Olson World Ecosystems Map at 10 Arc-Minute Resolution

A raster dataset classifies global land cover into ecosystem complexes. It was produced by the World Data Center-A for Solid Earth Geophysics in collaboration with NOAA/NGDC and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The data was published in 1989.

Use Cases

• Analyze historical ecosystem distribution from the Olson ecosystem classes raster layer.
• Estimate carbon in live vegetation for major world ecosystems using the classified land cover data.
• Compare global ecosystem complexes at a nominal 10 arc-minute resolution.
• Use the geographic (longitude/latitude) projection for compatibility with other global datasets.

Strengths

• Global spatial coverage in a geographic projection.
• Data is accompanied by an ASCII documentation file for GIS use.
• A nominal 10 arc-minute scale provides compatibility with other global data resolutions.

Limitations

• Data is from 1989 and does not reflect recent land cover changes.
• Specific row/column counts and file size are unknown.
• The raster format is IDRISI, which may require specific software or conversion.

Provenance

Source

World Data Center-A for Solid Earth Geophysics, NOAA/NGDC, and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Collection Method

Compiled from available maps and observations.

Time Range

Publication date is 1989.

Geography

Global.