LBA Regional Wetlands: Distribution and Environmental Characteristics
Updated 1mo ago
6filesBIN
Available on 2 platforms
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Description
Matthews and Fung's 1987 database provides a 1-degree resolution geospatial dataset on natural wetlands, compiled to evaluate their role in methane emissions. This subset covers the Amazon Basin study area for the Large Scale Biosphere-Atmosphere Experiment in Amazonia (LBA), integrating vegetation, soil, and inundation data from UNESCO, FAO, and Operational Navigation Charts. The dataset consists of five global arrays: wetland data source, wetland type, fractional inundation, vegetation type, and soil type.
Use Cases
Modeling methane emissions from terrestrial sources based on wetland type and fractional inundation data.
Analyzing the correlation between soil properties and wetland distribution for ecological studies.
Validating modern remote sensing products of Amazonian inundation against a historical compiled survey.
Studying the integration of multi-source geospatial data (vegetation, soil, charts) for environmental characterization.
Strengths
Integrates three independent, authoritative digital sources: UNESCO vegetation, FAO soil maps, and ONC inundation surveys.
Provides a coherent 1-degree resolution dataset for a key scientific experiment (LBA) in the Amazon Basin.
Cross-platform presence on data.gov and NASA EarthData signals established use and importance in the research community.
Limitations
Metadata completeness is low; specific column names, row counts, and file sizes are not provided.
Conflicting last updated dates exist between sources (1982 vs. 2026), creating uncertainty about data currency.
The dataset is a regional subset of a global product, limiting its geographic scope to the LBA study area.
Provenance
Source
Compiled by Matthews and Fung (1987), with data from NASA/GISS and NCAR.
Collection Method
Integration of three digital sources: UNESCO vegetation classification, FAO soil maps, and fractional inundation from Operational Navigation Charts.
Time Range
1987 (compilation date), with source materials from 1983 and 1986.
Freshness
2026-04-10 (from data.gov), though a conflicting date of 1982-01-01 exists.
Geography
Amazon Basin, South America (longitude 85°W to 30°W, latitude 25°S to 10°N).
License is listed as 'other-license-specified' on data.gov but is 'None' on NASA EarthData; users should verify terms. The complete global database is available from other archives (NASA/GISS, NCAR ds765.5).