Counting the number of trees on Earth presents many challenges to scientists because it is impossible to count them all! Even with satellite photos, many trees cannot be seen though the forest canopy. Scientists must count trees in a small area and then extrapolate to entire forests. However, not all forests have the same tree densities. A new study using over 400,000 field surveys and new remote sensing satellite data estimate that there are 3.04 trillion trees on Earth. Trees appear to be the densest in boreal forests while tropical rainforests cover more of Earth’s surface than any other biome. The number of trees may be greater than scientists expected, but there are still far fewer trees (about 1/2 as many) today than at the dawn of human civilization.
Issue 18 – How many trees are there on Earth? (.pdf)
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- Worksheet 1: Using the real data (.pdf)
- Worksheet 2: Finding means (.pdf)
- Worksheet 3: Variation by biome (.pdf)
- Blue Planet Biomes: a great quick way to learn about the different biomes on Earth
- Learn about the world’s biomes!
- Amazon deforestation example using photo’s from NASA’s Earth Observatory
- Look at your area and see how forests around you have changed since 2000! Earth Engine online resource is a great way to interact with data sets. Check it out!
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