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LUCA is based on Sentinel-1 cloud penetrating synthetic aperture radar (SAR) observations to circumvent limitations of optical imagery from pervasive cloud cover over forested areas globally, and especially in the tropics. The methodology is based on a combination of time-series change detection and machine learning analytics to achieve high accuracy of alerts across all ecoregions and landscapes globally with an average area-adjusted users and producers accuracy of 83% and 63%, respectively. The bi-weekly global alert maps capture forest clearing associated with deforestation and industrial timber harvesting, along with forest degradation associated with selective logging, fragmentation, fire, and roads. The product was developed and released publicly through Google Earth Engine to allow for the rapid assessment of land use change activities, quantifying patterns and processes driving forest change and dynamics across forest ecoregions. LUCA is designed to help monitor a variety of emission reduction programs at the local to regional scales and play a key role in implementing regulations on deforestation-free products.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/rs16122151","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,6,13]],"date-time":"2024-06-13T10:41:03Z","timestamp":1718275263000},"page":"2151","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":15,"title":["LUCA: A Sentinel-1 SAR-Based Global Forest Land Use Change Alert"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"16","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-7711-8523","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Adugna","family":"Mullissa","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Ctrees.org, Pasadena, CA 91105, USA"},{"name":"Institute of Environment and Sustainability, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA"}]},{"given":"Sassan","family":"Saatchi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Ctrees.org, Pasadena, CA 91105, USA"},{"name":"Institute of Environment and Sustainability, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA"},{"name":"Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91109, USA"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-7151-8697","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ricardo","family":"Dalagnol","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Ctrees.org, Pasadena, CA 91105, USA"},{"name":"Institute of Environment and Sustainability, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA"},{"name":"Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91109, USA"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3597-1929","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Tyler","family":"Erickson","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"VorGeo, Los Altos, CA 94022, USA"}]},{"given":"Naomi","family":"Provost","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Ctrees.org, Pasadena, CA 91105, USA"}]},{"given":"Fiona","family":"Osborn","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Ctrees.org, Pasadena, CA 91105, USA"}]},{"given":"Aleena","family":"Ashary","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Ctrees.org, Pasadena, CA 91105, USA"}]},{"given":"Violet","family":"Moon","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Ctrees.org, Pasadena, CA 91105, USA"}]},{"given":"Daniel","family":"Melling","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Ctrees.org, Pasadena, CA 91105, USA"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,6,13]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"eabn3132","DOI":"10.1126\/sciadv.abn3132","article-title":"Addressing indirect sourcing in zero deforestation commodity supply chains","volume":"8","author":"Bellfield","year":"2022","journal-title":"Sci. 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