ISLSCP II Global C4 Vegetation Percentage Distribution

ISLSCP II C4 Vegetation Percentage provides a global dataset mapping the percentage of C4 photosynthetic vegetation per grid cell. It was compiled by the International Satellite Land-Surface Climatology Project Initiative II from multiple sources including plant growth form distributions, climate data, cropland coverage, and national crop statistics. The data collection covers the ten-year period from 1986 to 1995 and has undergone two peer reviews.

Use Cases

• Modeling biosphere-atmosphere exchanges of carbon, water, and energy using C4 percentage values.
• Analyzing the relationship between climate classifications and C4 plant distribution across global grid cells.
• Incorporating herbaceous and woody vegetation coverage percentages with C4 data for land surface modeling.
• Studying the impact of cropland fraction and national crop harvest statistics on regional photosynthetic composition.

Strengths

• Dataset is part of a consistent collection of 50 global time series data sets designed for modelers.
• Data and documentation have undergone two peer reviews, indicating a level of quality assurance.
• Global data is mapped at consistent spatial (1, 0.5, and 0.25 degree) and temporal (monthly) resolutions.

Limitations

• The exact row count, file size, and specific column names are not provided by any source.
• Sources conflict on the last updated date, reporting both 1998-12-31 and 2026-03-13.

Provenance

Source

International Satellite Land-Surface Climatology Project, Initiative II (ISLSCP II)

Collection Method

Compiled from existing data sources and algorithms, including plant growth form distributions, climate classifications, cropland coverage, and national crop statistics, and made consistent with the ISLSCP-2 land/water mask.

Time Range

1986 to 1995

Freshness

2026-03-13 01:24:29.589093

Geography

Global