Vegetation Continuous Fields (VCF) Percent Tree Cover data from the VCF5KYR product across the globe, 2016.
The NASA Making Earth System Data Records for Use in Research Environments (MEaSUREs) Vegetation Continuous Fields (VCF) Version 1 data product (VCF5KYR) provides global fractional vegetation cover at 0.05 degree (5,600 meter) spatial resolution at yearly intervals from 1982 to 2016. The VCF5KYR data product is derived from a bagged linear model algorithm using Long Term Data Record Version 4 (LTDR V4) data compiled from Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) observations. Fractional vegetation cover (FVC) is the ratio of the area of the vertical projection of green vegetation above ground to the total area, capturing the horizontal distribution and density of vegetation on the Earth’s surface. FVC is a primary means for measuring global forest cover change and is a key parameter for a variety of environmental and climate-related applications, including carbon land surface models and biomass measurements. The three bands included in each VCF5KYR Version 1 GeoTIFF are: percent of tree cover, non-tree vegetation, and bare ground. A water mask was applied with all pure water pixels (defined as ≥ 95% water coverage) set to zero.
Data from years 1994 and 2000 were excluded due to lack of data in the LTDR V4.
| Characteristic | Description |
|---|---|
| Collection | MEaSUREs VCF |
| DOI | 10.5067/MEaSUREs/VCF/VCF5KYR.001 |
| File Size | ~80 KB |
| Temporal Resolution | Yearly |
| Temporal Extent | 1982-01-01 to 2016-12-31 |
| Spatial Extent | Global |
| Coordinate System | Geographic Latitude and Longitude |
| Datum | World Geodetic System (WGS84) |
| File Format | GeoTIFF |
| Geographic Dimensions | 90 degrees lat x 180 degrees lon |
| Characteristic | Description |
|---|---|
| Number of Science Dataset (SDS) Layers | 3 |
| Columns/Rows | 7200 x 3600 |
| Pixel Size | 5600 m |
| SDS Name | Description | Units | Data Type | Fill Value | No Data Value | Valid Range | Scale Factor |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Band 1 | Percent Tree Cover: Percent of pixel covered by tree canopy | Percent | 8-bit unsigned integer | N/A | N/A | 0 to 100 | N/A |
| Band 2 | Percent Non-Tree Vegetation: Percent of pixel covered by green vegetation not covered by tree canopy | Percent | 8-bit unsigned integer | N/A | N/A | 0 to 100 | N/A |
| Band 3 | Percent Bare Ground: Percent of pixel not covered by living vegetation | Percent | 8-bit unsigned integer | N/A | N/A | 0 to 100 | N/A |
Quality information was not produced for this version; however, it will be included in future product versions.
Known issues, including constraints and limitations, are provided on page 10 of the Algorithm Theoretical Basis Document (ATBD).