Unveiling small-scale tropical forest loss and post-loss recovery in the Congo Basin

• Small-scale forest loss and post-loss recovery from 2001 to 2021 were quantified in the Congo Basin. • The tracking of small-scale forest loss and post-loss recovery was enhanced by yearly maximal rNBR. • 76.5% of forest loss was small-scale clearing and 93.6% occurred within 4 km of human settlements. • Gross forest loss was 24.54 ± 1.70 Mha in Congo Basin and only 13.21% showed high-quality recovery. • Near-natural recovery can deliver four times more high-quality recovery than current level