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.
Click on the map for a larger panable map
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.
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