Cecil and Planet partner to make forest carbon data accessible

Cecil has partnered with Planet Labs PBC to provide its Forest Carbon Diligence and Forest Carbon Monitoring datasets on Cecil's nature data platform.

This post introduces the two datasets, explains how to access them through Cecil, and briefly outlines how these datasets support use cases across the private and public sectors.

Learn more about Cecil’s platform through our recent newsletter, or get started today with our documentation.

Overview: Forest Carbon Diligence and Forest Carbon Monitoring

Planet has built two geospatial datasets for baselining and monitoring forest carbon – Forest Carbon Diligence and Forest Carbon Monitoring. Both datasets have global coverage and quantify aboveground carbon density (Mg/ha), canopy height (m), and canopy cover (%) on a per pixel basis, including 90% prediction intervals. Forest Carbon Diligence is delivered annually at 30 m spatial resolution with an archive from 2013 onwards, so is built for baselining forest assets. Forest Carbon Monitoring is delivered quarterly at 3.5 m spatial resolution with an archive from 2021 onwards, so is intended for tracking change over time.

The datasets draw on the same machine learning model architecture, which is trained on high resolution LiDAR reference data using a fusion of historical satellite observations. Linear downscaling of aboveground carbon model predictions from 30 m to 3.5 m resolution ensures spatial consistency between the two datasets, making it straightforward to combine Diligence and Monitoring data in the same analysis.

Accessing forest carbon data on Cecil

In our recent newsletter, we introduced Cecil’s approach to solving the nature data accessibility problem. Our platform makes nature data consistent, accessible, and ready for analysis. This includes data acquisition from selected providers, data preparation using a preferred CRS and spatial resolution, and secure data access to connect nature data directly to your analysis workflows.

We’re excited to share that we’re making Planet’s Forest Carbon Diligence and Forest Carbon Monitoring datasets available on the Cecil platform. Using Cecil, you can request these datasets for any number of sites (AOIs), configure them to the CRS and resolution you require, and receive the data in a database to use directly in your analysis. Our integration with Planet means that you don’t need to worry about managing file storage, building your own integrations, or pre-processing geospatial raster data. Cecil delivers the data in a consistent structure that is optimised for analysis and can be securely connected to your chosen tools, such as Python, R, GIS, and BI applications.

Read our documentation to learn more about accessing data through Cecil.

Putting forest carbon data to use

Since its release in 2023, Planet’s Forest Carbon Diligence dataset has become a key source of intelligence for sectors whose core business revolves around forest biomass. For instance, some of the natural asset managers we work with use Forest Carbon Diligence data to remotely baseline the initial biomass stock of carbon credit projects or timber production sites. Recent launch of the higher resolution Forest Carbon Monitoring dataset has added capacity to monitor change in these assets over time. For instance, the same teams can now use Forest Carbon Monitoring data to support operational decisions around harvest dates or set up alerting to identify forest patches with poor performance.

Cecil has partnered with Planet because we believe these datasets are valuable to a wide variety of teams across the corporate, finance, and nonprofit sectors. As nature markets mature, data teams are demanding more sophisticated data to evaluate, baseline, and monitor nature at the site level. Plant aboveground biomass is a fundamental part of every terrestrial ecosystem, making Forest Carbon Diligence and Forest Carbon Monitoring datasets some of the core tools for the job. Cecil makes these datasets accessible to teams with or without geospatial expertise and in a way that enables teams to analyse, baseline, and monitor forest biomass at scale.

We already see Forest Carbon datasets starting to power a range of use cases, such as:

Forest carbon accounting

Natural asset managers and project developers use Forest Carbon Diligence data to baseline the biomass of existing forest assets and streamline due diligence on potential investments. This includes taking stock of initial aboveground biomass carbon at project start and identifying areas of low canopy height and canopy cover for new planting. The higher spatial and temporal resolution of the Forest Carbon Monitoring dataset unlocks accurate tracking of biomass gains and losses over time without committing to more site visits, such as identifying patches that are underperforming or planning management interventions.

Deforestation monitoring

By year’s end, EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) will compel thousands of companies globally to guarantee that their products are deforestation free. At the same time, illegal logging continues to devastate primary forests across the globe. Teams are beginning to use Forest Carbon Diligence data to detect historic clear felling on their sites by searching for sudden declines in canopy cover, canopy height, or aboveground carbon density from one year to the next. We expect the higher spatial and temporal resolution of the Forest Carbon Monitoring dataset to power even more sophisticated deforestation use cases. The higher spatial resolution of this dataset allows for detection of less obvious forms of forest degradation, such as selective logging or conversion of primary forest to other tall stature vegetation (e.g. oil palm). The quarterly frequency of this dataset enables monitoring and policing of illegal deforestation. And with an archive back to December 2020, the Forest Carbon Monitoring dataset is sufficient to meet EUDR compliance needs.

Nature conservation and restoration

Nature conservation practitioners have typically relied on intensive ground surveys to plan management activities and monitor site condition. Although not a replacement for field data, conservation teams are improving efficiency by using Forest Carbon Diligence data to create a baseline understanding of a site’s forest structure, including spatial variation in canopy cover and canopy height. This baseline is used to help plan future site visits and management strategies, such as fencing off pristine forest patches or controlling tree encroachment into other habitats. We also see interest in using Forest Carbon Monitoring data to track impacts of management activities over time, especially in remote and challenging terrain. On a larger scale, these datasets can inform the planning and management of future protected areas to keep us on track to achieve conservation initiatives like 30 by 30, which aims to protect 30% of Earth’s land and water by 2030.