Global Ecological Zones (second edition)

Along with the core information on state and changes in forests, FRA 2000 is reporting on various ecological aspects of forests. Forest resources information will be reported by ecological zone, which will contribute to understanding the implications of forest change on (ecosystem) biological diversity and carbon-cycling processes. The 2000 global ecological zone map has been developed, building upon the FRA 1990 experience for the tropics and extending the coverage to include the temperate and boreal forests. A globally consistent classification has been adopted, based on the Koppen-Trewartha climate system in combination with natural vegetation characteristics. A total of 19 global ecological zones have been defined and mapped, ranging from the evergreen tropical rainforest zone to the boreal tundra woodland zone. A main principle of delineating the global ecological zones involved the aggregation or matching of available regional ecological or potential vegetation maps into the global framework. **Data publication:** 2001-06-01 **Supplemental Information:** FAO's main partners in the development of the EZ map were the UNEP-WCMC, EDC and the have been instrumental in the production of the map by providing their expertise, advice and input data. A key event was the Cambridge expert consultation (July 1999), attended by some 20 regional ecozone experts, where the proposed classification framework was presented and adopted. **Contact points:** **Data lineage:** Data quality information not available **Online resources:** Link to Forest Resource Assessment website eco_zone.axl Global Ecological Zones - shapefile

Simplified AEZ classification (33 classes) at about 1 km resolution at the equator, using different climate data source and based on different Representative Concentration Pathways (RCPs) according to the time period as follows: - climate data source CRUTS32 based on historical data for the time period 1981-2010; - climate data source ENSEMBLE based on the Representative Concentration Pathway RCP8.5 for time periods 2041-2070 and 2071-2100. The Simplified AEZ classification dataset is part of the GAEZ v4 Theme 1 Land and Water Resources, Agro-Ecological Zones sub-theme. The agro-ecological zones classification provides a characterization of bio-physical resources relevant to agricultural production systems. AEZ definitions and map classes follow a rigorous methodology and an explicit set of principles. The inventory combines spatial layers of thermal and moisture regimes with broad categories of soil/terrain qualities. It also indicates locations of areas with irrigated soils and shows land with severely limiting bio-physical constraints including very cold and very dry (desert) areas as well as areas with very steep terrain or very poor soil/terrain conditions. For further details, please refer to the GAEZ v4 Model Documentation. **Data publication:** 2021-05-01 **Supplemental Information:** No data value: 0 Unit : class Scale Factor : 1.0 Map code : LR-AEZ-V9V2RED **Contact points:** Metadata Contact: [GAEZ@fao.org](mailto:gaez@fao.org) Resource Contact: [Fischer Gunther](mailto:fisher@iiasa.ac.at) Resource Contact: [UNFAO - NSL Geospatial Unit](mailto:gaez@fao.org) **Data lineage:** Class - Caption 0.0 - 0 1.0 - Tropics, lowland; semi-arid 2.0 - Tropics, lowland; sub-humid 3.0 - Tropics, lowland; humid 4.0 - Tropics, highland; semi-arid 5.0 - Tropics, highland; sub-humid 6.0 - Tropics, highland; humid 7.0 - Sub-tropics, warm; semi-arid 8.0 - Sub-tropics, warm; sub-humid 9.0 - Sub-tropics, warm; humid 10.0 - Sub-tropics, moderately cool; semi-arid 11.0 - Sub-tropics, moderately cool; sub-humid 12.0 - Sub-tropics, moderately cool; humid 13.0 - Sub-tropics, cool; semi-arid 14.0 - Sub-tropics, cool; sub-humid 15.0 - Sub-tropics, cool; humid 16.0 - Temperate, moderate; dry 17.0 - Temperate, moderate; moist 18.0 - Temperate, moderate; wet 19.0 - Temperate, cool; dry 20.0 - Temperate, cool; moist 21.0 - Temperate, cool; wet 22.0 - Cold, no permafrost; dry 23.0 - Cold, no permafrost; moist 24.0 - Cold, no permafrost; wet 25.0 - Dominantly very steep terrain 26.0 - Land with severe soil/terrain limitations 27.0 - Land with ample irrigated soils 28.0 - Dominantly hydromorphic soils 29.0 - Desert/Arid climate 30.0 - Boreal/Cold climate 31.0 - Arctic/Very cold climate 32.0 - Dominantly built-up land 33.0 - Dominantly water **Resource constraints:** GAEZ v4 Disclaimer at https://gaez.fao.org/pages/disclaimer **Online resources:** Translation of dimensions filters with label Download the data from Google Cloud Storage GAEZ v4 Model Documentation GAEZ v4 Data Portal SLD Data for download: Simplified AEZ classification (33 classes) for the time period 1981-2010 using climate data source CRUTS32 based on historical data Data for download: Simplified AEZ classification (33 classes) for the time period 2041-2070 using climate data source ENSEMBLE based on RCP8.5 Data for download: Simplified AEZ classification (33 classes) for the time period 2071-2100 using climate data source ENSEMBLE based on RCP8.5

The Digital Soil Map of the World is a global vector dataset based on the original FAO-UNESCO World Soil Map, published in 10 volumes and 19 cartographic sheets from 1972 to 1977. The digitized soil map, in geographic projection (latitude - longitude) and at a scale of 1:5,000,000, was intersected with a layer containing hydrographic features (coasts, lakes, glaciers, and dual-course rivers) and, with the exception of the African continent, with the map of national boundaries obtained from the World Data Bank II (United States Government) updated in January 1994 at a scale of 1:3,000,000. For Africa, national boundaries were derived from the boundaries of the Original FAO/UNESCO World Soil Map of the World. In both cases, national boundaries have been verified and, where necessary, adjusted based on FAO and UN conventions. The Digital Soil Map of the World in PDF and GIS formats is available for download in the **Data and Resources** section of this metadata. Maps and legends can be also found on the **FAO Soil Portal**, along with the related reports, for the following regions: North America, Mexico and Central America, South America, Europe, Asia, South Asia, North and Central Asia, Southeast Asia, and Australasia. **Data revision:** 2007-02-28 **Contact points:** Resource Contact: [ Land and Water Division](mailto:land-and-water@fao.org) Metadata Contact: [FAO-Data](mailto:fao-data@fao.org) **Data lineage:** More information regarding the production and use of the digital soil map of the world can be found in the layer (.lyr), legend (.avl), readme and excel files contained in the zip files available for download. Please note that the Digital Soil Map of the World is also available in a raster version at 5 arc minutes resolution. **Resource constraints:** This work is made available under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence (CC-BY-4.0) **Online resources:** Digital Soil Map of the World - ESRI shapefile format Digital Soil Map of the World - Erdas format Digital Soil Map of the World (by Regions) - Erdas format Digital Soil Map of the World - IDRISI format Digital Soil Map of the World - high resolution map (PDF format - 28MB) Harmonized World Soil Database FAO Soils Portal: FAO/UNESCO Soil Map of the World

The Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Center (LP DAAC) archives and distributes Global Forest Cover Change (GFCC) data products through the NASA Making Earth System Data Records for Use in Research Environments (MEaSUREs) Program. The GFCC Tree Cover Multi-Year Global dataset is available for four epochs centered on the years 2000, 2005, 2010, and 2015. The dataset is derived from the GFCC Surface Reflectance product (GFCC30SR), which is based on enhanced Global Land Survey (GLS) datasets. The GLS datasets are composed of high-resolution Landsat 5 Thematic Mapper (TM) and Landsat 7 Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+) images at 30 meter resolution. GFCC30TC provides tree canopy information and can be used to understand forest changes. Each tree cover product features four files associated with it; a tree cover layer with an embedded color map, a tree cover error (uncertainty) file, and an index (provenance) file, plus a list of path/rows that relate to the Surface Reflectance input files. Note that the index file and file list were not generated for the 2015 epoch. Data follow the Worldwide Reference System-2 tiling scheme. Additional details regarding the methodology used to create the data are available in the Algorithm Theoretical Basis Document (ATBD).

The Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Center (LP DAAC) archives and distributes Global Forest Cover Change (GFCC) data products through the NASA Making Earth System Data Records for Use in Research Environments (MEaSUREs) Program. The GFCC Forest Cover Change Multi-Year Global dataset provides estimates of changes in forest cover from 1990 to 2000 and from 2000 to 2005 at 30 meter spatial resolution. The GFCC30FCC product represents a global record of fine-scale changes in forest dynamics between observation periods. The forest cover change product was generated from the GFCC Tree Cover (GFCC30TC) product which is based on Global Land Survey (GLS) data acquired by the Landsat 5 Thematic Mapper (TM) and Landsat 7 Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+) sensors. Each forest cover product has two GeoTIFF files associated with it; a change map file and a change probability file. Data follow the Worldwide Reference System-2 tiling scheme. Additional details regarding the methodology used to create the data are available in the Algorithm Theoretical Basis Document (ATBD).

The dominant land cover dataset represents the extent and distribution of the major land cover types at the global level. It is part of the Global Land Cover-SHARE (GLC-SHARE) database at the global level created by FAO, Land and Water Division in partnership and with contribution from various partners and institutions. The dominant land cover type includes the following eleven major thematic land cover classes resulting by a combination of “best available” high resolution national, regional and/or sub-national land cover databases. The data is produced with a resolution of 30 arc-second2 (~1sqkm) 01-Artificial Surfaces 02-CropLand 03-Grassland 04-Tree Covered Area 05-Shrubs Covered Area 06-Herbaceous vegetation, aquatic or regularly flooded 07-Mangroves 08-Sparse vegetation 09-BareSoil 10-Snow and glaciers 11-Waterbodies **Data publication:** 2014-02-03 **Supplemental Information:** Scale Factor : 1.0 Map code : DLCP **Contact points:** Metadata Contact: [GIS Manager](mailto:GIS-Manager@fao.org) Resource Contact: Land and Water Division FAO-UN Resource Contact: [Matieu Henry](mailto:Matieu.Henry@fao.org) **Data lineage:** The land cover database is validated only using the high resolution remote sensing imagery present in Google Earth. **Resource constraints:** Reproduction and dissemination of material contained in GLC-SHARE Beta-Release v1.0 or educational, research, personal or other noncommercial purposes are authorized without any prior written permission from the copyright holders, provided FAO are fully acknowledged. No part of GLC-SHARE Beta-Release v1.0 data may be downloaded, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted by any means for resale or other commercial purposes without written permission of the copyright holders. If any information or resources on this site are attributed to a site or source external to FAO permission to use must be sought with FAO. The designations employed and the presentation of material in this information product do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) concerning the legal or development status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. FAO declines all responsibility for errors or deficiencies in the database or software or in the documentation accompanying it, for program maintenance and upgrading as well as for any damage that may arise from them. FAO also declines any responsibility for updating the data and assumes no responsibility for errors and omissions in the data provided. Users are, however, kindly asked to report any errors or deficiencies in this product to FAO. **Online resources:** Download the data from Google Cloud Storage Download GLC-Share report Download GLC-Share - Dominant land cover type with legend in LYR ESRI format Download GLC-Share - Sources