Global Forest Watch Interactive Map
Data, Graphs, and Maps
Grades6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12Biology, Earth and Space Sciences, Geography
This resource has been reviewed by SubjectToClimate's climate scientists and verified for scientific accuracy and up-to-date information. Learn about our review process →
Provided by Global Forest Watch
What it is
- This interactive map visualizes large amounts of data related to forests and land use including tree cover, deforestation over time, fires, types of land use, climate, and biodiversity.
Teaching tips
Positives
- Turning different map layers on and off allows students to gain a deeper understanding of what is located on the Earth in different locations and to see how those things are changing over time.
- This tool lends itself to curiosity and excellent questions.
- This resource is great for investigating a specific country or region of the world.
Additional Prerequisites
- Students should have some basic geography knowledge and should be reminded that approximately 80 percent of species on land live in forests.
- There are default maps available to browse that display tree cover gain, tree cover loss, and current tree cover.
Differentiation
- This tool might feel overwhelming to some learners. These learners might benefit from only looking at one layer of data at a time.
- Students could be divided into groups to explore different topics and/or focus on specific areas.
- Science classes could use this map to help students visualize habitat loss and degradation when discussing species extinctions, biodiversity loss, and deforestation.
- Social studies classes could discuss the effects of deforestation on Indigenous communities and communities that rely on healthy ecosystems and forests for food, water, and shelter.
- Other resources about forests and land use include this Google Earth Timelapse resource and this video about forest monitoring.
From the scientist review
The interactive map contains appropriate data layers that display forest change, informed with accurate datasets. It is simplified, suitable, and recommended for educators to teach students to understand the variation and rate of the world's forest change.
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Hosted on globalforestwatch.org
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