ABSTRACT
The ability to quantify both forest cover extent and change independent of land use designations is important in generating a consistent narrative of global forest change. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) sensor onboard NASA’s Terra spacecraft has advanced large-area land monitoring during its 10-plus years of operation. Compared to heritage instruments such as the advanced very high-resolution radiometer (AVHRR) meteorological sensor, MODIS represented a significant gain in global land mapping and monitoring capabilities. The most appropriate use of MODIS for forest monitoring is as an alarm or hot spot indicator. Area estimation requires the integration of MODIS with a higher spatial resolution sensor, such as Landsat or another medium spatial resolution data source. MODIS-only products such as the ones presented in this study capture relative rates of forest cover loss across space and through time, with a considerable omission rate for small-scale forest disturbances.
