publisher:10.1016/j.rse.2025.115027

deadtrees.earth — An open-access and interactive database for centimeter-scale aerial imagery to uncover global tree mortality dynamics


Mosig, Clemens, Vajna-Jehle, Janusch, Mahecha, Miguel D, Cheng, Yan, Hartmann, Henrik, Montero, David, Junttila, Samuli, Horion, Stéphanie, Schwenke, Mirela Beloiu, Koontz, Michael J, Maulud, Khairul Nizam Abdul, Adu-Bredu, Stephen, Al-Halbouni, Djamil, Ali, Muhammad, Allen, Matthew, Altman, Jan, Amorós, Lot, Angiolini, Claudia, Astrup, Rasmus, Awada, Hassan, Barrasso, Caterina, Bartholomeus, Harm, Beck, Pieter SA, Bozzini, Aurora, Braun-Wimmer, Joshua, Brede, Benjamin, Breunig, Fabio Marcelo, Brugnaro, Stefano, Buras, Allan, Burchard-Levine, Vicente, Camarero, Jesús Julio, Candotti, Anna, Capuder, Luka, Carrieri, Erik, Centritto, Mauro, Chirici, Gherardo, Cloutier, Myriam, Conciani, Dhemerson, Cushman, KC, Dalling, James W, Dao, Phuong D, Dempewolf, Jan, Denter, Martin, Dogotari, Marcel, Díaz-Delgado, Ricardo, Ecke, Simon, Eichel, Jana, Eltner, Anette, Fabbri, André, Fabi, Maximilian, Fassnacht, Fabian, Ferreira, Matheus Pinheiro, Fischer, Fabian Jörg, Frey, Julian, Frick, Annett, Fuentes, Jose, Ganz, Selina, Garbarino, Matteo, García, Milton, Gassilloud, Matthias, Gazol, Antonio, Gea-Izquierdo, Guillermo, Gerberding, Kilian, Ghasemi, Marziye, Giannetti, Francesca, Gillan, Jeffrey, Gonzalez, Roy, Gosper, Carl, Greene, Terry, Greinwald, Konrad, Grieve, Stuart, Große-Stoltenberg, André, Gutierrez, Jesus Aguirre, Göritz, Anna, Hajek, Peter, Hedding, David, Hempel, Jan, Heremans, Stien, Hernández, Melvin, Heurich, Marco, Honkavaara, Eija, Höfle, Bernhard, Jackisch, Robert, Jucker, Tommaso, Kalwij, Jesse M, Kepfer-Rojas, Sebastian, Khatri-Chhetri, Pratima, Kleinebecker, Till, Klemmt, Hans-Joachim, Klouček, Tomáš, Koivumäki, Niko, Kolagani, Nagesh, Komárek, Jan, Korznikov, Kirill, Kraszewski, Bartłomiej, Kruse, Stefan, Krüger, Robert, Kuechly, Helga, Kwong, Ivan HY, Laliberté, Etienne, Langan, Liam, Latifi, Hooman, Leal-Medina, Claudia, Lehmann, Jan RK, Li, Linyuan, Lines, Emily, Lisiewicz, Maciej, Lopatin, Javier, Lucieer, Arko, Ludwig, Antonia, Ludwig, Marvin, Lyytikäinen-Saarenmaa, Päivi, Ma, Qin, Mansuy, Nicolas, Peña, José Manuel, Marino, Giovanni, Maroschek, Michael, Martín, M Pilar, Martín-Benito, Darío, Matham, Pavan, Mazzoni, Sabrina, Meloni, Fabio, Menzel, Annette, Meyer, Hanna, Miraki, Mojdeh, Moreno, Gerardo, Moreno-Fernández, Daniel, Muller-Landau, Helene C, Mälicke, Mirko, Möhring, Jakobus, Müllerova, Jana, Naidu, Setti Sridhara, Nardi, Davide, Neumeier, Paul, Nita, Mihai Daniel, Näsi, Roope, Oppgenoorth, Lars, Orunbaev, Sagynbek, Palmer, Melanie, Paul, Thomas, Pfenning, Mattis, Potts, Alastair, Prasanna, Gudala Laxmi, Prober, Suzanne, Puliti, Stefano, Pérez-Luque, Antonio J, Pérez-Priego, Oscar, Reudenbach, Chris, Revuelto, Jesús, Rivas-Torres, Gonzalo, Roberge, Philippe, Roggero, Pier Paolo, Rossi, Christian, Ruehr, Nadine Katrin, Ruiz-Benito, Paloma, Runge, Christian Mestre, Satta, Gabriele Giuseppe Antonio, Scanu, Bruno, Scherer-Lorenzen, Michael, Schiefer, Felix, Schiller, Christopher, Schladebach, Jacob, Schmehl, Marie-Therese, Schmid, Jonathan, Schmidt, Tristan Alexander, Schwarz, Selina, Seidl, Rupert, Seifert, Thomas, Barba, Ana Seifert, Shafeian, Elham, Shapiro, Aurélie, de Simone, Leopoldo, Sohrabi, Hormoz, Soltani, Salim, Sotomayor, Laura, Sparrow, Ben, Steer, Benjamin SC, Stenson, Matt, Stöckigt, Benjamin, Su, Yanjun, Suomalainen, Juha, Tamudo, Elisa, Barbieri, Mauro J Tognetti, Tomelleri, Enrico, Torresani, Michele, Trepekli, Katerina, Ullah, Saif, Ullah, Sami, Umlauft, Josefine, Vargas-Ramírez, Nicolás, Vatandaslar, Can, Visacki, Vladimir, Volpi, Michele, Vásquez, Vicente, Wallis, Christine, Weinstein, Ben, Weiser, Hannah, Wich, Serge, Ximena, Tagle Casapia, Zarco-Tejada, Pablo J, Zdunic, Katherine, Zielewska-Büttner, Katarzyna, de Oliveira, Raquel Alves, van Wagtendonk, Liz, von Dosky, Vincent and Kattenborn, Teja ;
Contact
clemens.mosig [ at ] uni-leipzig.de

Abstract

Excessive tree mortality is a global concern and remains poorly understood as it is a complex phenomenon. We lack global and temporally continuous coverage on tree mortality data. Ground-based observations on tree mortality, e.g., derived from national inventories, are very sparse, and may not be standardized or spatially explicit. Earth observation data, combined with supervised machine learning, offer a promising approach to map overstory tree mortality in a consistent manner over space and time. However, global-scale machine learning requires broad training data covering a wide range of environmental settings and forest types. Low altitude observation platforms (e.g., drones or airplanes) provide a cost-effective source of training data by capturing high-resolution orthophotos of overstory tree mortality events at centimeter-scale resolution. Here, we introduce deadtrees.earth, an open-access platform hosting more than two thousand centimeter-resolution orthophotos, covering more than 1,000,000 ha, of which more than 58,000 ha are manually annotated with live/dead tree classifications. This community-sourced and rigorously curated dataset can serve as a comprehensive reference dataset to uncover tree mortality patterns from local to global scales using space-based Earth observation data and machine learning models. This will provide the basis to attribute tree mortality patterns to environmental changes or project tree mortality dynamics to the future. The open nature of deadtrees.earth, together with its curation of high-quality, spatially representative, and ecologically diverse data will continuously increase our capacity to uncover and understand tree mortality dynamics.



Item Type
Article
Authors
Mosig, Clemens, Vajna-Jehle, Janusch, Mahecha, Miguel D, Cheng, Yan, Hartmann, Henrik, Montero, David, Junttila, Samuli, Horion, Stéphanie, Schwenke, Mirela Beloiu, Koontz, Michael J, Maulud, Khairul Nizam Abdul, Adu-Bredu, Stephen, Al-Halbouni, Djamil, Ali, Muhammad, Allen, Matthew, Altman, Jan, Amorós, Lot, Angiolini, Claudia, Astrup, Rasmus, Awada, Hassan, Barrasso, Caterina, Bartholomeus, Harm, Beck, Pieter SA, Bozzini, Aurora, Braun-Wimmer, Joshua, Brede, Benjamin, Breunig, Fabio Marcelo, Brugnaro, Stefano, Buras, Allan, Burchard-Levine, Vicente, Camarero, Jesús Julio, Candotti, Anna, Capuder, Luka, Carrieri, Erik, Centritto, Mauro, Chirici, Gherardo, Cloutier, Myriam, Conciani, Dhemerson, Cushman, KC, Dalling, James W, Dao, Phuong D, Dempewolf, Jan, Denter, Martin, Dogotari, Marcel, Díaz-Delgado, Ricardo, Ecke, Simon, Eichel, Jana, Eltner, Anette, Fabbri, André, Fabi, Maximilian, Fassnacht, Fabian, Ferreira, Matheus Pinheiro, Fischer, Fabian Jörg, Frey, Julian, Frick, Annett, Fuentes, Jose, Ganz, Selina, Garbarino, Matteo, García, Milton, Gassilloud, Matthias, Gazol, Antonio, Gea-Izquierdo, Guillermo, Gerberding, Kilian, Ghasemi, Marziye, Giannetti, Francesca, Gillan, Jeffrey, Gonzalez, Roy, Gosper, Carl, Greene, Terry, Greinwald, Konrad, Grieve, Stuart, Große-Stoltenberg, André, Gutierrez, Jesus Aguirre, Göritz, Anna, Hajek, Peter, Hedding, David, Hempel, Jan, Heremans, Stien, Hernández, Melvin, Heurich, Marco, Honkavaara, Eija, Höfle, Bernhard, Jackisch, Robert, Jucker, Tommaso, Kalwij, Jesse M, Kepfer-Rojas, Sebastian, Khatri-Chhetri, Pratima, Kleinebecker, Till, Klemmt, Hans-Joachim, Klouček, Tomáš, Koivumäki, Niko, Kolagani, Nagesh, Komárek, Jan, Korznikov, Kirill, Kraszewski, Bartłomiej, Kruse, Stefan, Krüger, Robert, Kuechly, Helga, Kwong, Ivan HY, Laliberté, Etienne, Langan, Liam, Latifi, Hooman, Leal-Medina, Claudia, Lehmann, Jan RK, Li, Linyuan, Lines, Emily, Lisiewicz, Maciej, Lopatin, Javier, Lucieer, Arko, Ludwig, Antonia, Ludwig, Marvin, Lyytikäinen-Saarenmaa, Päivi, Ma, Qin, Mansuy, Nicolas, Peña, José Manuel, Marino, Giovanni, Maroschek, Michael, Martín, M Pilar, Martín-Benito, Darío, Matham, Pavan, Mazzoni, Sabrina, Meloni, Fabio, Menzel, Annette, Meyer, Hanna, Miraki, Mojdeh, Moreno, Gerardo, Moreno-Fernández, Daniel, Muller-Landau, Helene C, Mälicke, Mirko, Möhring, Jakobus, Müllerova, Jana, Naidu, Setti Sridhara, Nardi, Davide, Neumeier, Paul, Nita, Mihai Daniel, Näsi, Roope, Oppgenoorth, Lars, Orunbaev, Sagynbek, Palmer, Melanie, Paul, Thomas, Pfenning, Mattis, Potts, Alastair, Prasanna, Gudala Laxmi, Prober, Suzanne, Puliti, Stefano, Pérez-Luque, Antonio J, Pérez-Priego, Oscar, Reudenbach, Chris, Revuelto, Jesús, Rivas-Torres, Gonzalo, Roberge, Philippe, Roggero, Pier Paolo, Rossi, Christian, Ruehr, Nadine Katrin, Ruiz-Benito, Paloma, Runge, Christian Mestre, Satta, Gabriele Giuseppe Antonio, Scanu, Bruno, Scherer-Lorenzen, Michael, Schiefer, Felix, Schiller, Christopher, Schladebach, Jacob, Schmehl, Marie-Therese, Schmid, Jonathan, Schmidt, Tristan Alexander, Schwarz, Selina, Seidl, Rupert, Seifert, Thomas, Barba, Ana Seifert, Shafeian, Elham, Shapiro, Aurélie, de Simone, Leopoldo, Sohrabi, Hormoz, Soltani, Salim, Sotomayor, Laura, Sparrow, Ben, Steer, Benjamin SC, Stenson, Matt, Stöckigt, Benjamin, Su, Yanjun, Suomalainen, Juha, Tamudo, Elisa, Barbieri, Mauro J Tognetti, Tomelleri, Enrico, Torresani, Michele, Trepekli, Katerina, Ullah, Saif, Ullah, Sami, Umlauft, Josefine, Vargas-Ramírez, Nicolás, Vatandaslar, Can, Visacki, Vladimir, Volpi, Michele, Vásquez, Vicente, Wallis, Christine, Weinstein, Ben, Weiser, Hannah, Wich, Serge, Ximena, Tagle Casapia, Zarco-Tejada, Pablo J, Zdunic, Katherine, Zielewska-Büttner, Katarzyna, de Oliveira, Raquel Alves, van Wagtendonk, Liz, von Dosky, Vincent and Kattenborn, Teja ;
Divisions
AWI Organizations > Geosciences > Terrestrial Environmental Systems
Primary Division
Organizations > AWI Organizations > Geosciences
Programs
Helmholtz Research Programs > CHANGING EARTH (2021-2027) > PT5:Dynamics of the Terrestrial Environment and Freshwater Resources under Global and Climate Change > ST5.3: Natural dynamics of the terrestrial Earth surface system
Primary Topic
Helmholtz Programs > Helmholtz Research Programs > CHANGING EARTH (2021-2027) > PT5:Dynamics of the Terrestrial Environment and Freshwater Resources under Global and Climate Change
Publication Status
Published
Eprint ID
60712
DOI 10.1016/j.rse.2025.115027

Cite as
Mosig, C. , Vajna-Jehle, J. , Mahecha, M. D. , Cheng, Y. , Hartmann, H. , Montero, D. , Junttila, S. , Horion, S. , Schwenke, M. B. , Koontz, M. J. , Maulud, K. N. A. , Adu-Bredu, S. , Al-Halbouni, D. , Ali, M. , Allen, M. , Altman, J. , Amorós, L. , Angiolini, C. , Astrup, R. , Awada, H. , Barrasso, C. , Bartholomeus, H. , Beck, P. S. , Bozzini, A. , Braun-Wimmer, J. , Brede, B. , Breunig, F. M. , Brugnaro, S. , Buras, A. , Burchard-Levine, V. , Camarero, J. J. , Candotti, A. , Capuder, L. , Carrieri, E. , Centritto, M. , Chirici, G. , Cloutier, M. , Conciani, D. , Cushman, K. , Dalling, J. W. , Dao, P. D. , Dempewolf, J. , Denter, M. , Dogotari, M. , Díaz-Delgado, R. , Ecke, S. , Eichel, J. , Eltner, A. , Fabbri, A. , Fabi, M. , Fassnacht, F. , Ferreira, M. P. , Fischer, F. J. , Frey, J. , Frick, A. , Fuentes, J. , Ganz, S. , Garbarino, M. , García, M. , Gassilloud, M. , Gazol, A. , Gea-Izquierdo, G. , Gerberding, K. , Ghasemi, M. , Giannetti, F. , Gillan, J. , Gonzalez, R. , Gosper, C. , Greene, T. , Greinwald, K. , Grieve, S. , Große-Stoltenberg, A. , Gutierrez, J. A. , Göritz, A. , Hajek, P. , Hedding, D. , Hempel, J. , Heremans, S. , Hernández, M. , Heurich, M. , Honkavaara, E. , Höfle, B. , Jackisch, R. , Jucker, T. , Kalwij, J. M. , Kepfer-Rojas, S. , Khatri-Chhetri, P. , Kleinebecker, T. , Klemmt, H. J. , Klouček, T. , Koivumäki, N. , Kolagani, N. , Komárek, J. , Korznikov, K. , Kraszewski, B. , Kruse, S. , Krüger, R. , Kuechly, H. , Kwong, I. H. , Laliberté, E. , Langan, L. , Latifi, H. , Leal-Medina, C. , Lehmann, J. R. , Li, L. , Lines, E. , Lisiewicz, M. , Lopatin, J. , Lucieer, A. , Ludwig, A. , Ludwig, M. , Lyytikäinen-Saarenmaa, P. , Ma, Q. , Mansuy, N. , Peña, J. M. , Marino, G. , Maroschek, M. , Martín, M. P. , Martín-Benito, D. , Matham, P. , Mazzoni, S. , Meloni, F. , Menzel, A. , Meyer, H. , Miraki, M. , Moreno, G. , Moreno-Fernández, D. , Muller-Landau, H. C. , Mälicke, M. , Möhring, J. , Müllerova, J. , Naidu, S. S. , Nardi, D. , Neumeier, P. , Nita, M. D. , Näsi, R. , Oppgenoorth, L. , Orunbaev, S. , Palmer, M. , Paul, T. , Pfenning, M. , Potts, A. , Prasanna, G. L. , Prober, S. , Puliti, S. , Pérez-Luque, A. J. , Pérez-Priego, O. , Reudenbach, C. , Revuelto, J. , Rivas-Torres, G. , Roberge, P. , Roggero, P. P. , Rossi, C. , Ruehr, N. K. , Ruiz-Benito, P. , Runge, C. M. , Satta, G. G. A. , Scanu, B. , Scherer-Lorenzen, M. , Schiefer, F. , Schiller, C. , Schladebach, J. , Schmehl, M. T. , Schmid, J. , Schmidt, T. A. , Schwarz, S. , Seidl, R. , Seifert, T. , Barba, A. S. , Shafeian, E. , Shapiro, A. , de Simone, L. , Sohrabi, H. , Soltani, S. , Sotomayor, L. , Sparrow, B. , Steer, B. S. , Stenson, M. , Stöckigt, B. , Su, Y. , Suomalainen, J. , Tamudo, E. , Barbieri, M. J. T. , Tomelleri, E. , Torresani, M. , Trepekli, K. , Ullah, S. , Ullah, S. , Umlauft, J. , Vargas-Ramírez, N. , Vatandaslar, C. , Visacki, V. , Volpi, M. , Vásquez, V. , Wallis, C. , Weinstein, B. , Weiser, H. , Wich, S. , Ximena, T. C. , Zarco-Tejada, P. J. , Zdunic, K. , Zielewska-Büttner, K. , de Oliveira, R. A. , van Wagtendonk, L. , von Dosky, V. and Kattenborn, T. (2026): deadtrees.earth — An open-access and interactive database for centimeter-scale aerial imagery to uncover global tree mortality dynamics , Remote Sensing of Environment, 332 , p. 115027 . doi: 10.1016/j.rse.2025.115027


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