A 10-meter resolution human footprint dataset to support biodiversity and conservation research in Brazil

Abstract

Assessing the Human Impact on the Environment in Brazil at 10-meter resolution (HIBR-10) is the first attempt to create an anthropogenic footprint for all of Brazil, accounting for species’ scales of interaction across the environment. Mapping humans’ impact on the environment in high resolution is critical for habitat conservation when examining these species living in fragmented forests with small-range habitats, such as non-human primates, that coarser datasets may not capture. Here, we designed and implemented a methodology and produced an output geospatial dataset for Brazil at a 10,000 times higher resolution than the currently available datasets. Over 86.5 billion 10 m mapping units were assessed for their level of human impact across a suite of established human impact variables. The input variables were evaluated using a process of cross-validation from comparable datasets obtained from sub-10 cm high-resolution UAV imagery and 30 cm satellite imagery to ensure data integrity. This human impact dataset will support many researchers across disciplines dealing with species-specific conservation needs and is designed to be customizable.