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Description

The MCD12Q1 Version 6 data product was decommissioned on July 31, 2023. Users are encouraged to use the MCD12Q1 Version 6.1 data product.

The Terra and Aqua combined Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) Land Cover Type (MCD12Q1) Version 6 data product provides global land cover types at yearly intervals (2001-2020), derived from six different classification schemes listed in the User Guide. The MCD12Q1 Version 6 data product is derived using supervised classifications of MODIS Terra and Aqua reflectance data. The supervised classifications then undergo additional post-processing that incorporate prior knowledge and ancillary information to further refine specific classes.

Layers for Land Cover Type 1-5, Land Cover Property 1-3, Land Cover Property Assessment 1-3, Land Cover Quality Control (QC), and a Land Water Mask are provided in each MCD12Q1 Version 6 Hierarchical Data Format 4 (HDF4) file.

Known Issues

  • The "units" field is missing in the metadata, however, this information can be found in the table above or on page 5 of the User Guide.
  • Known issues are described on pages 3 and 4 of the User Guide.
  • For complete information about known issues please refer to the MODIS/VIIRS Land Quality Assessment website.

Improvements/Changes from Previous Version

  • Version 5 used five classification schemes whereas Version 6 uses six classification schemes, including an entirely new classification scheme based on the Land Cover Classification System (LCCS) from the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO).
  • New gap-filled spectro-temporal features developed by applying smoothing splines to the Nadir Bidirectional Reflectance Distribution Function (BRDF)-Adjusted Reflectance (NBAR) time series. This change results in significant changes between land cover classifications in Version 5 and Version 6 data.
  • Algorithm used in Version 6 includes a post-processing Hidden Markov Model (HMM) that reduces spurious year-to-year variation in class labels.
  • Algorithm refinements were implemented in upstream MODIS data used as inputs, such as the cloud mask, surface reflectance, and NBAR data products.
  • The value of "Water" in the IGBP classification scheme has changed from "0" to "17."
  • The data product should not be used to determine post-classification land cover change between years due to the uncertainty in the land cover labels for any one year. More information can be found on page 2 of the User Guide.
  • File size is smaller due to HDF internal compression.

Version Description

The MCD12Q1 Version 6 data product was decommissioned on July 31, 2023. Users are encouraged to use the MCD12Q1 Version 6.1 data product (https://doi.org/10.5067/MODIS/MCD12Q1.061).

Product Summary

Platforms
Terra,
Aqua
Instruments
MODIS
Spatial Extent
N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180
Spatial Resolution
500 Meters x 500 Meters
Geographic Region
GLOBAL
Coordinate System
CARTESIAN
Granule Spatial Representation
GEODETIC
Temporal Extent
2001-01-01 to 2020-12-31
Temporal Resolution
1 Year
Data Partner
Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Center (LP DAAC)
MODIS Adaptive Processing System, Terrestrial Information Systems Laboratory, Earth Sciences Division, Science and Exploration Directorate, Goddard Space Flight Center, NASA (NASA/GSFC/SED/ESD/TISL/MODAPS)
Concept ID
C2763289443-LPCLOUD
Data State
DEPRECATED
Processing Level
3
Published
Updated
Science Keywords
Land Use/Land Cover Classification

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

Friedl, M., & Sulla-Menashe, D. (2019). MCD12Q1 MODIS/Terra+Aqua Land Cover Type Yearly L3 Global 500m SIN Grid V006 [Data set]. NASA Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Center. https://doi.org/10.5067/MODIS/MCD12Q1.006 Date Accessed: 2025-10-21

File Naming Convention

MCD12Q1.A2003001.h16v00.006.2018144112435.hdf

The file name begins with the Product Short Name (MCD12Q1) followed by the Julian Date of Acquisition formatted as AYYYYDDD (A2003001), the Tile Identifier which is horizontal tile and vertical tile provided as hXXvYY (h16v00), the Version of the data collection (006), the Julian Date and Time of Production designated as YYYYDDDHHMMSS (2018144112435), and the Data Format (hdf).

Documents

Publications Citing This Dataset

Filters
Title Year Author
TimeSpec4LULC—A global multispectral time series database for training LULC mapping models with machine learning Khaldi, R.
Determination of global land surface temperature using data from only five selected thermal infrared channels—Method extension and accuracy assessment Zheng, X.
Land use and cover changes on the Loess Plateau—A comparison of six global or national land use and cover datasets Sun, W.
Warming weakens the night-time barrier to global fire Balch, J. K.
Divergent responses of terrestrial carbon use efficiency to climate variation from 2000 to 2018 Gang, C.
Global daily actual and snow-free blue-sky land surface albedo climatology from 20-year MODIS products Jia, A. L.
Identifying and mapping potential groundwater-dependent ecosystems for a semi-arid and semi-humid area in the Weihe River, China Xu, W.
Incorporating satellite remote sensing for improving potential habitat simulation of Prosopis cineraria (L.) Druce in United Arab Emirates Kalarikkal, R. K.
Synergy of remotely sensed data in spatiotemporal dynamic modeling of the crop and cover management factor Preetha, P. P.
Assessing snow phenology and its environmental driving factors in northeast China Guo, H.
SHOWING 10 OF 577

Variables

Variables are a set of physical properties whose values determine the characteristics or behavior of something. For example, temperature and pressure are variables of the atmosphere. Parameters and variables can be used interchangeably. Variable level attributes provide individual information for each variable.

The Name in this table is the variable name. Fill value indicates missing or undefined data points in a variable. Valid range is the range of values the variable can store. Scale factor is used to increase or decrease the size of an object and can be used to correct for distortion. For questions on a specific variable, please use the Earthdata Forum.

Name Description Units Data Type Fill Value Valid Range Scale Factor
LC_Prop1 FAO-Land Cover Classification System 1 (LCCS1) land cover layer Class uint8 255 255 to 43 N/A
LC_Prop1_Assessment LCCS1 land cover layer confidence Percent uint8 255 255 to 100 N/A
LC_Prop2 FAO-LCCS2 land use layer Class uint8 255 255 to 40 N/A
LC_Prop2_Assessment LCCS2 land use layer confidence Percent uint8 255 255 to 100 N/A
LC_Prop3 FAO-LCCS3 surface hydrology layer Class uint8 255 255 to 51 N/A
LC_Prop3_Assessment LCCS3 surface hydrology layer confidence Percent uint8 255 255 to 100 N/A
LC_Type1 Land Cover Type 1: Annual International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme (IGBP) classification Class uint8 255 255 to 17 N/A
LC_Type2 Land Cover Type 2: Annual University of Maryland (UMD) classification Class uint8 255 255 to 15 N/A
LC_Type3 Land Cover Type 3: Annual Leaf Area Index (LAI) classification Class uint8 255 255 to 10 N/A
LC_Type4 Land Cover Type 4: Annual BIOME-Biogeochemical Cycles (BGC) classification Class uint8 255 255 to 8 N/A
LC_Type5 Land Cover Type 5: Annual Plant Functional Types classification Class uint8 255 255 to 11 N/A
LW Binary land (class 2) / water (class 1) mask derived from MOD44W Class uint8 255 255 to 2 N/A
QC Product quality flags Quality Flag uint8 255 255 to 10 N/A
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