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Description

The Terra and Aqua combined Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) Land Cover Type (MCD12Q1) Version 6.1 data product provides global land cover types at yearly intervals. The MCD12Q1 Version 6.1 data product is derived using supervised classifications of MODIS Terra and Aqua reflectance data. Land cover types are derived from the International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme (IGBP), University of Maryland (UMD), Leaf Area Index (LAI), BIOME-Biogeochemical Cycles (BGC), and Plant Functional Types (PFT) classification schemes. The supervised classifications then undergo additional post-processing that incorporate prior knowledge and ancillary information to further refine specific classes. Additional land cover property assessment layers are provided by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Land Cover Classification System (LCCS) for land cover, land use, and surface hydrology.

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 6.1 Hierarchical Data Format 4 (HDF4) file.

Known Issues

  • The "units" field is missing in the metadata, however, this information can be found in Table 1 of the User Guide.
  • The MCD12Q1.061 land cover data product is derived using supervised classification of MODIS Terra and Aqua reflectance data. The classification algorithm uses labeled training samples selected globally to represent land cover categories derived under the IGBP, UMD, LAI, BIOME-BGC, and PFT classification schemes. These training samples were selected to represent land classes, best suited over a certain period. However, due to lack of funding, the science team was not able to keep the training database updated over the course of the years, and some of these training sites could well have undergone changes in their land cover characteristics, especially after 2021. Hence users are urged to maintain caution while using the V6.1/MCD12Q1 land cover layers for 2021 and beyond. More information on this known issue can be found in the Land Data Products Operational Products (LDOPE) Quality Assessment.
  • Known issues are described in Section 2.2 of the User Guide.
  • For complete information about known issues please refer to the MODIS/VIIRS Land Quality Assessment website.

Version Description

The following changes and improvements were implemented for inputs to MODIS Version 6.1 Land Cover data products: (1) Version 6.1 Level-1B (L1B) products have been improved by undergoing various calibration changes that include: changes to the response-versus-scan angle (RVS) approach that affects reflectance bands for Aqua and Terra MODIS, corrections to adjust for the optical crosstalk in Terra MODIS infrared (IR) bands, and corrections to the Terra MODIS forward look-up table (LUT) update for the period 2012 – 2017, (2) A polarization correction has been applied to the L1B Reflective Solar Bands (RSB), and (3) A minor correction to the UMD Land Cover classification.

Product Summary

Platforms
Terra ,
Aqua
Instruments
MODIS
Spatial Extent

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

Spatial Resolution
500 Meters x 500 Meters
Spatial Reference System(s)
MODIS Sinusoidal Tiling System
Location
GLOBAL
Coordinate System
CARTESIAN
Granule Spatial Representation
GEODETIC
Temporal Extent
2001-01-01 to Present
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
C2484079608-LPCLOUD
Data State
ACTIVE
Number of Files/Granules
7560
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. (2022). MODIS/Terra+Aqua Land Cover Type Yearly L3 Global 500m SIN Grid V061 [Data set]. NASA Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Center. https://doi.org/10.5067/MODIS/MCD12Q1.061 Date Accessed: 2026-02-16

File Naming Convention

MCD12Q1.A2024001.h21v07.061.2025205222320.hdf

The file name begins with the Product Short Name (MCD12Q1) followed by the Julian Date of Acquisition formatted as AYYYYDDD (A2024001), the Tile Identifier which is horizontal tile and vertical tile provided as hXXvYY (h21v07), the Version of the data collection (061), the Julian Date and Time of Production designated as YYYYDDDHHMMSS (2025205222320), and the Data Format (hdf).

Documents

USER'S GUIDE

ALGORITHM THEORETICAL BASIS DOCUMENT (ATBD)

PRODUCT QUALITY ASSESSMENT

SCIENCE DATA PRODUCT VALIDATION

GENERAL DOCUMENTATION

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Publications Citing This Dataset

Filters
Title Year Author
Determination of global land surface temperature using data from only five selected thermal infrared channels—Method extension and accuracy assessment Zheng, X.
TimeSpec4LULC—A global multispectral time series database for training LULC mapping models with machine learning Khaldi, R.
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.
Assessing snow phenology and its environmental driving factors in northeast China Guo, H.
Estimation of daily and instantaneous near-surface air temperature from MODIS data using machine learning methods in the Jingjinji area of China Wang, C.
SHOWING 10 OF 577

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
LC_Prop1 FAO-Land Cover Classification System 1 (LCCS1) land cover layer Class uint8 255 1 to 43 N/A
LC_Prop1_Assessment LCCS1 land cover layer confidence Percent uint8 255 0 to 100 N/A
LC_Prop2 FAO-LCCS2 land use layer Class uint8 255 1 to 40 N/A
LC_Prop2_Assessment LCCS2 land use layer confidence Percent uint8 255 0 to 100 N/A
LC_Prop3 FAO-LCCS3 surface hydrology layer Class uint8 255 1 to 51 N/A
LC_Prop3_Assessment LCCS3 surface hydrology layer confidence Percent uint8 255 0 to 100 N/A
LC_Type1 Land Cover Type 1: Annual International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme (IGBP) classification Class uint8 255 1 to 17 N/A
LC_Type2 Land Cover Type 2: Annual University of Maryland (UMD) classification Class uint8 255 0 to 15 N/A
LC_Type3 Land Cover Type 3: Annual Leaf Area Index (LAI) classification Class uint8 255 0 to 10 N/A
LC_Type4 Land Cover Type 4: Annual BIOME-Biogeochemical Cycles (BGC) classification Class uint8 255 0 to 8 N/A
LC_Type5 Land Cover Type 5: Annual Plant Functional Types classification Class uint8 255 0 to 11 N/A
LW Binary land (class 2) / water (class 1) mask derived from MOD44W Class uint8 255 1 to 2 N/A
QC Product quality flags Quality Flag uint8 255 0 to 10 N/A
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