What are Vegetation Change Reports?
Vegetation Change Reports help you track how the vegetation on your site is changing over time, down to a much finer level of detail than Restor's standard NDVI time-series. Instead of showing one average trend for your whole site, they show you exactly where within your site vegetation is increasing, decreasing, or behaving unusually right now.
What they're used for
Vegetation Change Reports are useful if you want to:
Verify land-cover claims and catch unauthorized vegetation loss, such as illegal logging or clearing
Demonstrate restoration effectiveness and show how your site has trended over the long term
Prioritize where to focus limited resources, by identifying which parts of your site need attention first
How they work
The reports are built from satellite imagery (Sentinel-2) going back to 2018, at a resolution of 10 meters per pixel, which is used to calculate a vegetation index called NDVI (a standard measure of how green and healthy vegetation is) for every 10x10 meter patch of ground across your site, every month.
That data feeds into two things:
A long-term trend map. This shows the overall direction vegetation has moved in at every point across your site over time, so you can see at a glance which areas are recovering and which are declining.
Figure 1. NDVI time-series for a single pixel (green) showing long-term vegetation loss (trendline in orange with a slope of -0.035)
Figure 2. The changes to vegetation for a site in Indonesia at the pixel level showing vegetation loss (in red) and gain (in green).
A short-term anomaly map. This compares the most recent period (for example, the last quarter) to the historical average for that same time of year, and highlights any areas behaving unusually. If enough of the site looks unusual, it's flagged as an ALERT.
Figure 3. Anomaly map for the same site for Q1 2026
What you receive
Once subscribed, you'll get:
A summary email notification each reporting period, flagging anything worth your attention
A full report with the long-term trend map and the short-term anomaly map for your site
Configuring your reports
You can tailor a few settings to fit your site:
Setting | What it controls | Default |
Reporting frequency | How often reports are generated: monthly, bi-monthly, quarterly, half-yearly, or yearly | Quarterly |
Start date | The starting point for the long-term trend, useful if you want the trend to begin from a specific event (e.g., when an intervention started) | 2018 |
Z-score threshold | How far a patch of ground has to deviate from its historical norm before it's considered "anomalous" | 2 (standard deviations) |
Alert threshold | The percentage of your site that must be anomalous before you receive an ALERT | 5% |
If you don't specify anything, the defaults above are used.
Availability
Vegetation Change Reports are available for any single-polygon site on Restor. Multipolygon sites are not currently supported, so if your site is drawn as several disconnected shapes bundled together, you'll need to split it into individual sites first. (See How do I draw a site? if you need help with this.)
To subscribe, contact support@restor.eco with:
Your site's Site ID and name
Any reporting options you'd like to change from the defaults above
Reports can be subscribed to for any duration.
When are they most useful?
Vegetation Change Reports add the most value when your site has variation across it, for example different land cover types or ecotones within the same boundary. In these cases, local changes can show up clearly in the reports, whereas Restor's standard NDVI time-series (which averages change across the whole site) might mask them.
Things to keep in mind
The reports rely on visible-spectrum satellite imagery, so cloud cover affects data quality. In consistently cloudy regions (like humid tropical areas), you may want a lower reporting frequency to make sure there's enough clear imagery to work with.
The reports can flag that vegetation has changed unusually, but not why. Some anomalies may have entirely natural causes, such as normal seasonal variation. Comparing the long-term trend alongside the short-term anomaly map can help you judge whether a flagged change is a real concern.
Citation
Sentinel-2 imagery courtesy of ESA/Copernicus.
FAQs
What's the difference between Vegetation Change Reports and Restor's NDVI time-series?
The standard NDVI time-series shows one average trend for your whole site. Vegetation Change Reports break that down to the pixel level, so you can see exactly where within your site vegetation is changing, rather than just an overall average.
How far back does the data go?
The underlying satellite imagery is available from 2018 onward. By default, the long-term trend starts in 2018, but you can request a different start date, for example if you want the trend to begin from when a specific intervention took place.
How often will I get a report?
Whatever frequency you choose: monthly, bi-monthly, quarterly (the default), half-yearly, or yearly. You can change this when you subscribe.
What triggers an ALERT?
An ALERT is flagged when the proportion of anomalous pixels in your site exceeds the alert threshold (5% by default). "Anomalous" means a pixel's NDVI value has deviated from its historical average by more than the z-score threshold (2 standard deviations by default). Both thresholds can be adjusted to fit your site.
Does an ALERT always mean something bad happened?
Not necessarily. The reports can tell you that vegetation is behaving unusually, but not why. Some anomalies have natural causes, like seasonal changes, so it's worth checking the long-term trend alongside the anomaly map before assuming the worst.
Can I use this for a multipolygon site?
Not currently. Vegetation Change Reports only support single-polygon sites. If your site is made up of several disconnected shapes, you'll need to split it into individual sites. See How do I draw a site? for guidance.
Will cloud cover affect my report?
It can. The reports rely on visible-spectrum imagery, so in consistently cloudy regions (like humid tropical areas), there may not always be enough clear imagery for a given period. Choosing a lower reporting frequency can help ensure there's enough usable data each time.
What resolution is the data?
Each pixel represents a 10 x 10 meter patch of ground, based on Sentinel-2 imagery. This means very small changes, like a single fallen tree, may not always be detectable, but changes across an area of a few hundred square meters or more should show up clearly.
How do I sign up?
Email support@restor.eco with your site's Site ID and name, and let us know if you'd like any of the settings above changed from their defaults. Reports can be subscribed to for any duration.