Mongabay: Forest loss moves swiftly at 50% deforestation 'tipping point'
UC geography professor Tomasz Stepinski found that landscapes trend toward homogeneity over time
The nonprofit conservation news service Mongabay was among the many news outlets around the world that examined University of Cincinnati research showing a "tipping point" for deforestation.
Geography professor Tomasz Stepinski in UC's College of Arts and Sciences used high-resolution satellite images from the European Space Agency to study landscapes in 9-kilometer-wide blocks across every inch of the planet between 1992 and 2015. He found that deforestation occurs comparatively slowly in these blocks until about half of the forest in a block is gone. Then the remaining forest disappears very quickly.
The study was published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters.
Stepinski also observed an intriguing phenomenon in the way people are changing the planet. His research showed that very few blocks were mixed landscapes such as forest and agriculture or agriculture and urban development. And those that were mixed didn't stay mixed for long.
"Planet Earth wants to be homogeneous. The land wants to be the same in all these patches," Stepinski said. "And when they start to change, they don't stop until they convert everything into another homogeneous block."
UC geography research in the news
- ZME Science: There's a deforestation 'tipping point' past which trees disappear quickly
- Environmental News Network: UC Study Finds Tipping Point in Deforestation
- Ecoticias (Spain): Geographers find point of no return for deforestation
- Outlook India: Landscape change may happen very rapidly after forests lose half their cover
- Inside Ecology: Study finds tipping point in deforestation
- Futura Sciences (France): Deforestation: An identified point of no return
- Science Daily: Geographers find tipping point in deforestation
- Daily Excelsior (Kashmir): Landscape change may happen very rapidly after forests lose half their cover
Featured image at top: UC geography professor Tomasz Stepinski used satellite images to track landscape change across the planet from 1992 to 2015. The data shows mixed landscapes don't stay mixed for long. Graphic/Tomasz Stepinski
UC professor Tomasz Stepinski creates maps that change the way we think about the world. Photo/Andrew Higley/UC Creative Services
Next Lives Here
The University of Cincinnati is classified as a Research 1 institution by the Carnegie Commission and is ranked in the National Science Foundation's Top-35 public research universities. UC's graduate students and faculty investigate problems and innovate solutions with real-world impact. Next Lives Here.
Become a Bearcat
- Apply online or get more information about undergraduate enrollment by calling 513-556-1100.
- Learn more about UC's many undergraduate and graduate programs.
Related Stories
Scientists discover how snakes stand upright without limbs
March 12, 2026
Earth.com highlights a study co-authored by UC Professor Bruce Jayne, an expert in snake locomotion, about how snakes stand upright without arms or legs.
Pi Day: Where math meets dessert
March 12, 2026
Pi Day is celebrated on March 14 around the world, as March 14 represents its first three numbers, 3.14. It’s a yearly celebration for math lovers to see who can recite the most digits, talk about its history and have an excuse to eat many, many pies! First, the math: PI is the Greek letter “π” and it is the symbol used in mathematics to represent a constant, as it is the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter. It has been calculated to over 50 trillion digits beyond its decimal point and will continue to repeat, as it is an irrational and transcendent number.
PHOTOS: UC greenhouse offers colorful respite from winter
March 11, 2026
Atop a roof at the University of Cincinnati, six high-tech glass houses that grow plants for biology in the College of Arts and Sciences. Greenhouse Manager Audrey Trauth is here most days tending the plant collection, which is organized into biomes to accommodate the desert, temperate and tropical plants.