Nonforest

Nonforest is a land classification used in environmental monitoring and land-use planning to designate all land that is not forest. It encompasses a broad range of land covers, including natural ecosystems such as grasslands, shrublands, wetlands, deserts, and tundra, as well as human-modified landscapes such as croplands, pastures, urban areas, and degraded or barren land. The term is typically used for comparisons with forested areas in inventories, assessments, and modeling.

Definitions of forest and nonforest vary by organization. In many international schemes, a forest is defined by tree canopy cover above a certain threshold (often around 10%) and a minimum area; land not meeting this criterion is categorized as nonforest. Some datasets distinguish nonforest natural vegetation from nonforest land uses, but others treat all nonforest land as a single category. This variability affects cross-country comparisons and trend analyses.

Applications of nonforest data include tracking land-use change, assessing carbon stocks, biodiversity, and habitat fragmentation. Nonforest areas can act as broad carbon reservoirs and biodiversity corridors depending on the ecosystem; conversely, conversion of nonforest to agricultural or urban uses can impact climate, hydrology, and habitat. Global datasets such as MODIS land cover and ESA CCI provide nonforest maps, though differences in definitions and resolution must be considered in interpretation.