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Description

The MCD12C1 Version 6 data product was decommissioned on July 31, 2023. Users are encouraged to use the MCD12C1 Version 6.1 data product.

The Terra and Aqua combined Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) Land Cover Climate Modeling Grid (CMG) (MCD12C1) Version 6 data product provides a spatially aggregated and reprojected version of the tiled MCD12Q1 Version 6 data product. Maps of the International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme (IGBP), University of Maryland (UMD), and Leaf Area Index (LAI) classification schemes are provided at yearly intervals at 0.05 degree (5,600 meter) spatial resolution for the entire globe from 2001 to 2020. Additionally, sub-pixel proportions of each land cover class in each 0.05 degree pixel is provided along with the aggregated quality assessment information for each of the three land classification schemes.

Provided in each MCD12C1 Version 6 Hierarchical Data Format 4 (HDF4) file are layers for Majority Land Cover Type 1-3, Majority Land Cover Type 1-3 Assessment, and Majority Land Cover Type 1-3 Percent.

Known Issues

Version Description

The following changes and improvements were implemented for inputs to MODIS Version 6 land cover products: (1) Updated to include the improvements and changes made for the MCD12Q1 Version 6 data product, (2) Version 6 does not include a Majority Land Cover Type Quality Control (QC) Layer, (3) Land_Cover_Type_Percent_1, Land_Cover_Type_Percent_2, Land_Cover_Type_Percent_3 layers have up to 17 dimensions and include the sub-pixel proportions of the IGBP, UMD, and LAI classes in each 0.05 degree pixel, (4) The IGBP classification scheme legend used differs from the legend used for the MCD12Q1 Version 6 data product and can be found on page 16 of the User Guide, and (5) 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.

Product Summary

Platforms
Terra ,
Aqua
Instruments
MODIS
Projects
TERRA ,
Aqua
Spatial Extent

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

Spatial Resolution
5600 Meters x 5600 Meters
Spatial Reference System(s)
MODIS Climate Modeling Grid (CMG)
Location
GLOBAL
Coordinate System
CARTESIAN
Granule Spatial Representation
CARTESIAN
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
C2763289440-LPCLOUD
Data State
DEPRECATED
Number of Files/Granules
0
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. (2015). MCD12C1 MODIS/Terra+Aqua Land Cover Type Yearly L3 Global 0.05Deg CMG V006 [Dataset]. NASA Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Center. https://doi.org/10.5067/MODIS/MCD12C1.006 Date Accessed: 2026-07-04

File Naming Convention

MCD12C1.A2003001.006.2018053185458.hdf

The file name begins with the Product Short Name (MCD12C1) followed by the Julian Date of Acquisition formatted as AYYYYDDD (A2003001), the Version of the data collection (006), the Julian Date and Time of Production designated as YYYYDDDHHMMSS (2018053185458), and the Data Format (hdf).

Documents

Publications Citing This Dataset

Filters
Title Year Author Topic
Vapor pressure deficit shapes the distributions of carbon use efficiency across Siberia Gao, Kailin, Zhang, Qian, He, Mingzhu Land Use/Land Cover Classification, Photosynthesis, Primary Production, Vegetation Productivity
Validation of Global Moderate-Resolution FAPAR Products over Boreal Zhang, Yinghui, Fang, Hongliang, Hu, Zhongwen, Wang, Yao, Li, Sijia, Wu, Guofeng Land Use/Land Cover Classification
What does the Standardized Streamflow Index actually reflect? Insights and implications for hydrological drought analysis Lema, Fabian, Mendoza, Pablo A., Vasquez, Nicolas A., Mizukami, Naoki, Zambrano-Bigiarini, Mauricio, Vargas, Ximena Land Use/Land Cover Classification
Two-decade spatiotemporal variations in ground-level ozone over Ontario, Canada Zang, Zhou, Liu, Jane, Ge, Erjia, Zhang, Yi Population Density, Land Use/Land Cover Classification, Vegetation Index, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI)
Urban-rural patterns and driving factors of particulate matter pollution Song, Zhihao, Chen, Bin Population Size, Land Use/Land Cover Classification, RADAR IMAGERY, Terrain Elevation, Digital Elevation/Terrain Model (DEM)
Timescale Matters: Finer Temporal Resolution Influences Driver Contributions to Global Soil Respiration Laffitte, Benjamin, Zhou, Tao, Yang, Zhihan, Ciais, Philippe, Jian, Jinshi, Huang, Ni, Seyler, Barnabas C., Pei, Xiangjun, Tang, Xiaolu Land Use/Land Cover Classification, Soil Respiration, Ecosystem Functions, Soil Respiration
Diminished contribution of spring phenology to early-season carbon uptake in a changing climate Liu, Zunchi, Zohner, Constantin M., Wu, Zhaofei, Crowther, Thomas W., Tang, Jing, Penuelas, Josep, Fu, Yongshuo H. Land Use/Land Cover Classification, Photosynthesis, Primary Production, Vegetation Productivity, Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar), Gross Primary Production (gpp), Reflectance
Distinct trajectory of post-fire GPP across forest types in Siberia Lee, Ahreum, Jeong, Sujong, Park, Chang-Eui, Kim, Jin-Soo Albedo, Anisotropy, Vegetation Index, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI), Fire Occurrence, Surface Thermal Properties, Land Surface Temperature, THERMAL ANOMALIES, Fire Ecology, Biomass Burning, Wildfires, Burned Area, Photosynthesis, Primary Production, Vegetation Productivity, Land Use/Land Cover Classification, Emissivity
Diurnal urban rainfall anomalies across different landscapes Sui, Xinxin, Yang, Zong-Liang, Niyogi, Dev Land Use/Land Cover Classification, Emissivity, Land Surface Temperature
Divergence in global plant carbon use efficiency across data-driven He, Lei, Penuelas, Josep, Xiao, Jingfeng, Tang, Xiaolu, He, Yue, Si, Menglin, Li, Zhao-Liang Land Use/Land Cover Classification, Photosynthesis, Primary Production, Vegetation Productivity
Drought intensity and duration interact to magnify losses in primary productivity Ohlert, Timothy, Smith, Melinda D., Collins, Scott L., Knapp, Alan K., Dukes, Jeffrey S., Sala, Osvaldo, Wilkins, Kate D., Munson, Seth M., Anderson, Maggie I., Avolio, Meghan L., Chen, Anping, Hayden, Meghan T., Holdrege, Martin C., Slette, Ingrid J., Wilfahrt, Peter, Beier, Claus, Fraser, Lauchlan H., Jentsch, Anke, Loik, Michael E., Luo, Yiqi, Maestre, Fernando T., Phillips, Richard P., Power, Sally A., Yahdjian, Laura, Yu, Qiang, Chen, Angel, Felton, Andrew J., Gherardi, Laureano A., Lyon, Nicholas J., Abdoli, Hamed, Abedi, Mehdi, Alberti, Juan, Arroyo, Antonio I., Asbjornsen, Heidi, Auge, Harald, Bachle, Seton, Bahn, Michael, Bartholomew, David C., Batbaatar, Amgaa, Bauerle, Taryn L., Beard, Karen H., Behn, Kai, Beil, Ilka, Biancari, Lucio, Blindow, Irmgard, Bondaruk, Viviana Florencia, Borer, Elizabeth T., Bork, Edward W., Bruschetti, Carlos Martin, Byrne, Kerry M., Cahill, James F., Calvo, Dianela A., Carbognani, Michele, Carlyle, Cameron N., Castillioni, Karen, Castillo-Garcia, Miguel, Chandregowda, Manjunatha H., Chang, Scott X., Chieppa, Jeff, Churchill, Amber C., Cianciaruso, Marcus Vinicius, Cordeiro, Amanda L, Cousins, Sara A. O., Cusack, Daniela F., Dahlke, Sven, Daleo, Pedro, Dietterich, Lee H., Dubbert, Maren, Eisenhauer, Nico, Forte, Tai G. W., Funk, Flavia A., Galiano, Darcy, Greenville, Aaron C., Han, Liebao, Haugum, Siri Vats, Hautier, Yann, Hector, Andy, Henry, Hugh A. L., Hoss, Daniela, Isbell, Forest, Jordan, Samuel E., Ke, Yuguang, Kelly, Eugene F., Koerner, Sally E., Kreyling, Juergen, Kroel-Dulay, Gyorgy, Kropfl, Alicia I., Kubert, Angelika, Kulmatiski, Andrew, Lamb, Eric G., Larsen, Klaus Steenberg, Lee, Steven, Limbu, Smriti Pehim, Linstadter, Anja, Liu, Shirong, Longo, Grisel, Loydi, Alejandro, Luan, Junwei, Lubbe, F. Curtis, Malyshev, Andrey V., McIntire, Cameron D., Metcalfe, Daniel B., Mokoka, Malesela Vincent, Mori, Akira S., Mudongo, Edwin, Newman, Gregory S., Nielsen, Uffe N., Ochoa-Hueso, Raul, OConnor, Rory C., Ogaya, Roma, Onatibia, Gaston R., Orban, Ildiko, Osborne, Brooke B., Otfinowski, Rafael, Partel, Meelis, Pascual, Jesus, Penuelas, Josep, Peri, Pablo L., Pescador, David S., Peter, Guadalupe, Petraglia, Alessandro, Picon-Cochard, Catherine, Pillar, Valerio D., Pineiro-Guerra, Juan M., Ploughe, Laura Weber, Plowes, Robert M., Portales-Reyes, Cristy, Prober, Suzanne M., Pueyo, Yolanda, Rahmati, Golsa, Reed, Sasha C., Rodriguez, Dana Aylen, Rogers, William E., Roscher, Christiane, Rowley, David W., Sanchez, Ana M., Santos, Braulio A., Schellenberg, Michael P., Scherer-Lorenzen, Michael, Seabloom, Eric W., Shen, Ruonan, Shi, Baoku, Souza, Lara, Stampfli, Andreas, Standish, Rachel J., Sternberg, Marcelo, Sun, Wei, Sunnemann, Marie, Tedder, Michelle, Terry, Tyson J., Thorvaldsen, Pal, Tielborger, Katja, Tissink, Maud, Vadeboncoeur, Matthew A., Valdecantos, Alejandro, van den Brink, Liesbeth, Vandvik, Vigdis, Velle, Liv Guri, Wanke, Svenja, Wardle, Glenda M., Wei, Cunzheng, Werner, Christiane, Wiehl, Georg, Williams, Jennifer L., Wolf, Amelia A., Wu, Honghui, Xu, Chong, Yang, Xuechen, Yang, Yadong, Yost, Jenifer L., Young, Alyssa L., Yue, Ping, Zeberio, Juan M., Zeiter, Michaela, Zhang, Haiyang, Zhu, Juntao, Zuo, Xiaoan Land Use/Land Cover Classification
Drought legacies delay spring green-up in northern ecosystems Liu, Ying, Zhang, Yao, Penuelas, Josep, Kannenberg, Steven A., Gong, Haibo, Yuan, Wenping, Wu, Chaoyang, Zhou, Sha, Piao, Shilong Land Use/Land Cover Classification
Droughts with no agro-climatological extremes Kulkarni, Sneha, Sawada, Yohei Droughts, Earthquakes, Floods, Landslides, Cyclones, Volcanic Eruptions, Land Use/Land Cover Classification
Diversity and spillover risk of swine acute diarrhea syndrome and related coronaviruses in China and Southeast Asia Latinne, Alice, Zhang, Li-Biao, Firth, Cadhla, Zhu, Guangjian, Olival, Kevin J., Sanchez, Cecilia A., Chen, Shirley, Ross, Noam, Li, Hongying, Chmura, Aleksei A., Daszak, Peter Population Density, Land Use/Land Cover Classification
Divergent hydrological effects of revegetation over the Chinese Loess Plateau driven by East Asian summer monsoon variability Wang, Shiyao, Ge, Jun, Cao, Yipeng, Liu, Yu, Luo, Xing, Yang, Limei, Xiao, Shanchuan, Miao, Xin, Guo, Weidong Albedo, Anisotropy, Reflectance, Land Use/Land Cover Classification
Earth as an Exoplanet: Investigating the Effects of Cloud Variability on the Direct-imaging of Atmospheres Kelkar, Soumil, Saxena, Prabal, Kopparapu, Ravi, Monteiro, Joy Geopotential Height, Atmospheric Ozone, Pressure Thickness, Sea Level Pressure, Surface Pressure, Air Temperature, Upper Air Temperature, Atmospheric Water Vapor, Cloud Liquid Water/Ice, Cloud Fraction, U/V Wind Components, U/V Wind Components, Ozone Profiles, Relative Humidity, Cloud Optical Depth/Thickness, Cloud Properties, Cloud Mass Flux, Land Use/Land Cover Classification, Potential Vorticity, Vertical Wind Velocity/Speed, Vertical Profiles, Specific Humidity, Altitude
Ecological Risks and Patterns Associated With Land Use/Cover Changes He, Yinjie, Liu, Xinran, Wu, Dafang, Li, Shuangcheng, Zhou, Ping Land Use/Land Cover Classification
Contrasting age-dependent leaf acclimation strategies drive vegetation greening across deciduous broadleaf forests in mid-to high latitudes Wang, Fangyi, Xue, Meimei, Zhou, Liming, Doughty, Christopher E., Ciais, Philippe, Reich, Peter B., Shang, Jiali, Chen, Jing Ming, Liu, Jane, Green, Julia K., Hao, Dalei, Tao, Shengli, Su, Yanjun, Liu, Lingli, Xia, Jianyang, Wang, Han, Yu, Kailiang, Zhu, Zaichun, Zhu, Peng, Li, Xing, Liu, Hui, Zeng, Yelu, Yan, Kai, Liu, Liyang, Lafortezza, Raffaele, Su, Yongxian, Meng, Yanqiong, Pan, Yixuan, Yang, Xueqin, Fu, Yongshuo H., He, Nianpeng, Yuan, Wenping, Chen, Xiuzhi Land Use/Land Cover Classification, Vegetation Index, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI), Plant Phenology, Reflectance, Anisotropy
Developing a Composite Hydrological Drought Index Using the VIC Model: Case Study in Northern Thailand Lapyai, Duangnapha, Chotamonsak, Chakrit, Chantara, Somporn, Limsakul, Atsamon Land Use/Land Cover Classification
Determination of emissivity profiles using a Bayesian data-driven approach Sgheri, Luca, Sgattoni, Cristina, Zugarini, Chiara Land Use/Land Cover Classification, Emissivity, Land Surface Temperature, Vegetation Index, Terrain Elevation, Topographical Relief Maps, Digital Elevation/Terrain Model (DEM), Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI)
Detection of fast-changing intra-seasonal vegetation dynamics of drylands using solar-induced chlorophyll fluorescence (SIF) Wen, Jiaming, Tagliabue, Giulia, Rossini, Micol, Fava, Francesco Pietro, Panigada, Cinzia, Merbold, Lutz, Leitner, Sonja, Sun, Ying Longwave Radiation, Shortwave Radiation, Heat Flux, Liquid Precipitation, Snow/Ice, Geopotential Height, Altitude, Surface Temperature, Skin Temperature, Upper Air Temperature, Dew Point Temperature, Air Temperature, Cloud Top Temperature, Atmospheric Winds, Surface Winds, U/V Wind Components, Upper Level Winds, U/V Wind Components, Vertical Wind Velocity/Speed, Atmospheric Pressure, Sea Level Pressure, Cloud Top Pressure, Sea Level Pressure, Surface Pressure, Specific Humidity, Total Precipitable Water, Cloud Liquid Water/Ice, Atmospheric Water Vapor, Atmospheric Ozone, Oxygen Compounds, Boundary Layer Winds, Total Ozone, Reflectance, Anisotropy, Land Use/Land Cover Classification, Solar Induced Fluorescence, Chlorophyll, Primary Production, Leaf Characteristics, Potential Vorticity, Vertical Profiles, Relative Humidity, Ozone Profiles
Enhanced vegetation productivity driven primarily by rate not duration of carbon uptake Liu, Zunchi, Ciais, Philippe, Penuelas, Josep, Xia, Jianyang, Zhou, Sha, Zhang, Yao, Fu, Yongshuo H. Land Use/Land Cover Classification, Primary Production, Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar), Gross Primary Production (gpp), Reflectance
Enhancing Hydro-climatic and land parameter forecasting using Subhadarsini, Suchismita, Kumar, D. Nagesh, Govindaraju, Rao S. Land Use/Land Cover Classification
Advancing GNOS-R Soil Moisture Estimation: A Multi-Angle Retrieval Algorithm for FY-3E Wu, Xuerui, Xia, Junming, Bai, Weihua, Sun, Yueqiang Land Use/Land Cover Classification
Advanced vegetation green-up onset in regions with cooling air Jiang, Nan, Shen, Miaogen, Yang, Zhiyong Reflectance, Land Use/Land Cover Classification
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