by Matteo Cavallito<\/p>\n
Studies on the distribution of trees in World tropical regions have allegedly so far ignored<\/strong> a significant share of the total cover<\/strong>. This is claimed by a study<\/a> published in Nature Communications that involved several research institutions including the French Laboratory of Climate and Environmental Sciences (LSCE), the University of Copenhagen, the Spanish Global Ecology Unit (CREAF-CSIC-UAB), the Humboldt University of Berlin, the universities of Chittagong and Tsinghua, and the Chinese University of Geosciences in Beijing.<\/p>\n Through high-resolution analysis and the use of machine learning algorithms<\/strong>, the researchers mapped the trend of tree occurrence in the area over eight years. As a result of the increased accuracy of the survey, the study also allowed to identify scattered trees in agricultural, urban or semi-arid environments, i.e., those areas that previous surveys tended to ignore. The results were surprising.<\/p>\n