Overview

The geefcc Python package can be used to make forest cover change (fcc) maps from Google Earth Engine (GEE) and download them locally. Forest cover change maps are obtained from two global tree/forest cover change products: Global Forest Change or Tropical Moist Forests. These two products are derived from the Landsat satellite image archive and provide tree/forest cover data at 30 m resolution.

The geefcc package depends on the xee Python package, which allows opening GEE datasets locally without exporting data to GEE assets or Google Drive. The user only has to specify an area of interest (aoi), either with an extent, a polygon vector file, or a country iso code (e.g. PER for Peru), and the years defining the time periods considered for the forest cover change (e.g. 2015, 2025). For the Global Forest Change product, the users also has to specify a tree cover threshold to define the forest (e.g. 75%).

Prerequisites

ee.Initialize(
  credentials=credentials,
  project=project,
  opt_url="https://earthengine-highvolume.googleapis.com"
)

sudo apt update
sudo apt install gdal-bin libgdal-dev

Installation

The easiest way to install the geefcc Python package is via pip in the OSGeo4W Shell for Windows or in a virtual environment for Linux.

For Linux, create and activate a virtual environment before installing geefcc with pip:

cd ~
# Create a directory for virtual environments
mkdir venvs
# Create the virtual environment with venv
python3 -m venv ~/venvs/venv-geefcc
# Activate (start) the virtual environment
source ~/venvs/venv-geefcc/bin/activate

Install Python dependencies and geefcc in the OSGeo4W Shell or in the newly created virtual environment:

# Upgrade pip, setuptools, and wheel
python3 -m pip install --upgrade pip setuptools wheel
# Install numpy
python3 -m pip install numpy
# Install gdal Python bindings (the correct version)
python3 -m pip install gdal==$(gdal-config --version)
# Install geefcc. This will install all other dependencies
python3 -m pip install geefcc

If you want to install the development version of geefcc, replace the last line with:

python3 -m pip install https://github.com/ghislainv/geefcc/archive/master.zip

To deactivate and delete the virtual environment:

deactivate
rm -R ~/venvs/venv-geefcc # Just remove the repository

In case of problem while installing GDAL Python bindings, try the following command:

python3 -m pip install --no-cache-dir --force-reinstall --no-build-isolation  gdal==$(gdal-config --version)

Contributing

The geefcc Python package is Open Source and released under the GNU GPL version 3 license. Anybody who is interested can contribute to the package development following our Community guidelines. Every contributor must agree to follow the project’s Code of conduct.