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Data

Tree cover loss from wildfires

About this data

Tree cover loss from wildfires
due to fire with no visible human conversion or agricultural activity afterward. Fires may be started by natural causes (e.g. lightning) or may be related to human activities (accidental or deliberate).
Source
Global Forest Watch (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data
Last updated
August 26, 2025
Next expected update
August 2026
Date range
2001–2024
Unit
hectares

Sources and processing

This data is based on the following sources

Global Forest Watch – Tree Cover Loss by Dominant Driver

This data set includes tree cover loss by driver. Statistics were calculated from annual tree cover loss (Hansen et al. 2013), categorized by driver (Sims et al. 2025). Sims et al. 2025 classifies the dominant driver at 1 km resolution from 2001-2024. The dominant driver is defined as the direct driver that caused the majority of tree cover loss within each 1 km cell over the time period. Years correspond to the loss year of the annual tree cover loss data (Hansen et al. 2013).

The tree cover loss data was produced by the University of Maryland's GLAD laboratory in partnership with Google (Hansen et al. 2013). Tree cover loss is defined as “stand replacement disturbance” which is considered to be clearing of at least half of tree cover within a 30-meter pixel.

Tree cover loss by dominant driver was produced by WRI and Google DeepMind (Sims et al. 2025). Driver categories are defined as follows:

  • Permanent agriculture: Long-term, permanent tree cover loss for small- to large-scale agriculture.
  • Hard commodities: Loss due to the establishment or expansion of mining or energy infrastructure.
  • Shifting cultivation: Tree cover loss due to small- to medium-scale clearing for temporary cultivation that is later abandoned and followed by subsequent regrowth of secondary forest or vegetation.
  • Logging: Forest management and logging activities occurring within managed, natural or semi-natural forests and plantations, often with evidence of forest regrowth or planting in subsequent years.
  • Wildfire: Tree cover loss due to fire with no visible human conversion or agricultural activity afterward. Fires may be started by natural causes (e.g. lightning) or may be related to human activities (accidental or deliberate).
  • Settlements and infrastructure: Tree cover loss due to expansion and intensification of roads, settlements, urban areas, or built infrastructure (not associated with other classes).
  • Other natural disturbances: Tree cover loss due to other non-fire natural disturbances (e.g., landslides, insect outbreaks, river meandering). If loss due to natural causes is followed by salvage or sanitation logging, it is classified as forest management.
Retrieved on
August 27, 2025
Retrieved from
https://datasets.wri.org/datasets/dominant-drivers-of-tree-cover-loss-at-1km
Citation
This is the citation of the original data obtained from the source, prior to any processing or adaptation by Our World in Data. To cite data downloaded from this page, please use the suggested citation given in Reuse This Work below.

This data set includes tree cover loss by driver. Statistics were calculated from annual tree cover loss (Hansen et al. 2013), categorized by driver (Sims et al. 2025). Sims et al. 2025 classifies the dominant driver at 1 km resolution from 2001-2024. The dominant driver is defined as the direct driver that caused the majority of tree cover loss within each 1 km cell over the time period. Years correspond to the loss year of the annual tree cover loss data (Hansen et al. 2013).

The tree cover loss data was produced by the University of Maryland's GLAD laboratory in partnership with Google (Hansen et al. 2013). Tree cover loss is defined as “stand replacement disturbance” which is considered to be clearing of at least half of tree cover within a 30-meter pixel.

Tree cover loss by dominant driver was produced by WRI and Google DeepMind (Sims et al. 2025). Driver categories are defined as follows:

  • Permanent agriculture: Long-term, permanent tree cover loss for small- to large-scale agriculture.
  • Hard commodities: Loss due to the establishment or expansion of mining or energy infrastructure.
  • Shifting cultivation: Tree cover loss due to small- to medium-scale clearing for temporary cultivation that is later abandoned and followed by subsequent regrowth of secondary forest or vegetation.
  • Logging: Forest management and logging activities occurring within managed, natural or semi-natural forests and plantations, often with evidence of forest regrowth or planting in subsequent years.
  • Wildfire: Tree cover loss due to fire with no visible human conversion or agricultural activity afterward. Fires may be started by natural causes (e.g. lightning) or may be related to human activities (accidental or deliberate).
  • Settlements and infrastructure: Tree cover loss due to expansion and intensification of roads, settlements, urban areas, or built infrastructure (not associated with other classes).
  • Other natural disturbances: Tree cover loss due to other non-fire natural disturbances (e.g., landslides, insect outbreaks, river meandering). If loss due to natural causes is followed by salvage or sanitation logging, it is classified as forest management.
Retrieved on
August 27, 2025
Retrieved from
https://datasets.wri.org/datasets/dominant-drivers-of-tree-cover-loss-at-1km
Citation
This is the citation of the original data obtained from the source, prior to any processing or adaptation by Our World in Data. To cite data downloaded from this page, please use the suggested citation given in Reuse This Work below.

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Citations

How to cite this page

To cite this page overall, including any descriptions, FAQs or explanations of the data authored by Our World in Data, please use the following citation:

“Data Page: Tree cover loss from wildfires”, part of the following publication: Hannah Ritchie, Fiona Spooner, and Max Roser (2021) - “Forests and Deforestation”. Data adapted from Global Forest Watch. Retrieved from https://archive.ourworldindata.org/20250827-151608/grapher/tree-cover-loss-from-wildfires.html [online resource] (archived on August 27, 2025).
How to cite this data

In-line citationIf you have limited space (e.g. in data visualizations), you can use this abbreviated in-line citation:

Global Forest Watch (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data

Full citation

Global Forest Watch (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. “Tree cover loss from wildfires” [dataset]. Global Forest Watch, “Tree Cover Loss by Dominant Driver” [original data]. Retrieved August 27, 2025 from https://archive.ourworldindata.org/20250827-151608/grapher/tree-cover-loss-from-wildfires.html (archived on August 27, 2025).