Global Forest Resources Assessments

Australia boosts forest data with FAO remote sensing training


Canberra, Australia – Twenty-seven Australian experts were trained by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) from 26 to 30 May 2025 in the latest methodologies for remote sensing using Collect Earth Online, an open-source software for satellite image interpretation.

The experts were trained to track changes in forest extent, trends and driving factors of change between 2000 and 2024 for the Remote Sensing Survey (RSS) of FAO’s Global Forest Resources Assessment (FRA), which provides essential information for understanding the condition, extent, management and uses of forest resources across the globe.

“Harnessing the power of open-source tools like Collect Earth Online allows countries like Australia to independently monitor their forests with unprecedented accuracy, contributing to a stronger comprehension of the world’s forests,” said Valeria Contessa, FAO Geospatial Consultant.

Distinguishing woodland forests

Classifying and mapping Australia's forests – particularly woodland forests with Acacia and Eucalyptus species in dry climatic regions – is challenging due to the scattered tree distributions and intermixed vegetation types featured in these forests, which can be difficult to distinguish from other land cover types such as shrublands and sparse woody vegetation.

The definition of forest used by Australia is an area with trees over two metres and at least 20 percent canopy cover (Australia’s State of the Forests Report: Synthesis 2023), which encompasses the diversity of tree-dominated forest ecosystems. This differs from FAO’s definition, which requires trees to be over five metres with at least 10 percent canopy cover (FRA 2025 Terms and Definitions). These differences complicate efforts to align national data with the international definition.

To support the classification of these forest types, FAO employed the GEDI Tree Height Footprints dataset in this remote sensing workshop. With geolocated laser data to measure tree height and structure, this tool helps forest classification.

“Integrating Australia’s national forest definition into the FRA Remote Sensing Survey ensures our unique forest types are more accurately represented, strengthening our national forest inventory and global understanding of forest resources” said Claire Howell, ABARES Principal Scientist and FRA National Correspondent for Australia.

FAO’s global Remote Sensing Survey

Since its creation, FAO has been conducting global forest resources assessments to inform the decisions and recommendations of civil society, the private sector, governments and international conventions. These global assessments are primarily based on standardized country reports compiled by officially nominated national correspondents.

Since 1990, FAO complements information collected through the FRA country reporting process with independent and thorough analyses of forest area and how it changes over time using remote sensing. The FRA 2025 RSS will provide up-to-date, reliable and consistent estimates of forest area and forest area change at global, regional and biome levels up to the year 2024.

Slated for release in 2026, the new survey will update data on variables from the previous RSS cycle and collect new information on agroforestry systems, pastoral systems, types of crops, burned forests, mangroves and trees outside of forests. 

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