This data set was developed to describe the state of the global land cover in terms of 15 major vegetation types, plus water, before alteration by humans. It forms a complement to the historical croplands data set developed by Ramankutty and Foley (1999). By overlaying the two, one can determine the extent to which natural vegetation has been cleared for cultivation. This data set can be used directly within spatially-explicit climate and biogeochemical models. There are four total files in this data set. Two files contain the land cover types representing potential natural vegetation before human alteration, and two other files contain those points in the original data set submitted by the Principal Investigator that have been modified in order to match the land/water mask of the ISLSCP Initiative II.The geographic distribution of contemporary land cover types can be derived from remotely-sensed data. However, humans now dominate much of the world and there is little evidence of the pre-human-settlement natural vegetation or Potential Natural Vegetation (PNV). PNV, as defined here, does not necessarily represent the world's natural pre-human-disturbance vegetation. Rather, our definition of PNV represents the world's vegetation cover that would most likely exist now in equilibrium with present-day climate and natural disturbance, in the absence of human activities.
Science Keywords: |
|
||
Spatial Extent: | Bounding Rectangle: N: 90.0 S: -90.0 E: 180.0 W: -180.0 |
Data Format(s): | Distribution: Not provided |
Temporal Extent: | Platform(s): | FIELD INVESTIGATION, TERRA, NOAA-14 | |
Data Center(s): | ORNL_DAAC | Instrument(s): | MODIS, AVHRR |
Version: | 1 |
10.3334/ORNLDAAC/961
https://doi.org
Creation | |
Last Revision |
3
Variables mapped on uniform space-time grid scales with completeness and consistency
Complete
Project Short Name | Campaigns | Project Dates |
---|---|---|
ISLSCP II | No campaigns listed. | No dates provided. |
Coverage Type | Zone Identifier | Geometry | Granule Representation |
---|---|---|---|
HORIZONTAL | CARTESIAN | CARTESIAN |
ORNL DAAC User Services Office, P.O. Box 2008, MS 6407, Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Oak Ridge,
Tennessee
37831-6407
(865) 241-3952
There are no listed data contacts for this collection.
Format: Not provided
Format Type: Native
Fees: 0