Whereas the image shows the direction, i.e. whether it is afforestation and deforestation, the color intensity is misleading. Countries large by land area may have more wood area to grow and shrink compared to smaller countries. For example, the Netherlands will probably never achieve a dark green shade with its 370,000 ha of existing forest, but in Russia, which has the largest forest area by country, even a change of 500,000 ha is less than 1% of its forest area.
Whereas the image shows the direction, i.e. whether it is afforestation and deforestation, the color intensity is misleading. Countries large by land area may have more wood area to grow and shrink compared to smaller countries. For example, the Netherlands will probably never achieve a dark green shade with its 370,000 ha of existing forest, but in Russia, which has the largest forest area by country, even a change of 500,000 ha is less than 1% of its forest area.