Drylands: Land Cover
| Analytical Overview |
| In this map, the GLCC/IGBP (Global Land Cover Characterization/ International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme) Version 1.2 landcover was clipped to the drylands extent. Land cover classes were condensed into eight classes: forest, shrublands, savanna, grassland, wetland, cropland/natural vegetation mosaic, urban and developed, and other (snow/ice, barren/sparsely vegetated, water). |
Map Projection
Geographic
Map Description
To calculate the area of different land cover types within drylands, we have used a combination of datasets. Our primary source is the most recent available global dataset based on satellite imagery of land cover and vegetation types-- the International Geosphere-Biosphere Project (IGBP) 1-km Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) land cover classification.
From the IGBP legend we have included the following landcover classes: shrubland (including both open and closed shrublands); cropland (including cropland mosaics-- areas with up to 70 percent cropland mixed with forest or grassland); savanna (including woody savannas); grassland (as non-woody or herbaceous grassland); forest (including evergreen needleleaf, evergreen broadleaf, deciduous needleleaf, deciduous broadleaf, and mixed forest); and urbanized or developed areas.
Of the major land cover types in drylands, shrubland is the most predominant followed by cropland, savanna, grassland, forest, and urban areas. When the three aridity zones are examined separately, shrubland is most extensive in the arid zone; cropland, savanna, grassland, and urban areas are most extensive in the semi-arid zone; and forest is most extensive in the dry sub-humid zone. Cropland is most extensive in the semi-arid zone and least extensive in the arid zone.
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Citation:
WRI. 2002. World Resources Institute. Drylands, People, and Ecosystem Goods and Services: A Web-based Geospatial Analysis. Available online at: http://www.wri.org
Sources:
- United Nations Environment Program/Global Resource Information Database. Prepared by U. Diechmann and L. Eklundh. 1991, Global Digital Datasets for Land Degradation Studies: a GIS Approach. Nairobi, Kenya:UNEP/GEMS and GRID.
- Environmental Systems Research Institute. 1993, Digital Chart of the World CD-ROM.
- NOAA-NGDC (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration-National Geophysical Data Center). 1998, Stable Lights and Radiance Calibrated Lights of the World CD-ROM. Boulder, Colorado, USA:NOAA-NGDC.
Available On-line at: Source Link. - GLCCD, 1998. Loveland, T.R., B.C. Reed, J.F. Brown, D.O. Ohlen, Z. Zhu, L. Yang, and J. Merchant. 1998. "Development of a Global Land Cover Characteristics Database and IGBP DISCover from 1-km AVHRR Data" In International Journal of Remote Sensing21(6-7): 1303-1330.
Available On-line at: Source Link.Global Land Cover Characteristics Database, Version 1.2..