Signal Forest cover at 64 percent of potential against a 78 percent boundary

Summary

The land system control variable is the share of forest remaining relative to the potential cover that would exist without human land use, and the 2026 global value is 64 percent. That is well below the 78 percent safe threshold and above the 54 percent high-risk line, leaving global forest area far outside the safe operating space. The 78 percent figure is the area-weighted mean of biome thresholds of 85 percent for boreal and tropical forests and 50 percent for temperate forests, raised from 75 percent after double counting was corrected. The rise in the current value from about 59 to 64 percent likewise reflects previously omitted satellite classes being included, not actual forest recovery. Taken individually, most major forest biomes have also crossed their own thresholds to varying degrees. Satellite forest data still extend only to 2022.