VEMAP 1: U.S. Climate and Vegetation Site Data

3261 grid cell records provide monthly climate variables and vegetation types for the contiguous United States. This dataset supports the intercomparison of biogeochemistry and vegetation distribution models to assess sensitivity to climate change and elevated CO2. Each record contains geographic coordinates, elevation, and Kuchler and VEMAP vegetation classifications alongside 12 monthly values.

Use Cases

• Model intercomparison studies based on standardized climate and vegetation scenario data.
• Assessing vegetation type sensitivity to altered climate forcing using the Kuchler and VEMAP vveg.v2 classifications.
• Extracting time-sequential monthly climate data for specific geographic grid cells.
• Analyzing spatial patterns of ecosystem response drivers across the contiguous U.S.

Strengths

• Contains 3261 distinct geographic grid cell records, providing a structured spatial sample.
• Includes multiple vegetation classification systems (Kuchler and VEMAP vveg.v2) for cross-referencing.
• Data is part of a documented, multi-institutional international project (VEMAP) with a user guide.

Limitations

• Specific column names and data types are not listed in the provided metadata.
• Conflicting last updated dates exist between sources (1990-12-31 on nasa_earthdata vs. 2026-04-09 on datagov).
• The temporal coverage of the monthly climate data is not explicitly stated.

Provenance

Source

Oak Ridge National Laboratory Distributed Active Archive Center (ORNL DAAC).

Collection Method

Modeled and/or observed data compiled for the VEMAP Phase I project.

Freshness

2026-04-09 21:19:01.082757 (from datagov, but conflicts with other source)

Geography

Contiguous United States (based on grid cell descriptions and state IDs).