Has EO found its customers? Global Vegetation Monitoring Unit GLC2000 Land Cover Classification

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Global Vegetation Monitoring Unit

GLC2000 Land Cover Classification

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Main characteristics of GLC 2000 classification

1. No pre-defined class names but land cover is described by a set of classifiers and attributes based on the FAO LCCS:

LCCS definitions and thresholds accepted

4. Regional and sub-regional legends are developed - following a Minimum set of mandatory classifiers

3. Detail of a legend depends on the • information obtainable from SPOT VEGETATION 2000 data • capability to map a class consistently• auxiliary map or information sources

5. The global legend will be achieved by grouping of regional classifiers and attributes

2. Land cover should be described at any geographical scale at the best possible detail

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Rationale for the approach

regional or sub-regional maps can be produced with detailed legend

legends can be formed according to user needs and purpose

no need to force a regional land cover in a predefined global class name

links possible to the national and local data, if all coded with LCCS

follow a standardized classification approach

enlarge the potential applications and user group

address different geographical scale

Requirement : • mandatory minimum set of land cover classifiers to be followed

in order to achieve a uniform and consistent global map

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Minimum Requirements : ‘Cropland’ (terrestrial) & Bare Areas

‘Cultivated and Managed Terrestrial Areas’

Surface aspect

•Consolidated•Bare rock•Hardpan

•Unconsolidated•Bare Soil•Loose and shifting sand

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Life form Cover Leaf type Phenology Layering

Woody closed-open

Trees closed-open closed open

broadleaved needleleaved

evergreen deciduous

Shrubs closed-open closed open

broadleaved needleleaved

evergreen deciduous

Herbaceous closed-open no (more) layer sparse shrubs sparse trees

Lichens &Mosses

Minimum Requirements: ‘Natural vegetation’ (terrestrial)

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GLC2000 - Global Land Cover Classes

GLC2000 Global Classes: Forest IGBP correspondence / overlap

1 Tree Cover, broadleaved, evergreen(LCCS >15% tree cover, tree height >3m )

Evergreen Broadleaved Forest (>60%, tree height >2m)

overlap with woody savannahs and savannas

2 Tree Cover, broadleaved, deciduous, closed (or open to closed)

Deciduous Broadleaved Forestoverlap with woody savannahs and savannas

3 Tree Cover, broadleaved, deciduous, open(LCCS 15% - 40% tree cover, tree height >3m )

Woody Savannas and Savannas(30-60% tree cover and 10-30%)

4 Tree Cover, needle-leaved, evergreen Evergreen Needleleaved Forestoverlap with woody savannahs and savannas

5 Tree Cover, needle-leaved, deciduous Deciduous Needleleaved Forestoverlap with woody savannahs and savannas

6 Tree Cover, mixed phenology or leaf type Mixed Forestsoverlap with woody savannahs and savannas

7 Tree Cover, regularly flooded Evergreen broadleaved

8 Mosaic: Tree cover / Other natural vegetation

21 land cover classes are presently proposed for display at the global level

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GLC2000 - Global Land Cover Classes: Non-forest

GLC2000 Global Classes: Non-Forest IGBP correspondence /overlap

9 Shrub Cover, closed-open, evergreen(with or without sparse tree layer)

Shrubland- Open- closed

10 Shrub Cover, closed-open, deciduous (with or without sparse tree layer)

Savannas

11 Herbaceous Cover, closed-open Grasslands

12 Sparse Herbaceous or sparse shrub cover

13 Lichens & Mosses

14 Regularly flooded shrub and/or herbaceous cover

Persistent Wetlands

15 Cultivated and managed areas Croplands

16 Mosaic: Cropland / Tree Cover Cropland / Other Vegetation Mosaic

17 Mosaic: Cropland / Other natural vegetation / Tree cover

18 Bare Areas Barren or sparsely vegetated

19 Water Bodies (natural & artificial) Water

20 Snow and Ice (natural & artificial) Snow & Ice

21 Artificial surfaces and associated areas Urban and built-up areas

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Example of aggregating regional classes to global legend: South-AsiaGlobal Classes Sub-regional Classes

Example: South Asia

Tree Cover, broadleaved, evergreen 1. Tropical Evergreen; 2. Subtropical Evergreen;3. Temperate Evergreen; 4. Semi evergreen; 5. Junipers;

Tree Cover, broadleaved, deciduous, closed 1. Tropical Moist deciduous; 2. Tropical Dry Deciduous;

Tree Cover, broadleaved, deciduous, open 1. Northern Tropical Thorn Forest; 2. Southern Tropical Thorn Forest;

Tree Cover, needle-leaved, evergreen Temperate Conifer Forest;

Tree cover, needle-leaved, deciduous Subtropical Conifer Forest;

Tree Cover Regularly flooded Mangrove & Swamp Forest;

Shrub Cover, closed-open, deciduous Thorn Scrub/ Desert

Herbaceous cover, closed-open 1. Slope Grassland; 2. Plain Grassland;3. Desert Grassland; 4. Alpine Meadow;

Herbaceous Cover, closed-open with sparse trees Savannah;

Sparse Herbaceous or Sparse Shrub Cover 1.Rangeland; 2.Sparse Vegetation;

Cultivated and Managed Areas 1. Coastal Vegetation; 2. Rain fed Agriculture;3. Irrigated Agriculture; 4. Intensive Agriculture;5. Flood Plains; 6. Current Jhum;

Mosaic: Tree Cover/ Other Natural Vegetation Abandoned Jhum (Shifting Cultivation)

Bare Areas 1. Bare Rock; 2. Barren; 3. Desert;

Water Bodies (Artificial and Natural) 1. Water Bodies; 2. Swamp; 3. Salt Pans;

Snow and Ice (Natural and Artificial) Snow;

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Land cover information needed for aggregation

Global Classes Regional classes

TREE COVER, BROADLEAVED, DECIDUOUS, CLOSED

Extraction criteria:LCCS Code: 2****LCCS Label: A3, A10+A12,

D1, E2

User Name: TROPICAL MOIST DECIDUOUS FOREST

LCCS Name: Broadleaved Deciduous Forest, Climate: Tropics-Humid

LCCS Code: 20097-O1O14LCCS Label: A3A10B2C1D1E2-O1O14

User Name: TROPICAL DRY DECIDUOUS FOREST

LCCS Name: Broadleaved Deciduous Forest, Climate: Tropics-Dry Semi-arid

LCCS Code: 20097-O1O11LCCS Label: A3A10B2C1D1E2-O1O11

TREE COVER, BROADLEAVED, DECIDUOUS, OPEN

Extraction criteria:LCCS Code: 2*LCCS Label: A3, A11+A13, D1, D3, E2

User Name: NORTHERN TROPICAL THORN FOREST

LCCS Name: Woodland, Aphyllous, Climate: Tropics-Moist Semi-arid

LCCS Code: 20143-O1O12LCCS Label: A3A11B2C1D3-O1O12

User Name: SOUTHERN TROPICAL THORN FOREST

LCCS Name: Woodland, Aphyllous, Climate: Tropics-Dry semi-arid

LCCS Code: 20143-O1O11LCCS Label: A3A11B2C1D3-O1O11

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Issues to be decided

Proposal: Display at the global level the two classes for broadleaved deciduous tree cover

a) closed: >>> forest typeb) open: >>>> open forests & woodland formations

Rationale: display large tropical and sub-tropical dry forest-woodland formations in Africa, SE-Asia & S-America separate from the mainly closed temperate and boreal deciduous forests

• some Mediterranean forests would be in the open class• the open boreal coniferous and mixed forests are not concerned by

this separation.

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Proposal: Map the swamp forests together with the mangrove forests as regularly flooded

Rationale:

more consistent with LCCS concept (than only mangroves) represent large areas of swamp forests in C-Africa, S-America, SE-

Asia

• differentiation between mangroves and swamp forest is clear because of the location of mangroves at the coast

• check whether consistently and important in other regions

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Map burnt areas as a separate class

Rationale: No decision can be made on whether to assign these areas in the boreal or

humid tropical zone to trees, shrubs, grass or mixtures

Proposal:

I. Burning is an annual and regular process• Map burnt areas along with the non-burnt class:

burnt savannah (herbaceous cover) remains herbaceous cover

II. Burning is a single event or occurring in long intervals If post-fire vegetation unknown > assign to shrub or sparse vegetation introduce a class ‘natural vegetation, burnt’?

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Proposal: Make a difference between natural grassland and pasture at the global level?

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Mosaics: Are the present mosaic classes appropriate?

Mosaic Tree cover & other natural vegetationMosaic Cropland & Tree coverMosaic Cropland & Other natural vegetation & Trees

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Mixed forests: Do we need more than one class of mixed forest?

Mixed needle-leaved and broadleaved forestsMixed evergreen and deciduous forestMixed evergreen and deciduous needle-leaved forest

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What to display on global legend on global map

Display LCCS class name Tree cover, broadleaved, deciduous, openDisplay a user class names? Open deciduous forests and woodlandsDisplay additional fields with regional user class names?

Global: Tree cover, broadleaved, deciduous, open Africa: Miombo S-America: Catingas SE-Asia: Dry Dipterocarp forest

For regional legends on regional mapsRegional LCCS class + regional user name

For the digital data setGlobal LCCS class name + Regional LCCS class name + Regional user name + full LCCS Code

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The End…

Documents

Has EO found its customers? Global Vegetation Monitoring Unit GLC2000 Land Cover Classification