Uncovering major types of deforestation frontiers across the world's tropical dry woodlands

Tropical dry woodlands are rapidly being lost to agricultural expansion, but how deforestation dynamics play out in these woodlands remains poorly understood. We have developed an approach to detect and map high-level patterns of deforestation frontiers, that is, the expansion of woodland loss across continents in unprecedented spatio-temporal detail. Deforestation in tropical dry woodlands is pervasive, with over 71 Mha lost since 2000 and one-third of wooded areas located in deforestation frontiers. Over 24.3 Mha of deforestation frontiers fall into what we term 'rampant frontiers'. These are characterized by drastic woodland loss and conditions favourable for capital-intensive agriculture, as seen in the South American Chaco and Southeast Asia. We have found many active and emerging frontiers (similar to 59% of all frontiers), mostly in the understudied dry woodlands of Africa and Asia, where greater frontier monitoring is needed. Our approach enables consistent, repeatable frontier monitoring, and our global frontier typology fosters comparative research and context-specific policymaking.

Automated summary

Tropical dry woodlands are facing rapid deforestation due to agricultural expansion. We have developed a method to detect and map the patterns of deforestation frontiers on a global scale, finding that rampant frontiers with drastic woodland loss are mainly located in South America and Southeast Asia. Many active and emerging frontiers are found in understudied dry woodlands of Africa and Asia, highlighting the need for increased monitoring. Our approach enables consistent monitoring and facilitates comparative research and context-specific policymaking.