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Description
The MOD44B Version 6.1 Vegetation Continuous Fields (VCF) yearly product is a global representation of surface vegetation cover as gradations of three ground cover components: percent tree cover, percent non-tree cover, and percent non-vegetated (bare). VCF products provide a continuous, quantitative portrayal of land surface cover at 250 meter (m) pixel resolution, with a sub-pixel depiction of percent cover in reference to the three ground cover components. The sub-pixel mixture of ground cover estimates represents a revolutionary approach to the characterization of vegetative land cover that can be used to enhance inputs to environmental modeling and monitoring applications.
The MOD44B data product layers include percent tree cover, percent non-tree cover, percent non-vegetated, cloud cover, and quality indicators. The start date of the annual period for this product begins with day of year (DOY) 65 (March 6 except for leap year which corresponds to March 5).
The following changes and improvements were implemented for inputs to the MODIS Version 6.1 vegetation continuous fields data product: (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, and (2) A polarization correction has been applied to the L1B Reflective Solar Bands (RSB).
Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Center (LP DAAC)
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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)
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.
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DiMiceli, C., Sohlberg, R., & Townshend, J. (2022). MODIS/Terra Vegetation Continuous Fields Yearly L3 Global 250m SIN Grid V061 [Data set]. NASA Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Center. https://doi.org/10.5067/MODIS/MOD44B.061 Date Accessed: 2026-06-04
DiMiceli, Charlene, Robert Sohlberg, and John Townshend. “MODIS/Terra Vegetation Continuous Fields Yearly L3 Global 250m SIN Grid V061.” NASA Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Center, 2022. doi:10.5067/MODIS/MOD44B.061. Date Accessed: 2026-06-04
DiMiceli, Charlene, et al. MODIS/Terra Vegetation Continuous Fields Yearly L3 Global 250m SIN Grid V061. NASA Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Center, 2022, doi:10.5067/MODIS/MOD44B.061. Date Accessed: 2026-06-04
File Naming Convention
MOD44B.A2024065.h05v11.061.2025133155458.hdf
The file name begins with the Product Short Name (MOD44B) followed by the Julian Date of Acquisition formatted as AYYYYDDD (A2024065), the Tile Identifier which is horizontal tile and vertical tile provided as hXXvYY (h05v11), the Version of the data collection (061), the Julian Date and Time of Production designated as YYYYDDDHHMMSS (2025133155458), and the Data Format (hdf).
Saide, P. E., Wu, Y., Arnold, M., Thapa, L. H., Soja, A., Gargulinski, E., Li, F., Wiedinmyer, C., Emmons, L. K., Tang, W., Westerling, A. L., Xu, Q., Ordway, E. M., Queally, N., Kueppers, L.
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.