Sahara desert has 1.8 billion trees
The model needs only hours what would take thousands of humans several years to achieve.
There are far more trees in the West African Sahara Desert than expected, according to a study that combined Artificial Intelligence (AI) and detailed satellite imagery.
Researchers counted over 1.8 billion trees and shrubs in the 1.3 million square kilometer area that covers the western-most portion of the Sahara Desert. This is the first time that anyone counted trees across a large dryland region.
Thousands of trees identified in just hours.
Researchers from the University of Copenhagen’s computer science department developed the deep learning algorithm that made the counting of trees over such a large area possible.
The researchers fed the deep learning model thousands of images of various trees to show it what a tree looks like. Based on the recognition of tree shapes, the model could automatically identify and map trees over large areas and thousands of images.
The model needs only hours what would take thousands of humans several years to achieve.
Researchers will next expand the count to a much larger area in Africa. And in the longer term, they plan to create a global database of all trees growing outside forest areas.
The role of trees in the Sahara
New knowledge about trees in dryland areas like this is important for several reasons, according to Martin Brandt. For example, they represent an unknown factor when it comes to the global carbon budget.
Also, the new study can contribute to better understanding the importance of trees for biodiversity and ecosystems and for the people living in these areas.
In particular, enhanced knowledge about trees is also important for developing programmes that promote agroforestry, which plays a major environmental and socio-economic role in arid regions.
How big is Sahara
– The Sahara covers large sections of eleven different countries including Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, Western Sahara, Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Chad, and Sudan.
– If the Sahara were a country it would be the fifth largest country in the world.
– The Sahara used to be a lush region with many plants and animals. It began to dry up around 4000 years ago due to a gradual change in the tilt of the Earth’s orbit.
– The Sahara Desert is one of the most consistently hottest places on Earth. The average temperature during the summer months is between 38 °C and 46 °C.
– Despite its large size, only around 2.5 million people live in the Sahara Desert.
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