4 THE CURRENT SCALE OF DEFORESTATION AND THE DEGREE OF DEGRADED FORESTS IN TROPICAL ECOSYSTEMS UNDERSCORE THE URGENT NEED FOR INTERVENTIONS TO RESTORE BIODIVERSITY, ECOLOGICAL FUNCTIONING, AND THE SUPPLY OF ECOSYSTEM SERVICES VITAL TO HUMAN WELL-BEING. REMOTE SENSING HAS ENABLED ECOLOGICAL ASSESSMENTS OF ABRUPT CHANGES IN FOREST COVER LIKE DEFORESTATION, HOWEVER LITTLE HAS BEEN DONE ROBUSTLY TO DIRECTLY QUANTIFY GRADUAL PROCESSES LIKE FOREST DEGRADATION OR AFFORESTATION. FOREST DEGRADATION IS BELIEVED TO BE MORE PERVASIVE IN TROPICAL RURAL FORESTS, PARTICULARLY IN LANDSCAPES AFFECTED BY FRAGMENTATION AND/OR ARMED CONFLICTS. REMOTE SENSING OF FOREST DEGRADATION IS CHALLENGING BECAUSE OF SENSORS SPECTRAL AND RADIOMETRIC LIMITATIONS, INABILITY TO CAPTURE FINE SPATIAL SCALE DEGRADATIONS OR INHERENT COMPLEXITIES IN THE DEFINITIONS OF THE TERM FOREST DEGRADATION . YET, IN SITU DATA THAT GUIDE MAPPING TRENDS IN FOREST COVER ARE BIASED TOWARDS FORESTS ECOLOGICAL PROPERTIES AND OVERLOOK SOCIAL, CONTEXT-SPECIFIC PERCEPTIONS OF FOREST COVER CHANGE SUCH AS DEGRADATION THAT MAY ADDRESS REMOTE SENSING CHALLENGES. AN ADDITIONAL KNOWLEDGE GAP IN REMOTE SENSING OF TROPICAL FOREST IS THE LACK OF DETAILED ASSESSMENTS OF FOREST GAIN DESPITE EVIDENCE THAT SOME TREE SPECIES USED IN REFORESTATION ARE MORE PRONE TO DISTURBANCE OR OFFER LIMITED SOCIO-ECOLOGICAL SERVICES. SUCH DETAILED INFORMATION IS IMPORTANT TO ENSURE ACCURATE MONITORING OF TRENDS IN FOREST COVER AND SUCCESS OF RESTORATION PROJECTS, GROUNDED INTERPRETATIONS OF FOREST COVER MAPS, AND TO LOCATE PRIORITY AREAS FOR FOREST CONSERVATION OR RESTORATION. WITHIN EAST AFRICA, RWANDA IS THE MOST HEAVILY POPULATED, PREDOMINANTLY RURAL COUNTRY AND RANKS FIRST IN ANNUAL FOREST COVER LOSS. THE BIODIVERSITY-RICH, HIGH-ELEVATION WESTERN RWANDA HAS EXPERIENCED UNPRECEDENTED FOREST LOSS AND DEGRADATION IN THE LAST 30 YEARS, RESULTING IN MAJOR LOSSES OF WILDLIFE HABITAT, BIODIVERSITY AND ECOSYSTEM SERVICES. FOREST LOSS WORSENED DURING THE 1990 S CIVIL WARS AND GENOCIDE WHEN FORESTS SHELTERED BOTH CIVILIANS AND COMBATANTS, OR WERE CLEARED FOR RESETTLING REFUGEES. SINE THE LAST DECADE, NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL INITIATIVES ARE NOW DRIVING FOREST RESTORATION ACTIVITIES AIMING TO RECONNECT REMNANT FRAGMENTS AND IMPROVE ENVIRONMENTAL RESILIENCY IN WESTERN RWANDA. THIS HISTORY MAKES WESTERN RWANDA A UNIQUE CASE STUDY TO INVESTIGATE THE LOCATION, SEVERITY AND EXTENT OF CHANGES IN TROPICAL FOREST COVER. THIS STUDY PROPOSES TAKING A MULTIDISCIPLINARY AND MULTISCALE APPROACH, LINKING SATELLITE AND IN SITU DATA TO MAP DEFORESTATION, FOREST DEGRADATION AND AFFORESTATION IN WESTERN RWANDA FROM 1986 TO 2018. SPECIFICALLY, A SPECTRAL LINEAR UNMIXING SUPERVISED CLASSIFICATION WILL BE PERFORMED ON FUSED LANDSAT AND MODIS DATASETS TO MAP TRENDS IN DEFORESTATION AND AFFORESTATION AT 4 YEARS INTERVALS. TWO PROXIES OF FOREST DEGRADATION WILL BE DERIVED FROM: I) TIME SERIES ANALYSIS OF LANDSAT SURFACE TEMPERATURES TO LOCATE TEMPERATURE INCREASES WITHIN FORESTS, AND II) TIME SERIES ANALYSIS OF RADAR IMAGES TO LOCATE DECREASES IN THE STRENGTH OF L BAND BACKSCATTER WAVELENGTH WITHIN FORESTS. IN SITU DATA INCLUDING ECOLOGICAL PLOT SURVEYS AS WELL AS QUALITATIVE SOCIAL DATA COLLECTED THROUGH PARTICIPATORY SKETCH MAPPING, WILL BE USED TO VALIDATE AND/OR IMPROVE REMOTE SENSING PRODUCTS. LASTLY, A MAXIMUM ENTROPY ALGORITHM WILL BE USED TO MODEL SUSTAINABLE FOREST AREAS BY RELATING POTENTIAL FOREST RESTORATION SPECIES TO BIOPHYSICAL VARIABLES DERIVED FORM NASA PRECIPITATION, ELEVATION AND SURFACE TEMPERATURE DATASETS. THIS PROPOSED STUDY WILL PROVIDE WALL TO WALL MAPS NEEDED FOR ACCURATE MONITORING OF TRENDS IN FOREST COVER. IT WILL ALSO MAKE SIGNIFICANT ADVANCES TO NASA S SCIENCE GOALS RELATED TO DETECTING AND PREDICTING CHANGES IN EARTH S ECOLOGICAL AND BIOCHEMICAL CYCLES INCLUDING BIODIVERSITY AND LAND COVER AND WILL FURTHER THE USE OF EARTH SYSTEM SCIENCE RESEARCH TO INFORM DECISIONS AND PROVIDE BENEFITS TO THE SOCIETY. Funding Only Action $45.0k 8/1/18 Not listed THE CURRENT SCALE OF DEFORESTATION AND THE DEGREE OF DEGRADED FORESTS IN TROPICAL ECOSYSTEMS UNDERSCORE THE URGENT NEED FOR INTERVENTIONS TO RESTORE BIODIVERSITY ECOLOGICAL FUNCTIONING AND THE SUPPLY OF ECOSYSTEM SERVICES VITAL TO HUMAN WELL-BEING. REMOTE SENSING HAS ENABLED ECOLOGICAL ASSESSMENTS OF ABRUPT CHANGES IN FOREST COVER LIKE DEFORESTATION HOWEVER LITTLE HAS BEEN DONE ROBUSTLY TO DIRECTLY QUANTIFY GRADUAL PROCESSES LIKE FOREST DEGRADATION OR AFFORESTATION. FOREST DEGRADATION IS BELIEVED TO BE MORE PERVASIVE IN TROPICAL RURAL FORESTS PARTICULARLY IN LANDSCAPES AFFECTED BY FRAGMENTATION AND/OR ARMED CONFLICTS. REMOTE SENSING OF FOREST DEGRADATION IS CHALLENGING BECAUSE OF SENSORS SPECTRAL AND RADIOMETRIC LIMITATIONS INABILITY TO CAPTURE FINE SPATIAL SCALE DEGRADATIONS OR INHERENT COMPLEXITIES IN THE DEFINITIONS OF THE TERM FOREST DEGRADATION . YET IN SITU DATA THAT GUIDE MAPPING TRENDS IN FOREST COVER ARE BIASED TOWARDS FORESTS ECOLOGICAL PROPERTIES AND OVERLOOK SOCIAL CONTEXT-SPECIFIC PERCEPTIONS OF FOREST COVER CHANGE SUCH AS DEGRADATION THAT MAY ADDRESS REMOTE SENSING CHALLENGES. AN ADDITIONAL KNOWLEDGE GAP IN REMOTE SENSING OF TROPICAL FOREST IS THE LACK OF DETAILED ASSESSMENTS OF FOREST GAIN DESPITE EVIDENCE THAT SOME TREE SPECIES USED IN REFORESTATION ARE MORE PRONE TO DISTURBANCE OR OFFER LIMITED SOCIO-ECOLOGICAL SERVICES. SUCH DETAILED INFORMATION IS IMPORTANT TO ENSURE ACCURATE MONITORING OF TRENDS IN FOREST COVER AND SUCCESS OF RESTORATION PROJECTS GROUNDED INTERPRETATIONS OF FOREST COVER MAPS AND TO LOCATE PRIORITY AREAS FOR FOREST CONSERVATION OR RESTORATION. WITHIN EAST AFRICA RWANDA IS THE MOST HEAVILY POPULATED PREDOMINANTLY RURAL COUNTRY AND RANKS FIRST IN ANNUAL FOREST COVER LOSS. THE BIODIVERSITY-RICH HIGH-ELEVATION WESTERN RWANDA HAS EXPERIENCED UNPRECEDENTED FOREST LOSS AND DEGRADATION IN THE LAST 30 YEARS RESULTING IN MAJOR LOSSES OF WILDLIFE HABITAT BIODIVERSITY AND ECOSYSTEM SERVICES. FOREST LOSS WORSENED DURING THE 1990 S CIVIL WARS AND GENOCIDE WHEN FORESTS SHELTERED BOTH CIVILIANS AND COMBATANTS OR WERE CLEARED FOR RESETTLING REFUGEES. SINE THE LAST DECADE NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL INITIATIVES ARE NOW DRIVING FOREST RESTORATION ACTIVITIES AIMING TO RECONNECT REMNANT FRAGMENTS AND IMPROVE ENVIRONMENTAL RESILIENCY IN WESTERN RWANDA. THIS HISTORY MAKES WESTERN RWANDA A UNIQUE CASE STUDY TO INVESTIGATE THE LOCATION SEVERITY AND EXTENT OF CHANGES IN TROPICAL FOREST COVER. THIS STUDY PROPOSES TAKING A MULTIDISCIPLINARY AND MULTISCALE APPROACH LINKING SATELLITE AND IN SITU DATA TO MAP DEFORESTATION FOREST DEGRADATION AND AFFORESTATION IN WESTERN RWANDA FROM 1986 TO 2018. SPECIFICALLY A SPECTRAL LINEAR UNMIXING SUPERVISED CLASSIFICATION WILL BE PERFORMED ON FUSED LANDSAT AND MODIS DATASETS TO MAP TRENDS IN DEFORESTATION AND AFFORESTATION AT 4 YEARS INTERVALS. TWO PROXIES OF FOREST DEGRADATION WILL BE DERIVED FROM: I) TIME SERIES ANALYSIS OF LANDSAT SURFACE TEMPERATURES TO LOCATE TEMPERATURE INCREASES WITHIN FORESTS AND II) TIME SERIES ANALYSIS OF RADAR IMAGES TO LOCATE DECREASES IN THE STRENGTH OF L BAND BACKSCATTER WAVELENGTH WITHIN FORESTS. IN SITU DATA INCLUDING ECOLOGICAL PLOT SURVEYS AS WELL AS QUALITATIVE SOCIAL DATA COLLECTED THROUGH PARTICIPATORY SKETCH MAPPING WILL BE USED TO VALIDATE AND/OR IMPROVE REMOTE SENSING PRODUCTS. LASTLY A MAXIMUM ENTROPY ALGORITHM WILL BE USED TO MODEL SUSTAINABLE FOREST AREAS BY RELATING POTENTIAL FOREST RESTORATION SPECIES TO BIOPHYSICAL VARIABLES DERIVED FORM NASA PRECIPITATION ELEVATION AND SURFACE TEMPERATURE DATASETS. THIS PROPOSED STUDY WILL PROVIDE WALL TO WALL MAPS NEEDED FOR ACCURATE MONITORING OF TRENDS IN FOREST COVER. IT WILL ALSO MAKE SIGNIFICANT ADVANCES TO NASA S SCIENCE GOALS RELATED TO DETECTING AND PREDICTING CHANGES IN EARTH S ECOLOGICAL AND BIOCHEMICAL CYCLES INCLUDING BIODIVERSITY AND LAND COVER AND WILL FURTHER THE USE OF EARTH SYSTEM SCIENCE RESEARCH TO INFORM DECISIONS AND PROVIDE BENEFITS TO THE SOCIETY. $45.0k 8/1/18 3 THE CURRENT SCALE OF DEFORESTATION AND THE DEGREE OF DEGRADED FORESTS IN TROPICAL ECOSYSTEMS UNDERSCORE THE URGENT NEED FOR INTERVENTIONS TO RESTORE BIODIVERSITY, ECOLOGICAL FUNCTIONING, AND THE SUPPLY OF ECOSYSTEM SERVICES VITAL TO HUMAN WELL-BEING. REMOTE SENSING HAS ENABLED ECOLOGICAL ASSESSMENTS OF ABRUPT CHANGES IN FOREST COVER LIKE DEFORESTATION, HOWEVER LITTLE HAS BEEN DONE ROBUSTLY TO DIRECTLY QUANTIFY GRADUAL PROCESSES LIKE FOREST DEGRADATION OR AFFORESTATION. FOREST DEGRADATION IS BELIEVED TO BE MORE PERVASIVE IN TROPICAL RURAL FORESTS, PARTICULARLY IN LANDSCAPES AFFECTED BY FRAGMENTATION AND/OR ARMED CONFLICTS. REMOTE SENSING OF FOREST DEGRADATION IS CHALLENGING BECAUSE OF SENSORS SPECTRAL AND RADIOMETRIC LIMITATIONS, INABILITY TO CAPTURE FINE SPATIAL SCALE DEGRADATIONS OR INHERENT COMPLEXITIES IN THE DEFINITIONS OF THE TERM FOREST DEGRADATION . YET, IN SITU DATA THAT GUIDE MAPPING TRENDS IN FOREST COVER ARE BIASED TOWARDS FORESTS ECOLOGICAL PROPERTIES AND OVERLOOK SOCIAL, CONTEXT-SPECIFIC PERCEPTIONS OF FOREST COVER CHANGE SUCH AS DEGRADATION THAT MAY ADDRESS REMOTE SENSING CHALLENGES. AN ADDITIONAL KNOWLEDGE GAP IN REMOTE SENSING OF TROPICAL FOREST IS THE LACK OF DETAILED ASSESSMENTS OF FOREST GAIN DESPITE EVIDENCE THAT SOME TREE SPECIES USED IN REFORESTATION ARE MORE PRONE TO DISTURBANCE OR OFFER LIMITED SOCIO-ECOLOGICAL SERVICES. SUCH DETAILED INFORMATION IS IMPORTANT TO ENSURE ACCURATE MONITORING OF TRENDS IN FOREST COVER AND SUCCESS OF RESTORATION PROJECTS, GROUNDED INTERPRETATIONS OF FOREST COVER MAPS, AND TO LOCATE PRIORITY AREAS FOR FOREST CONSERVATION OR RESTORATION. WITHIN EAST AFRICA, RWANDA IS THE MOST HEAVILY POPULATED, PREDOMINANTLY RURAL COUNTRY AND RANKS FIRST IN ANNUAL FOREST COVER LOSS. THE BIODIVERSITY-RICH, HIGH-ELEVATION WESTERN RWANDA HAS EXPERIENCED UNPRECEDENTED FOREST LOSS AND DEGRADATION IN THE LAST 30 YEARS, RESULTING IN MAJOR LOSSES OF WILDLIFE HABITAT, BIODIVERSITY AND ECOSYSTEM SERVICES. FOREST LOSS WORSENED DURING THE 1990 S CIVIL WARS AND GENOCIDE WHEN FORESTS SHELTERED BOTH CIVILIANS AND COMBATANTS, OR WERE CLEARED FOR RESETTLING REFUGEES. SINE THE LAST DECADE, NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL INITIATIVES ARE NOW DRIVING FOREST RESTORATION ACTIVITIES AIMING TO RECONNECT REMNANT FRAGMENTS AND IMPROVE ENVIRONMENTAL RESILIENCY IN WESTERN RWANDA. THIS HISTORY MAKES WESTERN RWANDA A UNIQUE CASE STUDY TO INVESTIGATE THE LOCATION, SEVERITY AND EXTENT OF CHANGES IN TROPICAL FOREST COVER. THIS STUDY PROPOSES TAKING A MULTIDISCIPLINARY AND MULTISCALE APPROACH, LINKING SATELLITE AND IN SITU DATA TO MAP DEFORESTATION, FOREST DEGRADATION AND AFFORESTATION IN WESTERN RWANDA FROM 1986 TO 2018. SPECIFICALLY, A SPECTRAL LINEAR UNMIXING SUPERVISED CLASSIFICATION WILL BE PERFORMED ON FUSED LANDSAT AND MODIS DATASETS TO MAP TRENDS IN DEFORESTATION AND AFFORESTATION AT 4 YEARS INTERVALS. TWO PROXIES OF FOREST DEGRADATION WILL BE DERIVED FROM: I) TIME SERIES ANALYSIS OF LANDSAT SURFACE TEMPERATURES TO LOCATE TEMPERATURE INCREASES WITHIN FORESTS, AND II) TIME SERIES ANALYSIS OF RADAR IMAGES TO LOCATE DECREASES IN THE STRENGTH OF L BAND BACKSCATTER WAVELENGTH WITHIN FORESTS. IN SITU DATA INCLUDING ECOLOGICAL PLOT SURVEYS AS WELL AS QUALITATIVE SOCIAL DATA COLLECTED THROUGH PARTICIPATORY SKETCH MAPPING, WILL BE USED TO VALIDATE AND/OR IMPROVE REMOTE SENSING PRODUCTS. LASTLY, A MAXIMUM ENTROPY ALGORITHM WILL BE USED TO MODEL SUSTAINABLE FOREST AREAS BY RELATING POTENTIAL FOREST RESTORATION SPECIES TO BIOPHYSICAL VARIABLES DERIVED FORM NASA PRECIPITATION, ELEVATION AND SURFACE TEMPERATURE DATASETS. THIS PROPOSED STUDY WILL PROVIDE WALL TO WALL MAPS NEEDED FOR ACCURATE MONITORING OF TRENDS IN FOREST COVER. IT WILL ALSO MAKE SIGNIFICANT ADVANCES TO NASA S SCIENCE GOALS RELATED TO DETECTING AND PREDICTING CHANGES IN EARTH S ECOLOGICAL AND BIOCHEMICAL CYCLES INCLUDING BIODIVERSITY AND LAND COVER AND WILL FURTHER THE USE OF EARTH SYSTEM SCIENCE RESEARCH TO INFORM DECISIONS AND PROVIDE BENEFITS TO THE SOCIETY. Funding Only Action $45.0k 5/24/17 Not listed THE CURRENT SCALE OF DEFORESTATION AND THE DEGREE OF DEGRADED FORESTS IN TROPICAL ECOSYSTEMS UNDERSCORE THE URGENT NEED FOR INTERVENTIONS TO RESTORE BIODIVERSITY ECOLOGICAL FUNCTIONING AND THE SUPPLY OF ECOSYSTEM SERVICES VITAL TO HUMAN WELL-BEING. REMOTE SENSING HAS ENABLED ECOLOGICAL ASSESSMENTS OF ABRUPT CHANGES IN FOREST COVER LIKE DEFORESTATION HOWEVER LITTLE HAS BEEN DONE ROBUSTLY TO DIRECTLY QUANTIFY GRADUAL PROCESSES LIKE FOREST DEGRADATION OR AFFORESTATION. FOREST DEGRADATION IS BELIEVED TO BE MORE PERVASIVE IN TROPICAL RURAL FORESTS PARTICULARLY IN LANDSCAPES AFFECTED BY FRAGMENTATION AND/OR ARMED CONFLICTS. REMOTE SENSING OF FOREST DEGRADATION IS CHALLENGING BECAUSE OF SENSORS SPECTRAL AND RADIOMETRIC LIMITATIONS INABILITY TO CAPTURE FINE SPATIAL SCALE DEGRADATIONS OR INHERENT COMPLEXITIES IN THE DEFINITIONS OF THE TERM FOREST DEGRADATION . YET IN SITU DATA THAT GUIDE MAPPING TRENDS IN FOREST COVER ARE BIASED TOWARDS FORESTS ECOLOGICAL PROPERTIES AND OVERLOOK SOCIAL CONTEXT-SPECIFIC PERCEPTIONS OF FOREST COVER CHANGE SUCH AS DEGRADATION THAT MAY ADDRESS REMOTE SENSING CHALLENGES. AN ADDITIONAL KNOWLEDGE GAP IN REMOTE SENSING OF TROPICAL FOREST IS THE LACK OF DETAILED ASSESSMENTS OF FOREST GAIN DESPITE EVIDENCE THAT SOME TREE SPECIES USED IN REFORESTATION ARE MORE PRONE TO DISTURBANCE OR OFFER LIMITED SOCIO-ECOLOGICAL SERVICES. SUCH DETAILED INFORMATION IS IMPORTANT TO ENSURE ACCURATE MONITORING OF TRENDS IN FOREST COVER AND SUCCESS OF RESTORATION PROJECTS GROUNDED INTERPRETATIONS OF FOREST COVER MAPS AND TO LOCATE PRIORITY AREAS FOR FOREST CONSERVATION OR RESTORATION. WITHIN EAST AFRICA RWANDA IS THE MOST HEAVILY POPULATED PREDOMINANTLY RURAL COUNTRY AND RANKS FIRST IN ANNUAL FOREST COVER LOSS. THE BIODIVERSITY-RICH HIGH-ELEVATION WESTERN RWANDA HAS EXPERIENCED UNPRECEDENTED FOREST LOSS AND DEGRADATION IN THE LAST 30 YEARS RESULTING IN MAJOR LOSSES OF WILDLIFE HABITAT BIODIVERSITY AND ECOSYSTEM SERVICES. FOREST LOSS WORSENED DURING THE 1990 S CIVIL WARS AND GENOCIDE WHEN FORESTS SHELTERED BOTH CIVILIANS AND COMBATANTS OR WERE CLEARED FOR RESETTLING REFUGEES. SINE THE LAST DECADE NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL INITIATIVES ARE NOW DRIVING FOREST RESTORATION ACTIVITIES AIMING TO RECONNECT REMNANT FRAGMENTS AND IMPROVE ENVIRONMENTAL RESILIENCY IN WESTERN RWANDA. THIS HISTORY MAKES WESTERN RWANDA A UNIQUE CASE STUDY TO INVESTIGATE THE LOCATION SEVERITY AND EXTENT OF CHANGES IN TROPICAL FOREST COVER. THIS STUDY PROPOSES TAKING A MULTIDISCIPLINARY AND MULTISCALE APPROACH LINKING SATELLITE AND IN SITU DATA TO MAP DEFORESTATION FOREST DEGRADATION AND AFFORESTATION IN WESTERN RWANDA FROM 1986 TO 2018. SPECIFICALLY A SPECTRAL LINEAR UNMIXING SUPERVISED CLASSIFICATION WILL BE PERFORMED ON FUSED LANDSAT AND MODIS DATASETS TO MAP TRENDS IN DEFORESTATION AND AFFORESTATION AT 4 YEARS INTERVALS. TWO PROXIES OF FOREST DEGRADATION WILL BE DERIVED FROM: I) TIME SERIES ANALYSIS OF LANDSAT SURFACE TEMPERATURES TO LOCATE TEMPERATURE INCREASES WITHIN FORESTS AND II) TIME SERIES ANALYSIS OF RADAR IMAGES TO LOCATE DECREASES IN THE STRENGTH OF L BAND BACKSCATTER WAVELENGTH WITHIN FORESTS. IN SITU DATA INCLUDING ECOLOGICAL PLOT SURVEYS AS WELL AS QUALITATIVE SOCIAL DATA COLLECTED THROUGH PARTICIPATORY SKETCH MAPPING WILL BE USED TO VALIDATE AND/OR IMPROVE REMOTE SENSING PRODUCTS. LASTLY A MAXIMUM ENTROPY ALGORITHM WILL BE USED TO MODEL SUSTAINABLE FOREST AREAS BY RELATING POTENTIAL FOREST RESTORATION SPECIES TO BIOPHYSICAL VARIABLES DERIVED FORM NASA PRECIPITATION ELEVATION AND SURFACE TEMPERATURE DATASETS. THIS PROPOSED STUDY WILL PROVIDE WALL TO WALL MAPS NEEDED FOR ACCURATE MONITORING OF TRENDS IN FOREST COVER. IT WILL ALSO MAKE SIGNIFICANT ADVANCES TO NASA S SCIENCE GOALS RELATED TO DETECTING AND PREDICTING CHANGES IN EARTH S ECOLOGICAL AND BIOCHEMICAL CYCLES INCLUDING BIODIVERSITY AND LAND COVER AND WILL FURTHER THE USE OF EARTH SYSTEM SCIENCE RESEARCH TO INFORM DECISIONS AND PROVIDE BENEFITS TO THE SOCIETY. $45.0k 5/24/17 Not listed THE CURRENT SCALE OF DEFORESTATION AND THE DEGREE OF DEGRADED FORESTS IN TROPICAL ECOSYSTEMS UNDERSCORE THE URGENT NEED FOR INTERVENTIONS TO RESTORE $0 12/14/16