What's on Top?: Wide-Area Land Cover Data Sets

摘要

Land cover plays an important role in shaping our environment at global, regional, and local scales. Changes in land cover influence biological diversity, climate, and related biogeochemical cycles. Until recently, however, researchers have not had access to comprehensive data sets that portray land cover at the continental scale. The recent release of three major data sets produced by the U.S. Global Change Research Program has changed this situation, however. These data sets describe important aspects of the Earth's surface, including the vegetation, water resources, and other natural and cultural features. They indicate, for example, which portions of the globe are covered by coniferous forest, marsh, cropland, or urban development.