Global Vegetation Types at 1-Degree Resolution, 1971-1982

1971-1982 vegetation data compiled from approximately 100 published sources and encoded using the UNESCO classification system. The original 180 vegetation types were aggregated to 32 categories for a global 1 x 1 degree latitude/longitude grid. This dataset was designed for use in studies of climate and climate change.

Use Cases

• Modeling historical climate and climate change scenarios based on global land cover.
• Validating or initializing Earth system models using a standardized vegetation classification.
• Analyzing broad-scale vegetation distribution patterns from the 1970s and early 1980s.
• Studying changes in global biomes by comparing this historical baseline with contemporary data.

Strengths

• Synthesizes data from approximately 100 published sources, providing a consolidated global view.
• Uses a standardized UNESCO classification system, enhancing comparability.
• Provides a historical baseline (1971-1982) for longitudinal climate and land cover studies.

Limitations

• Sparse metadata: column names, row counts, and exact file structure are unknown.
• Conflicting last-update dates: one source lists 1982, another lists a future date (2026), indicating potential metadata errors.
• Coarse 1-degree spatial resolution limits analysis to continental or global scales, not local detail.

Provenance

Source

Compiled by E. Matthews; distributed by Oak Ridge National Laboratory Distributed Active Archive Center (ORNL DAAC) for NASA.

Collection Method

Data were compiled in digital form from approximately 100 published sources and aggregated.

Time Range

1971-1982

Freshness

1982-01-01 23:59:59.999000

Geography

Global