The Matthews Vegetation data set comes from a global map of vegetation types, which was compiled from up to 100 existing map sources at the Goddard Institute of Space Studies (GISS), Columbia University, in New York. It shows the predominant vege- tation type (one out of 32 classes) within each one degree-square latitude/longitude grid cell. Matthews Cultivation Intensity data set is based on existing maps of vegetation and satellite imagery, and it shows the percentage of each one-degree square latitude/longitude grid cell that is under cultivation, versus the percentage of natural vegetation, including five classes.
Matthews Seasonal Integrated Albedo data set includes four data files for Winter, Spring, Summer and Autumn (January, April, July and October respectively in the Northern Hemisphere; and July, October, January and April for the Southem Hemisphere). They show the seasonal percentage of incoming radiation reflected into space, integrated across the electro- magnetic spectrum. These are based on the vegetation and cultivation intensity maps, rather than being measured directly, and are for snow- free conditions except for permanently snow-covered continental ice.
The proper reference to these data sets is "Matthews, E., 1983. Global vegetation and land use: new high resolution data bases for climate studies, Journal of Climate and Applied Meteorology, volume 22, pp. 474-487."
The Matthews Vegetation, Cultivation Intensity and Seasonal Albedo data files have a spatial resolution of one degree latitude/longitude, are one byte/eight bits per pixel, and consist of 180 rows (lines) by 360 columns (elements/pixels/samples) of data. Their origin point is at 90 degrees North latitude and 180 degrees West longitude, and they extend to 90 degrees South latitude and 180 degrees East longitude. At one degree resolution, each of these data files comprises 64.8 kilobytes.
E. MATTHEWS Sigma Data Services NASA-Goddard Space Flight Center Institute for Space Studies 2880 Broadway New York, New York 10025
*NOTE: This is a revised version of the documentation provided to NCAR in July 1983.
Global data bases of vegetation, land use, and land cover have been compiled at a 1 degree latitude x 1 degree longitude resolution, drawing on approximately 100 published sources complemented by a large collection of satellite imagery. A series of 6 datasets has been prepared and archived at NCAR. The first is a vegetation data set (VEGTYPE) representing natural (pre-agricultural) vegetation based on the UNESCO classification system. The second, derived from the land-use data base, is a "cultivation intensity" data set (CULTINT) defining the areal extent (expressed as X) of presently cultivated land in the 1 x 1 cells. The last four are present integrated surface-albedo data sets (January, April, July, October) for snow-free conditions except for permanently snow-covered continental ice, incorporating natural vegetation and cultivation characteristics from the vegetation and cultivation-intensity data sets. These 6 data sets include non-zero data for permanent land only, including continental ice; water, including oceans and lakes, is zero.
This paper includes documentation of the data-tape format as well as brief descriptions and regional maps of the individual data sets.
For complete discussion of the vegetation and land-use data
sets see Matthews, E. (1983), Global vegetation and land use:
new high-resolution data bases for climate studies, J. Clim. Appl.
Meteor., 22, 474-487.
Tape prepared by E. Matthews, NASA-Goddard Space Flight Center,
Institute for Space Studies, 2880 Broadway, New York, N.Y. 10025,
(212) 678-5588, FTS 664-5588.
Acknowledgments. I would like to thank the following people for helpful suggestions and support during the preparation of this report: R. E. Dickinson, I. Y. Fung, J. E. Hansen, R. Jenne, L. C. Tsang, and M. Yerstraete.
Table 1 VEGTYPE: The thirty two vegetation types described
in Col. 3 are identified in VEGTYPE as 1 to 32, as shown in Col.
1. Col. 2 lists the 32 associated map symbols used to map
VEGTYPE in Fig. 1
Vegetation Map Description
Type Symbol
1 . . . . . . 1 . . . tropical evergreen rainforest,
mangrove forest
2 . . . . . . 2 . . . tropical/subtropical evergreen
seasonal broadleaved forest
3 . . . . . . 3 . . . subtropical evergreen rainforest
4 . . . . . . 4 . . . temperate/subPolar everareen
rainfnrPct
5 . . . . . . 5 . . . temperate evergreen seasonal
broadleaved
forest, summer rain
6 . . . . . . 6 . . . evergreen broadleaved
sclerophyllous forest,
winter rA i n
7 . . . . . . 7 . . . tropical/subtropical evergreen
needleleaved forest
8 . . . . . . 8 . . . temperate/subpolar evergreen
needleleaved forest
9 . . . . . . 9 . . . tropical/subtropical
drought-deciduous forect
10 . . . . . . A . . . cold-deciduous forest, with
evergreens
11 . . . . . . B . . . cold-deciduous forest, without
everareens
12 . . . . . . C . . . xeromorphic forest/woodland
13 . . . . . . D . . . evergreen broadleaved
sclerophyllous woodland
14 . . . . . . E . . . evergreen needleleaved woodland
15 . . . . . . F . . . tropical/subtropical
drought-deciduous
woodland
16 . . . . . . G . . . cold-deciduous woodland
17 . . . . . . H . . . evergreen broadleaved
shrubland/thicket,
evergreen dwarf-shrubland
18 . . . . . . I . . . evergreen needleleaved or
microphyllous
shrubland/thicket
19 . . . . . . J . . . drought-deciduous
shrubland/thicket
20 . . . . . . K . . . cold-deciduous subalpine/subpolar
shrubland,
cold-deciduous dwarf shrubland
21 . . . . . . L . . . xeromorphic shrubland/dwarf
shrubland
22 . . . . . . M . . . arctic/alpine tundra, mossy bog
23 . . . . . . N . . . tall/medium/short grassland with
10-40% woody
tree cover
24 . . . . . . O . . . tall/medium/short grassland with
<10% woody
tree cover or tuft-plant cover
25 . . . . . . P . . . tall/medium/short grassland with
shrub cover
26 . . . . . . Q . . . tall grassland, no woody cover
27 . . . . . . R . . . medium grassland, no woody cover
28 . . . . . . S . . . meadow, short grassland, no woody
cover,
29 . . . . . . T . . . forb formations
30 . . . . . . U . . desert
31 . . . . . . V . . . ice
32 . . . . . . W . . . cultivation
Table 2 CULTINT: Cultivation intensities, ranging from O to 5
in CULTINT translate into % cultivated and % natural vegetation
as shown.
Description
Cultivation
Intensity land/water% cultivated % natural
vegetation
0 water
1 land 0 100
2 land 20 80
3 land 50 50
4 land 75 25
5 land 100 0
TABLE 3A Seasonal snow-free, integrated albedos for 32
vegetation types listed in Table 1. The winter, spring, summer
and fall values correspond to January, April, July and October in
the northern hemisphere and to July, October, January and April
in the southern hemisphere. The appropriate seasonal values were
used, in conjunction with the VEGTYPE and CULTINT data bases, to
produce albedo data sets for January, April, July and October.
VEGETATION WINTER SPRING SUMMER FALL
1 .... 11 .... 11 .... 11 .... 11
2 . . . . 11 .... 11 .... 11 .... 11
3 . . . . 11 .... 11 .... 11 .... 11
4 . . . . 12 . . . . 12 . . . . 12 . . . . 12
5 . . . . 12 . . . . 13 . . . . 14 . . . . 13
6 . . . . 17 . . . . 14 . . . . 13 . . . . 14
7 . . . . 13 . . . . 14 . . . . 16 . . . . 13
8 . . . . 11 .... 12 . . . . 15 . . . . 12
9 . . . . 18 . . . . 16 . . . . 15 . . . . 16
10 . . . . 12 . . . . 15 . . . . 18 . . . . 13
11 . . . . 12 . . . . 15 . . . . 18 . . . . 13
12 . . . . 28 . . . . 32 . . . . 28 . . . . 28
13 . . . . 15 . . . . 13 . . . . 12 . . . . 13
14 . . . . 14 . . . . 14 . . . . 16 . . . . 14
15 . . . . 20 . . . . 18 . . . . 17 . . . . 18
16 . . . . 14 . . . . 14 . . . . 17 . . . . 14
17 . . . . 15 . . . . 15 . . . . 18 . . . . 15
18 . . . . 15 . . . . 15 . . . . 18 . . . . 15
19 . . . . 17 . . . . 20 . . . . 20 . . . . 17
20 . . . . 17 . . . . 20 . . . . 20 . . . . 17
21 . . . . 28 . . . . 32 . . . . 28 . . . . 28
22 . . . . 12 . . . . 12 . . . . 17 . . . . 15
23 . . . . 14 . . . . 15 . . . . 17 . . . . 15
24 . . . . 14 . . . . 15 . . . . 16 . . . . 14
25 . . . . 16 . . . . 18 . . . . 25 . . . . 20
26 . . . . 17 . . . . 17 . . . . 20 . . . . 17
27 . . . . 16 . . . . 20 . . . . 20 . . . . 18
28 . . . . 16 . . . . 20 . . . . 20 . . . . 18
29 . . . . 16 . . . . 20 . . . . 20 . . . . 18
30 . . . . 30 . . . . 30 . . . . 30 . . . . 30
31 . . . . 75 . . . . 75 . . . . 75 . . . . 75
32 . . . . 16 . . . . 18 . . . . 20 . . . . 18