Potential Natural Vegetation Map for Eastern Africa, Harmonized and Simplified

A spatial raster layer describes the potential natural vegetation for six eastern African countries: Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Malawi, and Zambia. The map was created by Paulo van Breugel and the VECEA project, harmonizing classifications across countries and splitting compound vegetation types using environmental distribution modeling. The data is based on historical vegetation maps developed from the 1950s to the 1970s.

Use Cases

• Establishing a baseline for vegetation change assessments based on the potential natural vegetation concept.
• Identifying reforestation options by analyzing the distribution of potential natural vegetation types.
• Supporting conservation assessments using the harmonized vegetation classification across six countries.
• Estimating area statistics for unique potential natural vegetation types after the splitting of compound types.

Strengths

• Covers six eastern African countries, providing a regional scope.
• Based on historical vegetation maps from the 1950s-1970s, offering a long-term reference.
• Includes a detailed methodology manuscript and documentation of individual vegetation types.

Limitations

• Row count and file size are unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• The map's classification is based on historical data, which may not reflect current conditions.

Provenance

Source

VECEA (Vegetation and Climate change in East Africa) project and Paulo van Breugel.

Collection Method

Harmonization of an existing potential natural vegetation map using environmental distribution modeling.

Time Range

Based on historical maps from the 1950s to 1970s.

Geography

Eastern Africa (Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Malawi, Zambia).