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Description

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).

Product Summary

Platforms
LANDSAT-7 ,
LANDSAT-5 ,
Terra
Instruments
ETM+ ,
TM ,
ASTER ,
MODIS
Spatial Extent

N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180

Spatial Resolution
30 Meters x 30 Meters
Location
GLOBAL
Coordinate System
CARTESIAN
Granule Spatial Representation
GEODETIC
Temporal Extent
2000-01-01 to 2015-12-31
Temporal Resolution
1 Year
Data Partner
Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Center (LP DAAC) ,
Global Land Cover Facility, University of Maryland (UMD/GLCF)
Concept ID
C2763266352-LPCLOUD
Data State
COMPLETE
Number of Files/Granules
31208
Processing Level
3
Published
Updated
Science Keywords
Forest Management

Citation

Citation is critically important for dataset documentation and discovery. This dataset is openly shared, without restriction, in accordance with the EOSDIS Data Use and Citation Guidance.

Copy Citation

Townshend, J. (2016). Global Forest Cover Change (GFCC) Tree Cover Multi-Year Global 30 m V003 [Data set]. NASA Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Center. https://doi.org/10.5067/MEASURES/GFCC/GFCC30TC.003 Date Accessed: 2026-03-02

File Naming Convention

p039r034_TC_2015.tif

The file name begins with the WRS-2 Path and Row (p039r034) followed by the abbreviated Short Name (TC), the year formatted as YYYY (2015), and the Data Format (tif).

Documents

Publications Citing This Dataset

Variables

The table below lists the variables contained within a single granule for this dataset. Variables often contain observed or derived geophysical measurements collected from a variety of sources, including remote sensing instruments on satellite and airborne platforms, field campaigns, in situ measurements, and model outputs. The terms variable, parameter, scientific data set, layer, and band have been used across NASA’s Earth science disciplines; however, variable is the designated nomenclature in NASA’s Common Metadata Repository (CMR). Variable metadata attributes such as Name, Description, Units, Data Type, Fill Value, Valid Range, and Scale Factor allow users to efficiently process and analyze the data. The full range of attributes may not be applicable to all variables. Additional information on variable attributes is typically available in the data, user guide, and/or other product documentation.

For questions on a specific variable, please use the Earthdata Forum.

Name Description Units Data Type Fill Value Valid Range Scale Factor
TC Tree Cover Percent uint8 200 0 to 100 N/A
TC.err Tree Cover Error Percent float32 -9999 0 to 4294966531 N/A
TC.idx Tree Cover Index N/A uint8 0 1 to 255 N/A
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