Extended Data Fig. 4: Different scenarios of forest pixel (30 m) loss during the period 2010–2100.

Deforestation fraction between 2015 and 2100 for RCP2.6 and RCP8.5, derived from LUH2 v2f (0.25°), was used as an approximation to deforestation fraction between 2010 and 2100 for each grid cell. We only focused on grid cells with forest loss, and the gross forest loss area in Africa is the sum of the forest loss areas of these grid cells. We created four scenarios to match the deforestation fraction in each grid cell: (1) all pixels starting from current forest edges are deforested from the outer edge inwards until the target deforestation area is achieved, and thus new edges are created (S-1); (2) small forest patches are cleared first to minimize new forest edges (S-2); (3) pixels in the interior of forest are preferentially deforested (S-3); (4) pixels are deforested randomly, maximizing the area of new forest edges (S-4).