# Kyrgyz Forest Atlas

> An interactive atlas of Kyrgyzstan's forests, published by KG Labs Public Foundation (Bishkek) at
> https://kglabs.org/kyrgyzforestatlas/. Nine forests and national parks, seven regions and thirty-five autumns (1991–2025), measured from Sentinel-2
> and Landsat satellite pictures. The page is published in English, Russian and Kyrgyz; add
> `?lang=ru` or `?lang=ky` for Russian or Kyrgyz.

Publisher: KG Labs Public Foundation, Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan — https://kglabs.org/
Contact: azizkin@kglabs.org · +996 990 777 700 (WhatsApp)
Published: 2026-10-14

## Key numbers

- 9 forest landscapes followed through every autumn
- 916 leaf-stage maps made from satellite pictures
- 36 autumns in the Landsat record, 1990–2025
- 8 recent autumns at half-month detail, 2018–2025 (Sentinel-2, 40 m)
- 61,684 hectares of trees in the nine forests

## The nine forests

- Arslanbob (Jalal-Abad): walnut-fruit forest; forest at 1,272–1,920 m; 16,118 ha of trees; 1% evergreen; most colourful in early November of a typical year (89% of broadleaf trees in colour); 33 clear Landsat autumns.
- Sary-Chelek (Jalal-Abad): walnut, fruit, spruce and fir; forest at 1,322–2,422 m; 17,107 ha of trees; 26% evergreen; most colourful in early November of a typical year (57% of broadleaf trees in colour); 33 clear Landsat autumns.
- Ala-Archa (Chui): spruce, juniper and birch; forest at 1,864–2,695 m; 2,682 ha of trees; 44% evergreen; most colourful in early October of a typical year (66% of broadleaf trees in colour); 31 clear Landsat autumns.
- Ak-Tyuz (Chui (Kemin)): spruce, birch and poplar; forest at 1,806–2,754 m; 2,473 ha of trees; 43% evergreen; most colourful in early October of a typical year (68% of broadleaf trees in colour); 30 clear Landsat autumns.
- Jety-Oguz (Issyk-Kul): spruce, poplar, birch and sea buckthorn; forest at 2,202–3,008 m; 9,659 ha of trees; 72% evergreen; most colourful in early October of a typical year (29% of broadleaf trees in colour); 35 clear Landsat autumns.
- Salkyn-Tor (Naryn): spruce and rowan; forest at 2,472–3,177 m; 4,588 ha of trees; 55% evergreen; most colourful in late September of a typical year (54% of broadleaf trees in colour); 34 clear Landsat autumns.
- Kara-Shoro (Osh): spruce, walnut and juniper; forest at 1,842–2,938 m; 1,012 ha of trees; 16% evergreen; most colourful in early October of a typical year (63% of broadleaf trees in colour); 35 clear Landsat autumns.
- Kyrgyz-Ata (Osh): juniper woodland; forest at 2,361–3,070 m; 3,218 ha of trees; 35% evergreen; most colourful in early October of a typical year (63% of broadleaf trees in colour); 34 clear Landsat autumns.
- Sarkent (Batken): juniper, sea buckthorn, willow and barberry; forest at 1,963–2,998 m; 4,827 ha of trees; 30% evergreen; most colourful in late September of a typical year (70% of broadleaf trees in colour); 36 clear Landsat autumns.

## Questions and answers (English)

### What does the Kyrgyz Forest Atlas show?
A national map of Kyrgyzstan with the measured autumn colour of nine forests and national parks, a close-up leaf-colour map
for each forest (also in 3D), the autumn record since 1991, a forest calendar for seven regions, and charts
comparing how golden or red each forest turns and how long its leaves hold on.

### How is autumn colour measured?
Every tree pixel (ESA WorldCover 2021) that was green in summer gets one leaf stage per window: green,
gold, orange, red, leaves down, snow or evergreen. A tree counts as gold, orange or red by how far its
red outweighs its green in the satellite picture. Recent years use Sentinel-2 blended over each
half-month at 40 m; earlier years use Landsat 5, 7, 8 and 9 blended over each month at 60 m, so
Landsat numbers read lower. Elevations come from the Copernicus 30 m terrain model.

### Where does autumn colour peak and where do leaves stay longest?
The walnut-fruit forests of Jalal-Abad (Arslanbob, Sary-Chelek) colour latest and hold their leaves
into November. The spruce gorges of Issyk-Kul and Naryn (Jety-Oguz, Salkyn-Tor) and the Chui valleys
(Ala-Archa, Ak-Tyuz) peak from late September to mid-October. In the south-west, the juniper-rich national
parks peak early: Sarkent (Batken) in late September, Kara-Shoro (Osh) in early October and Kyrgyz-Ata (Osh)
in mid-October, where broadleaf colour lasts into November.
Dates are typical, not a promise; a real
year can run a week or more early or late.

### Is the forest calendar a measurement?
No. The forest calendar, the region ribbons and the slope diagrams show typical colours for each forest
type and a descriptive forest mix for each region. The measured parts are the map's autumn colours, the
forest close-up maps and the autumn charts.

### What AI capabilities does KG Labs have for forests?
- Automated tree-canopy mapping: Tree crowns and canopy patches mapped automatically from satellite imagery, forest by forest, so canopy extent can be followed year after year without hand digitising.
- Canopy height and carbon stock: Canopy height estimated from high-resolution imagery and turned into carbon-stock estimates for each forest compartment.
- Forest-type classification: Walnut, spruce, juniper, pistachio and other forest types classified from multi-year satellite data, and validated on forests the model had never seen in training, where it scored close to its training forests.
- Multi-year change and disturbance alerting: Year-on-year comparison of satellite records flags canopy loss, dieback and other disturbance, and ranks the alerts for field checks.
- Restoration-site selection: Candidate areas for assisted natural regeneration, enrichment planting and rehabilitation, screened by terrain, access and current cover against restoration targets.

## На русском

Леса Кыргызстана: сезон за сезоном. Девять лесов, семь областей и тридцать пять осеней, измеренных по спутниковым снимкам. Выберите лес справа и нажмите «пуск», чтобы увидеть, как меняется листва: от зелени августа до снега конца ноября.

## Кыргызча

Кыргызстандын токойлору: мезгилден мезгилге. Тогуз токой, жети облус жана отуз беш күз — баары спутник сүрөттөрүнөн өлчөнгөн. Оң жактан токойду тандап, «ойнотууну» басыңыз: жалбырактар августтун жашылынан ноябрдын аягындагы карга чейин кантип өзгөргөнүн көрөсүз.

## Sources

- Autumn colour: Copernicus Sentinel-2 (2018–2025) and USGS Landsat 5, 7, 8, 9 (1991–2025), processed by KG Labs
- Tree cover: ESA WorldCover 2021
- Elevation: Copernicus GLO-30; relief: Mapzen Terrarium elevation tiles
- National map: rivers traced by KG Labs from Copernicus GLO-30 (90 m flow routing); glaciers from RGI 7.0; lakes from HydroLAKES; towns and main roads from OpenStreetMap