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Land Surface Parameters

LDAS Vegetation Parameter Illustrations and Data Sets



This is NOT the offical LDAS vegetation data page. The datasets located below have been made available for use in research, but are not the basis for the LDAS simulations.

The 1/8th degree LDAS illustrations and data sets available below were derived from the 1km EROS vegetation data set. The first five IGBP, SiB, BATS and UMD plots display the percent of each LDAS grid box occupied by each of the 17 IGBP, 16 SiB, 20 BATS or 14 UMD vegetation categories. These plots are based on the number of 1km grid boxes of a particular IGBP, SiB, BATS or UMD category which occur in each 1/8th degree grid box. Each of the land masks located on this page are identical, and are based on IGBP data. This unified mask differs by 9 pixels from SiB-based and BATS-based land/sea maks, and by 460 pixels from a UMD-based mask. In order to construct this unified mask, the percent coverage of water (according to IGBP data) in each LDAS grid box was used such that grid boxes made up of more than 50% water were assigned a "water" value of 0 in the LDAS land/sea mask, while all other grid boxes recieved a "land" value of 1. The fractional coverage values in all four vegetation data sets enabled the creation of the LDAS predominant vegetation datasets. These datasets contain, for each vegetation classification scheme, the four most predominant vegetation types in each 1/8th degree grid box.

LDAS IGBP Illustrations

LDAS IGBP fractional vegetation coverage values for evergreen needleleaf, evergreen broadleaf, deciduous needleleaf and deciduous broadleaf. Evergreen needleleaf occurs over much of the domain while evergreen broadleaf only occurs over extreme southern portions of the domain. Deciduous broadleaf occurs mainly over eastern portions of the domain, while deciduous needleleaf is absent from the domain altogether. IGBP Vegetation Fractional Coverages (Categories 1-4)

LDAS IGBP fractional vegetation coverage values for mixed forests, closed shrublands, open shrublands and woody savanna. Mixed forest occurs mainly in northeastern sections, closed shrublands appear mainly over the northern reaches of the domain, open shrublands are concentrated over western regions, and woody savannas appear over the southern half of the domain. IGBP Vegetation Fractional Coverages (Categories 5-8)

LDAS IGBP fractional vegetation coverage values for savannas, grasslands, permanent wetlands and croplands. Grasslands are concentrated in western areas, croplands are present across the entire domain with a heavy concentration in mid-western regions, permanent wetlands are located in the extreme northwest, northeast and southeast corners of the domain, and savannas are generally located in the California region. IGBP Vegetation Fractional Coverages (Categories 9-12)

LDAS IGBP fractional vegetation coverage values for urban/built-up, cropland/natural vegetation mosaic, snow/ice and barren categories. Most urban areas are located in the eastern half of the domain, while cropland/natural vegetation mosaic is located in the eastern and northcentral areas. Snow/ice is limited to the Rocky Mountains, while the barren class is mostly present in the western arid regions of the domain. IGBP Vegetation Fractional Coverages (Categories 13-16)

LDAS IGBP fractional vegetation coverage values for water bodies. This class spread over the entire domain, but is concentrated in the northeastern section. IGBP Vegetation Fractional Coverage (Category 17)

LDAS IGBP-based 1/8th degree land/sea mask for the North American Domain LDAS IGBP Land/Sea Mask

1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th most predominant 1km IGBP vegetation classes in each 1/8th degree LDAS gridbox over the LDAS domain. Broadleaf deciduous dominates the east, grasslands and croplands are common in the central US and shrublands are common in western sections. Coverage decreases as one heads from 1st to 4th most predominant plots, since some 1/8th degree gridboxes may contain only 1 (or 2 or 3) type (types) of 1km vegetation. LDAS IGBP Predominant Vegetation Types


LDAS IGBP Data Sets

* Use Right Mouse Button to Download * Point (1,1) Located at Lower Left of LDAS Grid *

LDAS Land/Sea Mask (Binary) MASKigbp.bin
This file contains the LDAS land/sea mask in binary format. You will need readbin.f to read the file.

LDAS Land/Sea Mask (Ascii) MASKigbp.asc
This ascii file contains the LDAS land/sea mask in the following format:
Column 1 Grid Column Number
Column 2 Grid Row Number
Column 3 Latitude
Column 4 Longitude
Column 5 Mask Value (0=Water, 1=Land)

LDAS Predominant IGBP Vegetation Type (Binary) PVEGigbp.bin
This file contains the predominant IGBP vegetation type in binary format. You will need readbin2.f to read the file.

Frequency of Occurrence of IGBP Vegetation Types (Ascii) igbp.LDAS
This ascii file lists the frequency with which each of the 17 IGBP vegetation types occurs in each of the 1/8th degree LDAS grid boxes. The file is formatted as follows:
Column 1 Latitude
Column 2 Longitude
Column 3 Grid Column Number
Column 4 Grid Row Number
Column 5 Frequency of Evergreen Needleleaf Forest (Category 1)
Column 6 Frequency of Evergreen Broadleaf Forest (Category 2)
Column 7 Frequency of Deciduous Needleleaf Forest (Category 3)
Column 8 Frequency of Deciduous Broadleaf Forest (Category 4)
Column 9 Frequency of Mixed Forest (Category 5)
Column 10 Frequency of Closed Shrublands (Category 6)
Column 11 Frequency of Open Shrublands (Category 7)
Column 12 Frequency of Woody Savannah (Category 8)
Column 13 Frequency of Savannahs (Category 9)
Column 14 Frequency of Grasslands (Category 10)
Column 15 Frequency of Permanent Wetlands (Category 11)
Column 16 Frequency of Croplands (Category 12)
Column 17 Frequency of Urban and Built-Up (Category 13)
Column 18 Frequency of Cropland / Natural Vegetation Mosaic (Category 14)
Column 19 Frequency of Snow and Ice (Category 15)
Column 20 Frequency of Barren or Sparsely Vegetated (Category 16)
Column 21 Frequency of Water Bodies (Category 17)



LDAS SiB Illustrations

LDAS SiB fractional vegetation coverage values for evergreen needleleaf, evergreen broadleaf, deciduous broadleaf, and broadleaf and evergreen classes. Evergreen needleleaf occurs over much of the domain while evergreen broadleaf only occurs over extreme southern portions of the domain. The deciduous broadleaf class and the mixed deciduous and evergreen class occur mainly over eastern portions of the domain. SiB Vegetation Fractional Coverages (Categories 1-4)

LDAS SiB fractional vegetation coverage values for deciduous needleleaf, groundcover with trees and shrubs, groundcover, and broadleaf shrubs with perennial groundcover classes. Groundcover with trees and shrubs is confined to southcentral and extreme southwestern regions. Groundcover is limited to central regions, while broadleaf shrubs with perennial groundcover occurs mainly in western and extreme northern areas. Deciduous needleleaf vegetation is absent from the domain. SiB Vegetation Fractional Coverages (Categories 5-8)

LDAS SiB fractional vegetation coverage values for broadleaf shrubs with bare soil, groundcover with dwarf trees and shrubs, bare soil, and agriculture/c3 grassland. Broadleaf shrubs with bare soil and groundcover with dwarf trees and shrubs occur mainly in western areas. Bare soil is most prevalent in southwestern areas, while agriculture/c3 grassland is widespread across the entire domain, with a high cocentration in the central portion of the domain. SiB Vegetation Fractional Coverages (Categories 9-12)

SiB Vegetation Fractional Coverages (Categories 13-16)

LDAS SiB-based 1/8th degree land/sea mask for the North American Domain LDAS SiB Land/Sea Mask

1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th most predominant 1km SiB vegetation classes in each 1/8th degree LDAS gridbox over the LDAS domain. Broadleaf deciduous dominates the east, agriculture/c3 grasslands are common in the central US and shrublands are common in western sections. Coverage decreases as one heads from 1st to 4th most predominant plots, since some 1/8th degree gridboxes may contain only 1 (or 2 or 3) type (types) of 1km vegetation. LDAS SiB Predominant Vegetation Types


LDAS SiB Data Sets

(Use Right Mouse Button to Download)

LDAS Land/Sea Mask (Binary) MASKsib.bin
This file contains the LDAS land/sea mask in binary format. You will need readbin3.f to read the file.

LDAS Land/Sea Mask (Ascii) MASKsib.asc
This ascii file contains the LDAS IGBP land/sea mask in the following format:
Column 1 Grid Column Number
Column 2 Grid Row Number
Column 3 Latitude
Column 4 Longitude
Column 5 Mask Value (0=Water, 1=Land)

LDAS Predominant SiB Vegetation Type (Binary) PVEGsib.bin
This file contains the predominant SiB vegetation type in binary format. You will need readbin4.f to read the file.

Frequency of Occurrence of SiB Vegetation Types (Ascii) sib.LDAS
This ascii file lists the frequency with which each of the 16 SiB vegetation types occurs in each of the 1/8th degree LDAS grid boxes. The file is formatted as follows:
Column 1 Latitude
Column 2 Longitude
Column 3 Grid Column Number
Column 4 Grid Row Number
Column 5 Frequency of Evergreen Broadleaf Trees (Category 1)
Column 6 Frequency of Broadleaf Deciduous Trees(Category 2)
Column 7 Frequency of Deciduous and Evergreen Trees (Category 3)
Column 8 Frequency of Evergreen Needleleaf Trees (Category 4)
Column 9 Frequency of Deciduous Needleleaf (Category 5)
Column 10 Frequency of Ground Cover With Trees and Shrubs (Category 6)
Column 11 Frequency of Groundcover Only (Category 7)
Column 12 Frequency of Broadleaf Shrubs With Perennial Ground Cover (Category 8)
Column 13 Frequency of Broadleaf Shrubs With Bare Soil (Category 9)
Column 14 Frequency of Ground Cover With Dwarf Trees and Shrubs (Category 10)
Column 15 Frequency of Bare Soil (Category 11)
Column 16 Frequency of Agriculture or C3 Grasslands (Category 12)
Column 21 Frequency of Persistent Wetlands (Category 17)
Column 22 Frequency of Dry Coastal Complexes (Category 18)
Column 23 Frequency of Water (Category 19)
Column 24 Frequency of Ice Cap and Glacier (Category 20)




LDAS BATS Illustrations

LDAS BATS fractional vegetation coverage values for crops/mixed farming, short grass, evergreen needleleaf trees and deciduous needleleaf trees. Crops/mixed farming is concentrated in the central and eastern portions of the domain, while short grass occurs mainly in the western half of the domain. Evergreen needleleaf is cocentrated in western, northeastern and southeastern regions, while deciduous needleleaf trees are absent from the domain. BATS Vegetation Fractional Coverages (Categories 1-4)

LDAS BATS fractional vegetation coverage values for deciduous broadleaf trees, evergreen broadleaf trees, tall grass and desert. The deciduous broadleaf class occurs over much of the country, but is concentrated in eastern areas. Evergreen broadleaf occurs in extreme southwestern regions, desert occurs in spotty western regions and tall grass occurs mainly in central and extreme western areas. BATS Vegetation Fractional Coverages (Categories 5-8)

LDAS BATS fractional vegetation coverage values for crops/mixed farming, short grass, evergreen needleleaf trees and deciduous needleleaf trees. Crops/mixed farming is concentrated in the central and eastern portions of the domain, while short grass occurs mainly in the western half of the domain. Evergreen needleleaf is cocentrated in western, northeastern and southeastern regions, while deciduous needleleaf trees are absent from the domain. BATS Vegetation Fractional Coverages (Categories 9-12)

LDAS BATS fractional vegetation coverage values for tundra, irrigated crops, semidesert and ice caps/glaciers. Tundra is limited to northern areas, while irrigated crops occur mainly in the western half of the domain. Semidesert is limited to the western 1/3 of the domain, while ice caps/glaciers occur in small areas of the Rocky Mountains. BATS Vegetation Fractional Coverages (Categories 13-16)

LDAS BATS fractional vegetation coverage values for deciduous shrubs, mixed forest, interrupted forest, and water/land mixtures. Deciduous shrubs are mainly limited to northern reaches of the domain, while mixed forest occurs mainly in the eastern 1/3 of the domain. Interrupted forest is slightly more widespread than is mixed forest, and occurs mainly in the eastern 1/2 of the domain. Water/land mixtures are absent from the domain. BATS Vegetation Fractional Coverages (Categories 17-20)

LDAS BATS-based 1/8th degree land/sea mask for the North American Domain LDAS BATS Land/Sea Mask

1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th most predominant 1km BATS vegetation classes in each 1/8th degree LDAS gridbox over the LDAS domain. Broadleaf deciduous dominates the east, crops are common in the central US and semidesert is common in western sections. Coverage decreases as one heads from 1st to 4th most predominant plots, since some 1/8th degree gridboxes may contain only 1 (or 2 or 3) type (types) of 1km vegetation. LDAS BATS Predominant Vegetation Types


LDAS BATS Data Sets

(Use Right Mouse Button to Download)

LDAS Land/Sea Mask (Binary) MASKbats.bin
This file contains the LDAS land/sea mask in binary format. You will need readbin5.f to read the file.

LDAS Land/Sea Mask (Ascii) MASKbats.asc
This ascii file contains the LDAS IGBP land/sea mask in the following format:
Column 1 Grid Column Number
Column 2 Grid Row Number
Column 3 Latitude
Column 4 Longitude
Column 5 Mask Value (0=Water, 1=Land)

LDAS Predominant BATS Vegetation Type (Binary) PVEGbats.bin
This file contains the predominant BATS vegetation type in binary format. You will need readbin6.f to read the file.

Frequency of Occurrence of BATS Vegetation Types (Ascii) bats.LDAS
This ascii file lists the frequency with which each of the 20 BATS vegetation types occurs in each of the 1/8th degree LDAS grid boxes. The file is formatted as follows:

Column 1 Latitude
Column 2 Longitude
Column 3 Grid Column Number
Column 4 Grid Row Number
Column 5 Frequency of Crops, Mixed Farming (Category 1)
Column 6 Frequency of Short Grass (Category 2)
Column 7 Frequency of Evergreen Needleleaf Trees (Category 3)
Column 8 Frequency of Deciduous Needleleaf Trees (Category 4)
Column 9 Frequency of Deciduous Broadleaf Trees (Category 5)
Column 10 Frequency of Evergreen Broadleaf Trees(Category 6)
Column 11 Frequency of Tall Grass (Category 7)
Column 12 Frequency of Desert (Category 8)
Column 13 Frequency of Tundra (Category 9)
Column 14 Frequency of Irrigated Crops (Category 10)
Column 15 Frequency of Semi-desert (Category 11)
Column 16 Frequency of Ice Caps and Glaciers (Category 12)
Column 17 Frequency of Bogs and Marshes (Category 13)
Column 18 Frequency of Inland Water (Category 14)
Column 19 Frequency of Ocean (Category 15)
Column 20 Frequency of Evergreen Shrubs (Category 16)
Column 21 Frequency of Deciduous Shrubs (Category 17)
Column 22 Frequency of Mixed Forest (Category 18)
Column 23 Frequency of Interrupted Forest (Category 19)
Column 24 Frequency of Water and Land Mixtures (Category 20)




LDAS UMD Illustrations

LDAS UMD fractional vegetation coverage values for water, evergreen needleleaf, evergreen broadleaf and deciduous needleleaf landcover classes. Water and evergreen needleleaf occur over much of the domain while evergreen broadleaf only occurs over extreme southern portions of the domain, and deciduous needleleaf is absent from the domain altogether. UMD Vegetation Fractional Coverages (Categories 0-3)

LDAS UMD fractional vegetation coverage values for deciduous broadleaf, mixed forest, woodland and wooded grassland. Woodland and wooded grassland cover much of the domain, while deciduous broadleaf and mixed forest are mainly concentrated in the eastern half of the domain. UMD Vegetation Fractional Coverages (Categories 4-7)

LDAS UMD fractional vegetation coverage values for closed shrubland, open shrubland, grassland and cropland. Grassland and cropland cover much of the domain, while closed and open shrubland are mainly concentrated in the western half of the domain. UMD Vegetation Fractional Coverages (Categories 8-11)

LDAS UMD fractional vegetation coverage values for bare ground and urban/built-up clases. Bare ground is mainly concentrated over western regions of the domain, while urban/built-up is most evident over eastern regions of the domain. UMD Vegetation Fractional Coverages (Categories 12,14)

LDAS UMD-based 1/8th degree land/sea mask for the North American Domain LDAS UMD Land/Sea Mask

1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th most predominant 1km UMD vegetation classes in each 1/8th degree LDAS gridbox over the LDAS domain. Broadleaf deciduous dominates the east, grasslands are common in the central US and shrublands are common in western sections. Coverage decreases as one heads from 1st to 4th most predominant plots, since some 1/8th degree gridboxes may contain only 1 (or 2 or 3) type (types) of 1km vegetation. LDAS UMD Predominant Vegetation Types


LDAS UMD Data Sets

(Use Right Mouse Button to Download)

LDAS Land/Sea Mask (Binary) MASKumd.bin
This file contains the LDAS land/sea mask in binary format. You will need readbin7.f to read the file.

LDAS Land/Sea Mask (Ascii) MASKumd.asc
This ascii file contains the LDAS IGBP land/sea mask in the following format:
Column 1 Grid Column Number
Column 2 Grid Row Number
Column 3 Latitude
Column 4 Longitude
Column 5 Mask Value (0=Water, 1=Land)

LDAS Predominant UMD Vegetation Type (Binary) PVEGumd.bin
This file contains the predominant UMD vegetation type in binary format. You will need readbin8.f to read the file.
NOTE: PVEGumd.bin has changed to account for incorrect categories (now 0 - 13 instead of 1 - 15 (missing 13) to match those in the following table). The original file is located here:PVEGumd.bin.orig

Frequency of Occurrence ofUMD Vegetation Types (Ascii) umd.LDAS
This ascii file lists the frequency with which each of the 14 UMD vegetation types occurs in each of the 1/8th degree LDAS grid boxes. The file is formatted as follows:
Column 1 Latitude
Column 2 Longitude
Column 3 Grid Column Number
Column 4 Grid Row Number
Column 5 Frequency of Water (And Goode's Interrupted Space) (Category 0)
Column 6 Frequency of Evergreen Needleleaf Forest(Category 1)
Column 7 Frequency of Evergreen Broadleaf Forest (Category 2)
Column 8 Frequency of Deciduous Needleleaf Forest (Category 3)
Column 9 Frequency of Deciduous Broadleaf Forest (Category 4)
Column 10 Frequency of Mixed Cover (Category 5)
Column 11 Frequency of Woodland (Category 6)
Column 12 Frequency of Wooded Grassland (Category 7)
Column 13 Frequency of Closed Shrubland (Category 8)
Column 14 Frequency of Open Shrubland (Category 9)
Column 15 Frequency of Grassland (Category 10)
Column 16 Frequency of Cropland (Category 11)
Column 17 Frequency of Bare Ground (Category 12)
Column 18 Frequency of Urban and Built-Up (Category 13)




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Developed and Maintained at NASA/GSFC		Brian Cosgrove: Brian.Cosgrove@gsfc.nasa.gov
Matthew Rodell: Matthew.Rodell@gsfc.nasa.gov
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