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The vast majority of cover data products in TERN’s Landscape Assessment (also known as AusCover) facility have been collected via satellite remote sensing, typically using Landsat or MODIS (but also SPOT-5; see above). In some of the data products, satellite imagery has been combined with information obtained using other technologies, such as lasers or radars, to produce the resulting data product. Finally, a small number of TERN’s cover data products have been either exclusively or partially collected in the field. These data can be used for reference and validation of the remotely sensed data. Another of TERN’s facilities, TERN Ecosystem Surveillance (also known as AusPlots), collects large amounts of fractional cover data all over Australia that can also be used for validation of the remotely sensed fractional/ground cover data.
The tables below (Tables 1 and 2) describe TERN’s cover data products. They include details on their cover type (i.e. fractional ground, land, and ‘other’ cover), spatial and temporal coverage and resolution, as well as on the files containing the data. Further details on specific data products can be obtained from their metadata.
Table 1. Cover data products available from TERN Landscape Assessment (AusCover) facility, including their type (i.e. fractional cover, ground cover, land cover, or ‘other’ cover data products; see above), their source, spatial coverage, and temporal coverage.
Cover Type | Data Product | Source | Spatial Coverage | Temporal Coverage | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fractional Cover - Landsat, JRSRP algorithm | Landsat | Australia | 2000 – 2011 | |
Seasonal Fractional Cover - Landsat, JRSRP algorithm | Landsat | Australia | 1986 – Ongoing | ||
Fractional Cover - MODIS, CSIRO algorithm | MODIS | Australia | 2000 – Ongoing | ||
Fractional Cover - MODIS, Monthly Median Composites | MODIS | Australia | 2000 – Ongoing | ||
Fractional Cover Metrics – MODIS | MODIS | Australia | 2000 – Ongoing | ||
| Fractional: Green | Seasonal Persistent Green Cover - Landsat, JRSRP algorithm | Landsat | Australia | 1990 – Ongoing | |
| Fractional: Green, Total | Seasonal Cover Deciles - Landsat, JRSRP algorithm | Landsat | Australia | 1986 – Ongoing | |
| Fractional: Total | Total Cover - MODIS, Land Condition Index (LCI) algorithm | MODIS | Australia | 2000 – 2011 | |
| Fractional: Total at different Heights | Vegetation Height and Structure | Laser (ICESat/GLAS & ALOS PALSAR) + Landsat | Australia | 2003 – 2009 | |
Fractional & Ground | SLATS Star Transects | Field (for validation) | Australia | 1995 – Ongoing | |
Ground | Seasonal Ground Cover - Landsat, JRSRP algorithm | Landsat | Australia | 1990 – Ongoing | |
Australian Ground Cover Reference Sites Database - ABARES | Field? (for validation) | Australia | |||
Land | Dynamic Land Cover Dataset – MODIS | MODIS | Australia | v.1.: 2000-2008 v.2.1.: 2001–Ongoing | |
Land Cover Type - MODIS, MCD12Q1(c5.1) mosaic | MODIS | Australia | 2001 – Ongoing | ||
‘Other’: Woody Green | Persistent Green-Vegetation Fraction and Wooded Mask | Field + Airborne + Satellite | Australia | 2000 – 2010 | |
‘Other’: Woody Green & Foliage Projective | Western NSW Refugia - Collection, JRSRP algorithm | Landsat + Shuttle Radar Topography Mission | Western NSW | 1988 – 2012 | |
Woody Extent and Foliage Projective Cover - SPOT, OEH algorithm, NSW | SPOT-5 HRG | NSW | 2011 | ||
| Water | Water Count and Prevalence - Landsat, JRSRP algorithm, NSW | Landsat | NSW | 1988 - 2012 |
Table 2. Description of the temporal and spatial coverage and resolution of the datasets in the ‘Cover’ Data Products in Landscape Assessment (AusCover) facility, as well as the description of the files containing the datasets. In pink data products that currently can be downloaded. Acronyms: CRS = Coordinate Reference System, nc = NetCDF.
REFERENCES
- Australian Bureau of Agriculture and Resource Economics and Sciences (ABARES) and Food http://www.agriculture.gov.au/abares/aclump/pages/definitions.aspx
- Pete Fisher; et al. (2005). "Land use and Land cover: Contradiction or Complement". In Peter Fisher, David Unwin. Re-Presenting GIS. Chichester: Wiley. pp. 85–98.
- Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) http://www.fao.org/docrep/003/x0596e/X0596e01.htm