Land Disturbance Alert Classification System
This paper describes the Land Disturbance Alert Classification System (LDACS), a global data set that integrates NASA’s DIST-ALERT data with thematic layers to rapidly classify vegetation change. It distinguishes potential land conversion from disturbances caused by fire, water, and cropland dynamics, improving near real-time monitoring beyond forests. LDACS helps governments, companies, and researchers track ecosystem change and supports efforts to reduce biodiversity loss and manage land sustainably.
The Land Disturbance Alert Classification System (LDACS) is a new data set designed to make global land monitoring more actionable for governments, companies, researchers, and civil society. Built on NASA’s DIST-ALERT system, which detects global vegetation disturbances at 30-meter resolution in near real-time, LDACS integrates additional data on fire, water, cropland, and natural ecosystems to classify alerts into four categories: potential land conversion, fire-related, water-related, and cropland dynamics.
By distinguishing human-driven ecosystem loss from natural events, LDACS fills a critical monitoring gap for non-forest ecosystems such as grasslands, savannas, shrublands, and wetlands — areas historically underrepresented in global alert systems. LDACS data products are publicly available and updated regularly, supporting efforts to track land conversion, inform policy decisions, improve supply chain transparency, and strengthen biodiversity conservation.
Global results from 2023 reveal that cropland dynamics account for one-third of all classified disturbances, while only 4% of alerts were linked to potential land conversion. These findings highlight the importance of distinguishing between natural disturbances, agricultural cycles, and permanent ecosystem loss to better support conservation efforts and land management decisions.
Initial validation in Brazil’s Cerrado biome shows strong performance, with LDACS achieving 87% accuracy among classified alerts. Validation for other ecosystems is forthcoming, and future updates to the technical note will include additional results.
Projects
Land & Carbon Lab
Launch PlatformLaunch Platform Visit ProjectConvened by World Resources Institute and the Bezos Earth Fund to develop breakthroughs in geospatial monitoring that power solutions for sustainable landscapes worldwide.
Part of Forests
