September 2024 saw ForestPaths’ participation at the annual ForestSAT conference on the use of remote sensing for forest ecosystem monitoring and management. At this year’s edition in Rotorua, New Zealand, ForestPath partner Dr. Alba Viana-Soto of the Technical University of Munich made a presentation titled: “The European Forest Disturbance Atlas: towards an operational monitoring of forest dynamics using the Landsat archive”.

Dr. Alba Viana-Soto elaborates on the core features of the European Forest Disturbance Atlas at the ForestSAT conference.

At the core of the showcase was the European Forest Disturbance Atlas (EFDA), a consistently updated dataset of maps highlighting annual forest disturbances across 38 countries within the continent. Its latest iteration was launched by ForestPaths earlier this year and has been made available on Zenodo and the Earth Engine Apps platform. The Atlas is seen as a first practical step towards operational forest disturbance monitoring in Europe. Its high-resolution, open-source maps incorporate key visual components signalling the timing, frequency and intensity of disturbances, as well as the factors bringing them about. The introduction of this tool is in line with the EU’s LULUCF Regulation as it enhances the sharing of critical geospatial data that would aid in disturbance prevention. Earlier this year, the EFDA was also showcased at the Joint Research Centre LULUCF Workshop, which you can read more about here.

The presentation was received with great enthusiasm and interest at ForestSAT and was followed by a rigorous exchange of ideas regarding EFDA’s applications in Europe and beyond. You can read more about the Atlas’ roll-out and functionalities here.