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MetricState of nature

Ecosystem extent

Measurement answer

What this metric measures

Reports the measured extent of ecosystems or habitat cover, including change in habitat cover where applicable, in square kilometres and disaggregated by ecosystem and location.

Specification

Metric specification

Result format
Structured table
Unit
km² — source-defined reporting unit
Reporting basis
Reporting period, with a comparison period where change in habitat cover is reported.
Aggregation
Report extent by materially distinct ecosystem, habitat-cover, and geographic categories; do not aggregate locations with materially different natural characteristics.
Pillar
Environmental
Topic
State of nature
Controlled domain
Nature, biodiversity and land
Entity type
Metric

Reporting boundary

Ecosystems and habitat cover included in the reporting entity's stated measurement boundary; TNFD A5.1 extract does not prescribe a universal organizational or value-chain perimeter.

Verified source occurrences

Framework coverage

This is one canonical metric. The bindings below show every verified framework occurrence without creating duplicate metric pages. Edition, disclosure, role, and relationship remain source-specific.

  • Adopting Disclosure

    Science Based Targets Network methods

    step1-natural-ecosystem-extent
    Publisher
    Science Based Targets Network
    Edition
    Version 1.1 base for Version 1.2
    Requirement
    Mandatory
    Relationship
    Maps Source Identity
    Mapping outcome
    Relationship
    Source locator
    PDF page 32; printed page 62-63; section Step 1b Task 9; Table 7
    Open official framework source
  • Adopting Disclosure

    TNFD sector guidance

    C1.1
    Publisher
    Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures
    Edition
    Version 1.0, January 2025
    Requirement
    Conditional
    Relationship
    Reuses Canonical Metric
    Mapping outcome
    Reused
    Source locator
    Page 41, Table 9, Land/freshwater/ocean-use change, C1.1
    Open official framework source
  • Adopting Disclosure

    TNFD sector guidance

    C1.1
    Publisher
    Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures
    Edition
    Version 1.0, January 2025
    Requirement
    Conditional
    Relationship
    Reuses Canonical Metric
    Mapping outcome
    Reused
    Source locator
    Page 41, Table 9, Land/freshwater/ocean-use change, C1.1
    Open official framework source
  • Adopting Disclosure

    TNFD sector guidance

    C1.1
    Publisher
    Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures
    Edition
    Version 1.0, January 2025
    Requirement
    Conditional
    Relationship
    Reuses Canonical Metric
    Mapping outcome
    Reused
    Source locator
    Page 41, Table 9, Land/freshwater/ocean-use change, C1.1
    Open official framework source
  • Adopting Disclosure

    TNFD sector guidance

    C1.1
    Publisher
    Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures
    Edition
    Version 1.0, January 2025
    Requirement
    Conditional
    Relationship
    Reuses Canonical Metric
    Mapping outcome
    Reused
    Source locator
    PDF p.58, core global metric table, C1.1
    Open official framework source
  • Adopting Disclosure

    TNFD sector guidance

    C1.1
    Publisher
    Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures
    Edition
    Version 1.0, June 2024
    Requirement
    Conditional
    Relationship
    Reuses Canonical Metric
    Mapping outcome
    Reused
    Source locator
    Page 44, Table 13, C1.1
    Open official framework source
  • Adopting Disclosure

    TNFD sector guidance

    C1.1
    Publisher
    Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures
    Edition
    Version 1.0, June 2024
    Requirement
    Conditional
    Relationship
    Reuses Canonical Metric
    Mapping outcome
    Reused
    Source locator
    Page 63, Section 3.1 core global metric application table, Land/freshwater/ocean-use change, Metric C1.1
    Open official framework source
  • Adopting Disclosure

    TNFD sector guidance

    C1.1
    Publisher
    Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures
    Edition
    Version 1.0, June 2024
    Requirement
    Conditional
    Relationship
    Reuses Canonical Metric
    Mapping outcome
    Reused
    Source locator
    Page 61, Table 10, C1.1
    Open official framework source
  • Adopting Disclosure

    TNFD sector guidance

    C1.1
    Publisher
    Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures
    Edition
    Version 1.0, June 2026
    Requirement
    Conditional
    Relationship
    Reuses Canonical Metric
    Mapping outcome
    Reused
    Source locator
    PDF p.93, Section 3.1 core global metric application table, Metric no. C1.1
    Open official framework source
  • Adopting Disclosure

    TNFD Recommendations

    Source evidence
    Publisher
    Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures
    Edition
    September 2023
    Requirement
    Not Specified
    Relationship
    Defines Disclosure
    Mapping outcome
    Direct Evidence
    Source locator
    TNFD Recommendations, September 2023, p.92, Annex 2 metric A5.1
    Open official framework source
  • Adopting Disclosure

    TNFD Recommendations

    8d5890faa48cdc8f4ef8
    Publisher
    Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures
    Edition
    September 2023
    Requirement
    Not Specified
    Relationship
    Maps Source Identity
    Mapping outcome
    Published
    Source locator
    Page 92, metric A5.1 | TNFD Recommendations, September 2023, p.92, Annex 2 metric A5.1
    Open official framework source

Value structure

Dimensions and units

Unit
km² — source-defined reporting unit
Reporting basis
Reporting period, with a comparison period where change in habitat cover is reported.

Unit meaning: Values use km² under the disclosed TNFD Recommendations method, period, location and reporting boundary.

Table fields and units

  • ecosystem or habitat type
  • geographic location
  • measurement boundary
  • extent (km²)
  • observation period or date
  • change in habitat cover (km²), if reported
  • measurement method
  • direct or proxy method

Published dimensions

  • ecosystem or habitat type
  • geography or priority location
  • reporting observation or comparison period
  • baseline versus current observation where change is reported
  • direct versus proxy measurement method

Calculation method

Formula information

Status
Specified
Formula type
Other

Formula

Report ecosystem or habitat extent in km²; where change is reported, report current-period extent relative to the stated comparison period.

Apply the source-defined TNFD Recommendations method only within the disclosed location, ecosystem and value-chain boundary. TNFD Annex 2 metric A5.1 identifies ecosystem extent as a quantitative optional additional metric and gives square kilometres as the example unit. The identity is retained as a structured family because ecosystem and geographic disaggregation, measurement boundary, and comparison period are necessary to interpret an extent or change-in-cover result. It is not matched to ecosystem-condition-state because extent and condition are distinct constructs.

Variables

SymbolVariableDefinitionUnit
EEcosystem extentMeasured area of the identified ecosystem or habitat cover within the stated measurement boundary.km²
ΔEChange in ecosystem extentDifference between ecosystem extent at the reporting observation and extent at the stated comparison observation, where reported.km²

Verified sources

Evidence and status sources

Sustopedia checked each record-specific claim directly against primary publisher material. Labels distinguish current measurement authority from future compatibility and corroborative, legal, edition, or method status context. Corroborative evidence can support a stated limitation but cannot establish the core measurement by itself.

Measurement evidence

  • Measurement evidenceChecked 27 August 2026

    Recommendations of the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures

    Publisher
    Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures
    Edition
    September 2023
    Locator
    TNFD Recommendations, September 2023, p.92, Annex 2 metric A5.1

    Supports: The official TNFD Recommendations source supports the identity, boundary and method basis of “Ecosystem extent”.

    Open official source

Use with context

Interpretation boundaries

Method disclosures required

Source-edition basis: Recommendations of the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures, September 2023.

  • State the ecosystem or habitat classification used.
  • State the geographic and organizational, operational, or value-chain boundary used for measurement.
  • Disclose the reporting observation date and any baseline or comparison period used for change reporting.
  • Disclose whether extent is directly measured or estimated using a proxy, including the spatial-data source and change-detection method.
  • Disaggregate ecosystems or locations with materially different natural characteristics.

Record-specific limitations

  • TNFD A5.1 provides an example unit and does not establish a universal ecosystem classification, organizational perimeter, or measurement method.
  • Area values alone do not measure ecosystem condition, integrity, biodiversity status, or the direction of ecological impact.
  • Changes in extent are not comparable across locations without disclosure of habitat classification, spatial data, and change-detection method.

Interpret this metric with the stated reporting boundary, period convention, value shape, and unit. Results prepared with different boundaries or conventions may not be directly comparable.

Measurement evidence supports the core record-specific claims described above. Corroborative evidence can support limitations, while compatibility and status sources provide their separately labelled context. None of these cards by itself determines an organisation's legal applicability, filing readiness, assurance status, or compliance conclusion.