From 1700 to 1992, this gridded data set describes the fraction of each global grid cell occupied by cultivated land. It was developed by Jonathan A. Foley and collaborators to study the consequences of historical land use changes for climate, biogeochemical cycles, and biodiversity. Data layers are provided every 50 years from 1700 to 1850, every 10 years from 1850 to 1980, and annually from 1986 to 1992.
Use Cases
- Model global climate impacts based on historical changes in cultivated area.
- Study biogeochemical cycles influenced by historical land cover patterns.
- Analyze biodiversity changes linked to long-term cropland expansion.
- Feed spatially-explicit climate and biogeochemical models with historical land use data.
Strengths
- Provides a long-term temporal series spanning nearly three centuries (1700-1992).
- Offers spatially-explicit global grids for continental-to-global scale analysis.
- Synthesizes both satellite-derived and ground-based historical inventory data.
Limitations
- Data quality is poor prior to 1850 and for the Russian Federation.
- Designed for continental-to-global scale analysis; fine local details may not be captured.
- Description metadata is limited; actual data quality requires manual inspection after download.
Provenance
- Source
- Jonathan A. Foley
- Collection Method
- Synthesized from satellite measurements and ground-based sources like census statistics and historical estimates.
- Time Range
- 1700-1992
- Geography
- Global