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How to Track Deforestation in the Amazon With Public Satellite Maps

TerraBrasilis provides public access to INPE’s PRODES annual deforestation estimates and DETER alerts. Learn which map to use and how to interpret its limits.
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Start with TerraBrasilis, INPE’s portal for geographic data from PRODES and DETER. Use PRODES to examine annual clear-cut deforestation estimates in the Legal Amazon; use DETER to find more recent alerts that can help identify places for follow-up. The two products answer different questions, and a DETER alert is not an annual deforestation rate.

Choose the map that matches your question

What you need to know PRODES DETER
Purpose Annual monitoring and estimates of clear-cut deforestation in the Legal Amazon. More frequent alerts about forest-cover changes, intended to support inspection and control.
Time frame INPE says it has produced annual deforestation rates since 1988. Check the year attached to the estimate. Alerts are made available daily, but the public portal updates with a deliberate one-week delay. Authenticated users can access daily data, according to TerraBrasilis’ FAQ.
Best use Compare annual estimates over time, using consistent geography and dataset definitions. Investigate more recent signs of change and identify potential locations for follow-up; do not substitute alerts for the official annual rate.
Geographic detail INPE’s FAQ describes the maximum available rate breakdown as by Legal Amazon state. Municipality- or site-level estimates require spatial analysis of increment polygons. Coverage and what a layer represents depend on the selected product. Some newer data for non-forest areas of the Amazon are experimental and may change; they are not the standard forest alert product.

“Amazon” can refer to different boundaries. PRODES rates discussed here concern the Legal Amazon. INPE’s FAQ separately gives a cumulative figure for the Amazon biome, without a clear reference year, so it should not be treated as a current total.

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How to find and read the data

  1. Open TerraBrasilis. Use the Data Access portal to access, query, analyze, and download PRODES and DETER geographic data. The portal also provides metadata and web services.
  2. Select PRODES or DETER. Choose PRODES for annual clear-cut estimates and historical comparisons; choose DETER when looking for more recent alerts.
  3. Set the geography and period. Confirm the selected boundary, reporting year or alert period, and layer before interpreting a number. A result for the Legal Amazon is not automatically a result for the Amazon biome or another boundary.
  4. Read the dataset notes. Check the product’s methodology, update information, and any qualifications attached to the selected layer. TerraBrasilis reported a BiomasBR update on March 3, 2026, and advised users to update affected files.
  5. For analysis beyond the map, download the data and metadata. If combining new files with an older local dataset, check current release notes first. For municipality or protected-area estimates from PRODES increments, perform a spatial intersection rather than treating state-level rate summaries as local figures.

What satellite maps can and cannot show

Alerts are leads, not final annual totals

DETER is designed to provide faster alerts that help target inspection and control. Its purpose and timing differ from PRODES annual estimates, so counting alerts or adding their areas is not a substitute for an official PRODES rate.

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Clouds and detection scale affect visibility

Cloud cover can prevent detection. Sensor resolution and the threshold used to flag change also affect which clearings appear. INPE’s Amazon Mission page describes a MODIS implementation with 250 m spatial resolution and a detection threshold above 25 hectares; those specifications are specific to that page’s MODIS description, not a definitive specification for every current DETER sensor or layer. NASA’s historical account notes that early MODIS-based DETER used conservative alerts to avoid false detections, which meant smaller clearings could be missed.

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Different boundaries and methods cannot be compared casually

Before describing an increase or decrease, ensure the figures cover the same geography, time period, and type of measurement. A state-level annual estimate, a polygon increment, and a more recent alert layer are not interchangeable observations.

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