{"id":772068,"date":"2026-03-31T19:59:57","date_gmt":"2026-04-01T02:59:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/?post_type=arcnews&#038;p=772068"},"modified":"2026-03-31T15:04:58","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T22:04:58","slug":"latest-land-cover-data-release-shows-more-change-over-time","status":"publish","type":"arcnews","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/arcnews\/latest-land-cover-data-release-shows-more-change-over-time","title":{"rendered":"Latest Land-Cover Data Release Shows More Change Over Time"},"author":6921,"featured_media":0,"menu_order":0,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"sync_status":"","episode_type":"","audio_file":"","castos_file_data":"","podmotor_file_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[275822,318502,551],"tags":[475792,288292,475572,237901,10362],"arcnews_issues":[493400],"class_list":["post-772068","arcnews","type-arcnews","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-arcgis-living-atlas-of-the-world","category-environmental","category-imagery","tag-change-detection","tag-earth-observation","tag-land-cover","tag-land-use","tag-sentinel-2","arcnews_issues-spring-2026","arcnews_sections-esri-technology"],"acf":{"short_description":"Anybody can drill in to a location of interest anywhere in the world to conduct land-cover analysis from 2017 through 2025.","pdf":{"host_remotely":false,"file":"","file_url":""},"flexible_content":[{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"From vanishing forests in Central Europe to shifting agricultural patterns across continents, Earth\u2019s surface tells stories of environmental change that unfold year after year. Bearing witness to these chronicles are high-resolution land-cover maps, which decision-makers in many sectors and around the world use to understand land-use planning, resource management, surface water availability, food security, and more.\r\n\r\nEsri is releasing updated global land-cover maps that extend the record of how the planet\u2019s surface has transformed since 2017. In addition to this data\u2019s being <a href=\"https:\/\/livingatlas.arcgis.com\/landcoverexplorer\/#mapCenter=-57.24410%2C-17.91706%2C11.00&amp;mode=step&amp;timeExtent=2017%2C2024&amp;year=2024\">available in ArcGIS Living Atlas of the World<\/a>, users can access it in a web-based app\u2014Esri\u2019s Sentinel-2 Land Cover Explorer\u2014which provides dynamic viewing and analysis capabilities.\r\n\r\n\u201cAnybody can drill in to a location of interest anywhere in the world to conduct analysis and gain a global perspective,\u201d said Robert Waterman, who leads the ArcGIS Living Atlas of the World imagery team at Esri.\r\n<h2>A Growing Temporal Record<\/h2>\r\nEsri released 2025 data for its Sentinel-2 10m Land Use\/Land Cover Time Series in partnership with Impact Observatory, which provides AI-powered geospatial monitoring and on-demand data for environmental risk analysis. The update extends the dataset to eight consecutive years, from 2017 through 2025. Annual updates like this use the same deep learning methodology across all years to help ensure reliable comparisons.\r\n\r\n\u201cThe more time slices we add, the more valuable it gets,\u201d said Waterman."},{"acf_fc_layout":"gallery","gallery_images":[772070,772071]},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"The maps identify nine surface classes including water, trees, crops, built areas, and bare ground. Government resource agencies use land cover as a basis for understanding trends in natural capital, which helps define planning priorities and budget allocations.\r\n<h2>Ensuring Accessible Data<\/h2>\r\nMaking this information accessible is a key component of Esri\u2019s mapping initiative.\r\n\r\n\u201cAvailability doesn\u2019t necessarily mean accessibility,\u201d Waterman said. \u201cUp until recently, this kind of data was only accessible to those with the hard skills and financial and computing resources required to process it.\u201d\r\n\r\nThat\u2019s why Esri decided to democratize access by developing the Land Cover Explorer app. It lets users visualize changes in land cover through Animate and Swipe modes, filter by class, and view statistical coverage charts.\r\n\r\nMore than 10 million GIS users have direct access via web services in ArcGIS Living Atlas. Esri also makes the data available for download through the Land Cover Explorer app. To ensure that everyone can use these maps and downloads, they are distributed using a Creative Commons by Attribution (CC BY 4.0) license.\r\n<h2>Real-World Applications<\/h2>\r\nHaving annual data allows users to understand how things have changed and help predict how things might change into the future, Waterman explained. The time-series approach is particularly valuable for detecting environmental transformations that unfold gradually. The maps support monitoring of forest cover changes, agricultural cycles, and urban expansion patterns.\r\n\r\nOne application of the maps involves tracking forest loss in Germany, where bark beetle infestations have devastated spruce stands. Between 2018 and 2021, Germany lost about 5 percent of its forests, mainly due to beetles, drought, and storms. A land-cover time series helps visualize these changes.\r\n<h2>Technology and Accuracy<\/h2>\r\nImpact Observatory\u2019s deep learning model processes more than 2 million Earth observations annually from Sentinel-2\u2019s multispectral imagery. The approach scales computing resources in the cloud to generate global coverage in days rather than years.\r\n\r\nThanks to this unique methodology, an entire year of observations can be processed and mapped globally in a matter of days. But while the maps excel at regional and global-scale analysis, highly localized results can vary, according to Waterman.\r\n\r\n\u201cIt\u2019s important to keep in context what this map is,\u201d he said. \u201cGiven the spectral and spatial resolution of the source data, coupled with the classification strategy and methodologies, its strengths are rooted in global and regional applications.\u201d"}],"references":null},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v25.9 (Yoast SEO v25.9) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Latest Land-Cover Data Release Shows More Change Over Time | Spring 2026 | ArcNews<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Anybody can drill in to a location of interest anywhere in the world to conduct land-cover analysis from 2017 through 2025.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/arcnews\/latest-land-cover-data-release-shows-more-change-over-time\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Latest Land-Cover Data Release Shows More Change Over Time\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Anybody can drill in to a location of interest anywhere in the world to conduct land-cover analysis from 2017 through 2025.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/arcnews\/latest-land-cover-data-release-shows-more-change-over-time\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Esri\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/esrigis\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/app\/uploads\/2026\/03\/arcnews-banner-lastestlandcover-wide.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"Anybody can drill in to a location of interest anywhere in the world to conduct land-cover analysis from 2017 through 2025.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Esri\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\n\t    \"@context\": \"https:\/\/schema.org\",\n\t    \"@graph\": [\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"WebPage\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/arcnews\/latest-land-cover-data-release-shows-more-change-over-time\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/arcnews\/latest-land-cover-data-release-shows-more-change-over-time\",\n\t            \"name\": \"Latest Land-Cover Data Release Shows More Change Over Time | Spring 2026 | ArcNews\",\n\t            \"isPartOf\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/#website\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"datePublished\": \"2026-04-01T02:59:57+00:00\",\n\t            \"description\": \"Anybody can drill in to a location of interest anywhere in the world to conduct land-cover analysis from 2017 through 2025.\",\n\t            \"breadcrumb\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/arcnews\/latest-land-cover-data-release-shows-more-change-over-time#breadcrumb\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ReadAction\",\n\t                    \"target\": [\n\t                        \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/arcnews\/latest-land-cover-data-release-shows-more-change-over-time\"\n\t                    ]\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"BreadcrumbList\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/arcnews\/latest-land-cover-data-release-shows-more-change-over-time#breadcrumb\",\n\t            \"itemListElement\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 1,\n\t                    \"name\": \"Home\",\n\t                    \"item\": \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\"\n\t                },\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 2,\n\t                    \"name\": \"ArcNews Articles\",\n\t                    \"item\": \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/arcnews\"\n\t                },\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 3,\n\t                    \"name\": \"Latest Land-Cover Data Release Shows More Change Over Time\"\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"WebSite\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/#website\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/\",\n\t            \"name\": \"Esri\",\n\t            \"description\": \"Esri Newsroom\",\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"SearchAction\",\n\t                    \"target\": {\n\t                        \"@type\": \"EntryPoint\",\n\t                        \"urlTemplate\": \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/?s={search_term_string}\"\n\t                    },\n\t                    \"query-input\": {\n\t                        \"@type\": \"PropertyValueSpecification\",\n\t                        \"valueRequired\": true,\n\t                        \"valueName\": \"search_term_string\"\n\t                    }\n\t                }\n\t            ],\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\"\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Person\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/#\/schema\/person\/2ea2e24ff1bf1335829717357eaf3b3a\",\n\t            \"name\": \"Lidia Davidson\",\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t                \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\n\t                \"url\": \"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/69fae831c26e7d10c2c6cdaff1c8c9f2e148d083fe79f851e5ad201f7793fad5?s=96&d=blank&r=g\",\n\t                \"contentUrl\": \"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/69fae831c26e7d10c2c6cdaff1c8c9f2e148d083fe79f851e5ad201f7793fad5?s=96&d=blank&r=g\",\n\t                \"caption\": \"Lidia Davidson\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"url\": \"\"\n\t        }\n\t    ]\n\t}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Latest Land-Cover Data Release Shows More Change Over Time | Spring 2026 | ArcNews","description":"Anybody can drill in to a location of interest anywhere in the world to conduct land-cover analysis from 2017 through 2025.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/arcnews\/latest-land-cover-data-release-shows-more-change-over-time","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Latest Land-Cover Data Release Shows More Change Over Time","og_description":"Anybody can drill in to a location of interest anywhere in the world to conduct land-cover analysis from 2017 through 2025.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/arcnews\/latest-land-cover-data-release-shows-more-change-over-time","og_site_name":"Esri","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/esrigis\/","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/app\/uploads\/2026\/03\/arcnews-banner-lastestlandcover-wide.jpg","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_description":"Anybody can drill in to a location of interest anywhere in the world to conduct land-cover analysis from 2017 through 2025.","twitter_site":"@Esri","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/arcnews\/latest-land-cover-data-release-shows-more-change-over-time","url":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/arcnews\/latest-land-cover-data-release-shows-more-change-over-time","name":"Latest Land-Cover Data Release Shows More Change Over Time | Spring 2026 | ArcNews","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/#website"},"datePublished":"2026-04-01T02:59:57+00:00","description":"Anybody can drill in to a location of interest anywhere in the world to conduct land-cover analysis from 2017 through 2025.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/arcnews\/latest-land-cover-data-release-shows-more-change-over-time#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/arcnews\/latest-land-cover-data-release-shows-more-change-over-time"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/arcnews\/latest-land-cover-data-release-shows-more-change-over-time#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"ArcNews Articles","item":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/arcnews"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Latest Land-Cover Data Release Shows More Change Over Time"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/","name":"Esri","description":"Esri Newsroom","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/#\/schema\/person\/2ea2e24ff1bf1335829717357eaf3b3a","name":"Lidia Davidson","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/69fae831c26e7d10c2c6cdaff1c8c9f2e148d083fe79f851e5ad201f7793fad5?s=96&d=blank&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/69fae831c26e7d10c2c6cdaff1c8c9f2e148d083fe79f851e5ad201f7793fad5?s=96&d=blank&r=g","caption":"Lidia Davidson"},"url":""}]}},"sort_order":"7","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/arcnews\/772068","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/arcnews"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/arcnews"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6921"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/arcnews\/772068\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=772068"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=772068"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=772068"},{"taxonomy":"arcnews_issues","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/arcnews_issues?post=772068"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}