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Global land cover SHARE (GLC-SHARE) database

  • 17/03/2014
  • FAO

A new FAO database collects previously scattered and unharmonized land cover information from around the globe into one centralized database, marking a major improvement in information regarding the physical characteristics of the Earth's surface. Up to now, one of the major challenges to getting a good global overview of land cover - e.g. how much land is covered by croplands, trees or forests, bare soils, etc. - has been the fact that different countries and organizations go about identifying, measuring and recording such data in diverse ways. But for FAO's new Global Land Cover SHARE database (GLC-SHARE), data pulled from multiple sources and partners was quality-controlled and harmonized using internationally accepted definitions and standards, bringing a wealth of country-level information into one consolidated dataset spanning the entire planet. http://www.glcn.org/databases/lc_glcshare_downloads_en.jsp