Google DeepMind · 2026-10-22 · notable
Forest Typology 2020 — DeepMind maps six forest types at 10 m worldwide
Google DeepMind released Forest Typology (ForTy) 2020, an open global map that labels every 10 m patch as primary, naturally regenerating, planted or plantation forest, tree crops, or other land, plus a 2017–2025 time series.
An open map that tells primary forest apart from plantations, for every 10 m patch of land on Earth.
Key specs
| Resolution | 10 m |
|---|---|
| Accuracy (forest type) | 90% |
What is it?
Forest Typology 2020 (ForTy) is a new global map from Google DeepMind that sorts land into six classes: primary forest, naturally regenerating forest, planted forest, plantation, tree crops/agroforestry, and other land. Alongside it, DeepMind published an early-release yearly time series for 2017 to 2025 that shows where natural forest was replaced by plantations or farms.
How does it work?
The ForTy model classifies satellite imagery at 10-meter resolution. It was trained on about 1.7 million labeled locations and checked against more than 9,000 randomly chosen sites, where it picked the correct forest type 90% of the time and separated forest from non-forest 95% of the time.
Why does it matter?
Most global maps only show tree cover, which cannot tell an old natural forest from a palm oil plantation. DeepMind calls the 2020 map a key baseline for the EU deforestation regulation, which bans products such as coffee, cocoa or palm oil grown on land that was forest in 2020 — so governments, companies and scientists can now check supply chains against open data.
Who is it for?
supply-chain auditors, conservation groups, remote-sensing researchers
Try it
Load the ForTy 2020 collection in Google Earth Engine, or download it from Figshare.