FREL / FRL

Forest reference (emission) levels and their methods.

Reference Data

The activity data are four land-use change matrices, one per epoch, made by comparing consecutive SLEEK maps. Choose an epoch and switch between area and CO₂ to explore them; colours show the REDD+ activity each change belongs to.

Land-use change 2014–2018: from (rows) → to (columns)

2014 \ 2018	MW-D	MW-M	MW-O	MC-D	MC-M	MC-O	DL-D	DL-M	DL-O	Plantation	Cropland	Grassland	Wetland	Settlement & other
Montane & WRF – Dense	834,862	49,209	19,734								88,835	91,840	416	821
Montane & WRF – Moderate	40,248	83,235	12,899								11,406	53,825	78	33
Montane & WRF – Open	9,843	10,324	26,260								6,435	51,566	10	25
Mangroves & coastal – Dense				164,282	87,918	1,363					6,422	160,174	1,632	825
Mangroves & coastal – Moderate				22,023	40,366	2,040					3,565	50,419	458	233
Mangroves & coastal – Open				1,116	989	452					110	2,797	9	12
Dryland – Dense							344,985	97,928	42,170		24,559	455,918	3,874	2,307
Dryland – Moderate							57,877	60,223	33,164		4,763	127,932	1,229	1,018
Dryland – Open							21,221	20,412	66,984		4,012	185,783	1,445	4,274
Plantation forest										56,315	17,880	7,263	26	23
Cropland	78,641	8,156	6,568	1,689	2,567	438	21,204	9,163	10,163	3,886
Grassland	85,367	48,885	38,956	76,856	82,563	13,417	377,850	207,559	158,441	4,834
Wetland	267	176	12	343	316	38	1,648	1,083	1,877	14
Settlement & other land	866	107	1,702	398	470	15	1,667	2,424	3,279	6

Deforestation: 337,265 ha/yrForest degradation: 86,606 ha/yrEnhancement: 357,306 ha/yrSustainable management (plantations): 8,483 ha/yrNo change

MW = Montane & western rain forests, MC = Mangroves & coastal, DL = Dryland; D/M/O = Dense/Moderate/Open. Hover a cell for details. t CO₂ = area × emission factor (Table 19); the report’s own totals (Tables 20–23) differ slightly through rounding of the factors. Positive = emission, negative = removal.

Most of Kenya's stable forest is in the montane and western rain forest stratum, where dense forest grew from 773,672 ha (2002–2006) to 834,862 ha (2014–2018) remaining dense.
Dense dryland forest fluctuates strongly between epochs (303,805 to 450,388 ha); the largest flows are between dryland forest and grassland, in both directions.
Mapped plantation forest never exceeded about 65,000 ha, roughly half of the ~137,000 ha set aside for public plantations.

Read gross change with care. The annual gross areas are large compared with Kenya's forest area because dryland forest and wooded grassland are often confused in the maps, and the change maps' own accuracy is only 30–52% (Quality & Transparency › Uncertainty Assessment). Net change and the FRL averages are more robust than single-epoch gross figures.

Source: Ministry of Environment and Forestry, The National Forest Reference Level for REDD+ Implementation, December 2019 (Kenya’s FRL submission to the UNFCCC). Chapters 3.1.4–3.1.7, Tables 4–7.

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