land & Carbon Lab. Proud of the team and all our partners! World Resources Institute Bezos Earth Fund OpenGeoHub Foundation Lapig - Sensoriamento Remoto e Geoprocessamento International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig 👏

Grasslands face mounting challenges from degradation and conversion, threatening their ability to support biodiversity, sustain livelihoods and store carbon. The new grassland extent maps developed by the Global Pasture Watch research consortium reveal detailed trends, distinguishing cultivated and natural/semi-natural grasslands to guide action. With contributions from local experts, these free and publicly available maps will continue to improve, helping decision-makers address threats, restore ecosystems and plan for sustainable land use. 📊 Learn more and explore the technical blog here: https://lnkd.in/drP3Uhiu #GlobalPastureWatch #GrasslandMapping World Resources Institute Bezos Earth Fund OpenGeoHub Foundation Lapig - Sensoriamento Remoto e Geoprocessamento International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig

🌾 New global maps from the Global Pasture Watch research consortium offer an unprecedented annual look at grassland extent, distinguishing between cultivated and natural/semi-natural grasslands. This free and publicly available data is critical for understanding changes over time and guiding efforts to protect and sustainably manage grasslands—vital ecosystems that support biodiversity, livelihoods, and carbon storage. These maps, developed by the research consortium, convened by Land & Carbon Lab, span data back to 2000 at 30-meter resolution, providing the insights needed to track changes, inform restoration and improve sustainable management worldwide. 📊 Read the technical blog and explore the data here: https://lnkd.in/drP3Uhiu #GlobalPastureWatch #GrasslandMapping

“You can’t manage what you can’t monitor.” - Andy Jarvis, Director of Future of Food, Bezos Earth Fund. Grasslands, including open grasslands, grassy shrublands and savannas, are among the most vital ecosystems on Earth, covering roughly 40% of its land surface. They sustain over 1 billion people, provide essential ecosystem services, and store critical carbon stocks. Yet, only 10% are protected, leaving many at risk of degradation and conversion to other land uses. The #GlobalPastureWatch research consortium, convened by Land & Carbon Lab, is tackling these challenges by developing groundbreaking global data to monitor grassland extent, condition, and management. These insights are essential for protecting biodiversity, sustaining livelihoods and mitigating climate change. 🌍 Learn more about this innovative initiative and watch the full video here: https://bit.ly/gpw2024 #Grassland #GrasslandMapping #Mapping #GrasslandData #Biodiversity #ClimateChange #Mitigation #Shrublands #Savannas #Ecosystems

🌍 Grasslands are vital global carbon stores, providing critical habitats for wildlife, underpinning livelihoods through grazing, and supporting communities worldwide. To protect and sustainably manage them, we need a deeper understanding—and better data is the key. The Global Pasture Watch research consortium, convened by Land & Carbon Lab, is developing groundbreaking tools and data sets to map grassland extent, productivity, livestock density and vegetation height. These advancements aim to provide decision-makers, scientists and land managers with actionable insights to address the complex challenges facing grasslands today. 📊 Learn more about the consortium’s transformative work and watch the full video here: https://lnkd.in/dKPxvwCt #GlobalPastureWatch #GrasslandMapping Bezos Earth Fund OpenGeoHub Foundation Laboratório de Processamento de Imagens e Geoprocessamento (Lapig) University of Maryland German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig Cornell University International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA)

What does it take to protect the world’s grasslands? A team of global experts working together to close critical knowledge gaps. 🌿 The #GlobalPastureWatch research consortium, convened by Land & Carbon Lab, combines expertise in machine learning, ecology and agriculture to create cutting-edge tools for mapping and monitoring grasslands. Discover how the consortium is advancing solutions for grassland protection, restoration and sustainable management here: https://lnkd.in/dKPxvwCt Consortium members: Cornell University GLAD Lab, University of Maryland International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig Land & Carbon Lab Laboratório de Processamento de Imagens e Geoprocessamento (Lapig) at the Federal University of Goiás  OpenGeoHub Foundation #GlobalPastureWatch #GrasslandMapping

“You can’t manage what you can’t monitor.” - Andy Jarvis, Director of Future of Food, Bezos Earth Fund. Grasslands, including open grasslands, grassy shrublands and savannas, are among the most vital ecosystems on Earth, covering roughly 40% of its land surface. They sustain over 1 billion people, provide essential ecosystem services, and store critical carbon stocks. Yet, only 10% are protected, leaving many at risk of degradation and conversion to other land uses. The Global Pasture Watch research consortium, convened by Land & Carbon Lab, is tackling these challenges by developing groundbreaking global data to monitor grassland extent, condition, and management. These insights are essential for protecting biodiversity, sustaining livelihoods and mitigating climate change. 🌍 Learn more about this innovative initiative and watch the full video here: https://bit.ly/gpw2024 #GlobalPastureWatch #GrasslandMapping

🌍 Global land cover maps don’t perform equally everywhere. Countries like #Algeria, #Egypt, #Greenland and #SaudiArabia —dominated by a single land cover type—tend to have the highest accuracies across maps. But what about countries with more complex landscapes? And does geography tell the full story? Our latest blog dives into the relative strengths and weaknesses of four key land cover maps, examining how variations in accuracy and other characteristics influence their application to real-world decisions. From emissions estimates to nature conservation, understanding these nuances is essential for effective land use planning and global goal tracking. 📊 Discover the findings: https://lnkd.in/g_Qy8vDV Wageningen University & Research University of Maryland

What does “accuracy” mean in the world of global land cover maps? 🗺️ In our latest blog, Land & Carbon Lab experts and partners analyze four global land cover data sets to uncover their relative strengths and weaknesses. Land cover maps play a key role in understanding how human activities are shaping our planet and the pressure this puts on natural resources. By understanding the accuracy and unique characteristics of these maps, users can better apply them to specific applications, whether it be related to land use planning, assessing progress toward global goals like land degradation neutrality and sustainable development, emissions estimates or nature conservation. 📊 Discover more: https://lnkd.in/g_Qy8vDV Wageningen University & Research University of Maryland

🌱 Non-forest ecosystems, such as grasslands and savannahs, are vitally important but often overlooked. Defining, mapping and understanding these ecosystems is key to identifying and preventing their conversion in commodity supply chains. 🤝 We have been collaborating with the Accountability Framework initiative (AFi) to develop consistent, actionable definitions and improve our ability to monitor these landscapes. Together, we aim to enable better protection of these natural ecosystems. Read more about our joint efforts and learn more about Land & Carbon Lab’s open-source tools, including Version 1 of our Natural Lands Map, that help companies assess and reduce their footprint on natural ecosystems: https://bit.ly/3VbAt9D