Original Forest Cover

About half of the forest that was present under modern (i.e. post-Pleistocene) climatic conditions, and before the spread of human influence, has disappeared (see map below), largely through the impact of man's activities. The spread of agriculture and animal husbandry, the harvesting of forests for timber and fuel, and the expansion of populated areas have all taken their toll on forests. The causes and timing of forest loss differ between regions and forest types, as do the current trends in change in forest cover.

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Source documentation for the Original Forest Cover map

Map of Ecoregions of Latin America and the Caribbean Scale: 1: 15,000,000. In: Dinerstein, E., D.M Olson, D.J. Graham, A.L. Webster, S.A. Primm, M.P. Bookbinder and G. Ledec, (1995). A Conservation Assessment of the Terrestrial Ecoregions of Latin America and the Caribbean. Published in association with The World Wildlife Fund. The World Bank, Washington, DC.

White, F. (1983). The Vegetation of Africa. UNESCO, Paris. Scale: 1:5,000,000.

MacKinnon, J. (Ed.) (1997). Protected Areas Systems Review of the Indo-Malayan Realm. The Asian Bureau for Conservation and World Conservation Monitoring Centre, Canterbury, UK. Scale: 1:1,000,000.

Carnahan, J.A. (1989). Australia - Natural Vegetation. Australian Surveying and Land Information Group, Department of Administrative Services. Scale: 1:5,000,000.

Map of Ecoregions of the USA and Canada. Scale: 1:15,000,000. In: Ricketts, T.H., E. Dinerstein, D.M. Olson, C.J. Loucks, W.M. Eichbaum, D.A. DellaSala, K.C. Kavanagh, P. Hedao, P.T. Hurley, K.M. Carney, R.A. Abell, and S. Walters. 1997. A conservation assessment of the terrestrial ecoregions of North America. Volume I - The United States and Canada. Draft Report. World Wildlife Fund. Washington, DC..

Bohn, U. and Katenina, G.D. (1994). Map of Natural Vegetation (of Europe). Komarov Botanical Institute, St Petersburg. Scale 1:2,500,000.

Milanova, E.V. and Kushlin, A.V. (Eds)(1993). World Map of Present-Day Landscapes. Prepared by Moscow State University and the United Nations Environment Programme.

Bailey, R.G. (1989). Ecoregions of the Continents. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Washington DC. Scale: 1:30,000,000.

Details of the use of the different categories of forest used in these sources can be obtained from UNEP-WCMC.