Example static tile server for Conservation International Irrecoverable Carbon layers, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-021-00803-6, from https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4091028
This dataset maps global "irrecoverable carbon" — carbon stocks that, if lost, cannot be recovered by 2050, making their conservation critical for meeting climate goals. The data also includes "manageable carbon" (stocks that can be influenced by human management) and "vulnerable carbon" (total stocks vulnerable to release upon land conversion).
This collection contains two releases:
Source: Conservation International
Project Page: https://www.conservation.org/irrecoverable-carbon
v1 Data: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4091029
v2 Data (2025 update): https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17645053
Citation: Noon, M.L., Goldstein, A., Ledezma, J.C. et al. Mapping the irrecoverable carbon in Earth's ecosystems. Nat Sustain 5, 37–46 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-021-00803-6
License: Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0)
Key findings from 2025 update: 5.4% (7.4 Gt) of Earth's irrecoverable carbon has been lost between 2018–2024; global total is now 128.0 Gt.
Base URL: https://s3-west.nrp-nautilus.io/public-carbon/
Covers years 2010, 2018, 2022, 2023, 2024 for total carbon only. The 2018 baseline includes corrections to boreal grassland/shrubland estimates and updated coastal ecosystem extents. Note: irrecoverable carbon is available for all 5 years; vulnerable and manageable are available for 2010, 2018, and 2024 only.
Path Pattern: v2/cogs/{category}_c_total_{year}.tif
All v2 COGs are compressed with ZSTD and use GoogleMapsCompatible tiling.
Aggregated carbon stocks at H3 resolution 8 (~0.74 km²), partitioned by H3 resolution 0 (h0) cells.
Path Pattern: v2/{dataset-name}/hex/h0={cell}/data_0.parquet
DuckDB — compare irrecoverable carbon across years:
Covers years 2010 and 2018 with biomass, soil, and total components separately.
Path Pattern: cogs/{category}_c_{component}_{year}.tif
Categories: irrecoverable, manageable, vulnerable
Components: biomass, soil, total
Years: 2010, 2018
Examples:
cogs/irrecoverable_c_total_2018.tifcogs/manageable_c_biomass_2010.tifcogs/vulnerable_c_soil_2018.tifUnits: Megagrams of Carbon (Mg C). One Mg = 1 metric ton.
The v2 (2025) update includes:
The concept of "irrecoverable carbon" was developed to identify carbon stocks where prevention of loss is more effective than restoration. These areas represent the overlap between:
The dataset integrates:
v2/cogs/manageable_c_total_2024.tif| 2024 |
| Manageable carbon total |
v2/cogs/manageable_c_total_2018.tif | 2018 | Manageable carbon total |
v2/cogs/manageable_c_total_2010.tif | 2010 | Manageable carbon total |