The Vegetation Loss and Secondary Vegetation modules are based on an analysis of vegetation cover change trajectories over time. This analysis interprets the dynamics of each pixel within an annual time series, allowing the reconstruction of its historical behavior and the identification of processes of vegetation loss, recovery, and persistence. The main inputs come from Collection 3 of annual land use and land cover (LULC) maps from MapBiomas Venezuela. From the original legend of 25 classes, a reclassification into three main categories was performed to build the annual vegetation cover maps (Table 1).

Table 1. Legend of annual vegetation cover maps and source classes from LULC maps

Vegetation Cover Classes	Source LULC Classes	Vegetation Cover ID
Natural Vegetation (Vn)	Forest, Wooded savanna, Mangrove, Flooded forest, Flooded grassland/shrubland, Savanna/grassland, Shrubland, Xerophytic shrubland/grassland, Other non-forest natural formations, Andean herbaceous/shrubby vegetation, Flooded andean herbaceous/shrubby vegetation.	2
Anthropic (A)	Agriculture, Pasture, Cropland, Urban, Mining, Other non-vegetated anthropic areas, Aquaculture.	1
'Other cover' Class	Forest plantation, Rocky outcrop, Hypersaline tidal flat, Beach or dune, River, lake or ocean, Glacier, Other non-vegetated natural areas	7

This methodology analyzes pixel-by-pixel trajectories using a set of iterative decision rules. The system employs moving temporal windows of three, four, or five years, as well as specific rules applied to the penultimate and final year of the series, or even to the entire historical sequence. This processing enables the generation of new classes that shape the annual Vegetation Cover Change Trajectory maps.

Through the application of 19 decision rules, the model identifies and confirms change pathways such as Natural vegetation loss (NvL), establishment of anthropic cover (A), Vegetation cover recovery (R) initiating Secondary vegetation (Sv) and re-interventions causing Secondary vegetation loss (SvL), providing a comprehensive view of landscape dynamics. The final legend consists of 7 classes (Table 2).

Table 2.. Origin and description of Vegetation Cover Change Trajectory classes   

ID  CHANGETRAJECTORY	CLASS	ORIGIN	DESCRIPTION
1	Anthropic (A)	At the beginning of the series, it corresponds to land covers of anthropic origin, such as: Agricultural use, Livestock use, Mosaic of agriculture and pastures, Urban use, Mining use, Other anthropic areas without vegetation, and Aquaculture. It may also be the result of change trajectories in the time series, corresponding to the second year of vegetation cover change following Natural vegetation loss (4) or Secondary vegetation loss (6).	Covers resulting from persistent human intervention.
2	Natural Vegetation (Vn)	Forest, Wooded savanna, Mangrove, Flooded forest, Flooded grassland/shrubland, Grassland, Shrubland, Xerophytic shrubland/grassland, Other non-forest natural formations, Andean herbaceous/shrubby vegetation and Flooded andean herbaceous/shrubby vegetation	Vegetation cover that has shown no signs of human intervention since the initial year (1985) in the analyzed historical series.
3	Secondary vegetation (Vs)	Result of disturbance of natural vegetation after anthropic intervention.	It begins in the second year of sustained vegetation cover recovery once its establishment is confirmed, after having undergone one year of Vegetation cover Recovery (R).
4	Natural vegetation loss (PVn)	Intermediate trajectory from Natural vegetation (2) to Anthropic (1).	The first year in which Natural vegetation is transformed by human uses. It constitutes the first year of change, marking the beginning of land covers of anthropic origin
5	Vegetation cover recovery (R)	It is the intermediate trajectory between Anthropic (1) and Secondary vegetation (3)	It is the first year in which vegetation cover recovers after having been of anthropic origin. It marks the beginning of natural regeneration.
6	Secondary vegetation loss (PVs)	It is the intermediate trajectory between Secondary vegetation (3) and Anthropic (1).	Re-intervention of vegetation cover in areas that previously had Secondary vegetation. It marks the beginning of a new anthropic cycle.
7	Other cover*	Forest plantation, Beach or dune, Rocky outcrop, Hypersaline tidal flat, River, lake or ocean, Glacier, Other non-vegetated natural areas	Not part of vegetation dynamics analysis; includes non-vegetated natural areas, water bodies, and plantations

*The 'Other cover' Class (7) class is not shown on the query platform nor in the pixel life cycle diagram because these are areas (pixels) excluded from the vegetation cover trajectory analysis.

This collection of maps allows the quantification of Vegetation Loss and the evolution of  Secondary Vegetation throughout the time series. 

For more information on the methodology of the Vegetation Loss and Secondary Vegetationplease refer to ATBD APPENDIX