Changes in land cover and land use significantly affect earth system processes including the carbon cycle, the water cycle, species diversity, and socioeconomic development. Vegetation continuous fields (VCF) represent land surface as a fractional combination of vegetation functional types that can be remotely sensed from satellites. Using daily satellite observations acquired by the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR), we developed an annual VCF product consisting of tree canopy (TC) cover, short vegetation (SV) cover and bare ground (BG) cover and characterized land change over the past 35 years (1982-2016).

This dataset represents global forest cover extent for year 2000. Forests were defined as areas with tree canopy cover greater than 25%. The Landsat-analyzed sample block classification results were used to calibrate biome-wide MODIS-derived forest extent. The relationship between Landsat-based forest cover area and mean VCF tree canopy density per sample block 18.5 km per side was used to derive forest extent for year 2000. A simple linear regression (no intercept) model was used with mean VCF tree canopy density per block as the independent variable.

High resolution global map of poulty per square kilometer

This dataset represents 2000-2005 gross forest cover loss. A separate regression estimator (i.e. separate regression models and parameter estimates allowed for each stratum) and post-stratification were employed to estimate Landsat-calibrated forest cover loss area. For sample blocks with intensive change a simple linear regression model was applied using the proportion of area within the sample block classified as MODIS-derived forest loss as the auxiliary variable. For low-change blocks post-stratification based on VCF tree canopy cover was implemented to partition blocks into areas of nearly zero change and areas of some change. The forest cover loss area estimates were then constructed from the sample mean Landsat-derived clearing within post-strata.

North America Precipitation (2019)

Changes in land cover and land use significantly affect earth system processes including the carbon cycle, the water cycle, species diversity, and socioeconomic development. Vegetation continuous fields (VCF) represent land surface as a fractional combination of vegetation functional types that can be remotely sensed from satellites. Using daily satellite observations acquired by the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR), we developed an annual VCF product consisting of tree canopy (TC) cover, short vegetation (SV) cover and bare ground (BG) cover and characterized land change over the past 35 years (1982-2016).

Changes in land cover and land use significantly affect earth system processes including the carbon cycle, the water cycle, species diversity, and socioeconomic development. Vegetation continuous fields (VCF) represent land surface as a fractional combination of vegetation functional types that can be remotely sensed from satellites. Using daily satellite observations acquired by the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR), we developed an annual VCF product consisting of tree canopy (TC) cover, short vegetation (SV) cover and bare ground (BG) cover and characterized land change over the past 35 years (1982-2016).