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MOODY, A. and C.E. WOODCOCK, 1994, Scale-dependent errors in the estimation of land-cover 
proportions: Implications for global land-cover datasets, Photogrammetric Engineering and 
Remote Sensing 60: 585-594. 
RUNNING,S.W., LOVELAND,T.R., and PIERCE,L.L., 1994, A vegetation classification logic 
based on remote sensing for use in global scale biogeochemical modes, Ambio, 23, 77-81 
References. 
TOWNSHEND,J.R.G., (editor) 1992, Improved global data for land applications, IGBP report 
number 20. (IGBP secretariat, Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, Box 50005, S-10405, 
Stockholm, Sweden) 
The IGBP-DIS Land Cover Classification 
Natural Vegetation 
1 
Evergreen Needleleaf Forests: Lands dominated by trees with a percent canopy cover>60% and 
height exceeding 2 meters. Almost all trees remain green all year. Canopy is never without green 
foliage. 
Evergreen Broadleaf Forests: Lands dominated by trees with a percent canopy cover>60% and 
height exceeding 2 meters. Almost all trees remain green year all year, Canopy is never without 
green foliage. 
Deciduous Needleleaf Forest: Lands dominated by trees with a percent canopy cover>60% and 
height exceeding 2 meters. Consists of seasonal needleleaf tree communities with an annual cycle 
of leaf-on and leaf-off periods. 
Deciduous Broadleaf Forests: Land dominated by trees with a percent canopy cover>60% and 
height exceeding 2 meters. Consists of seasonal broadleaf tree communities with an annual cycle 
of leaf-on and leaf-off periods. 
Mixed Forests: Lands dominated by trees with a percent canopy cover>60% and height exceeding 
2 meters. Consists of tree communities with interspersed mixtures or mosaics of the other four 
forest cover types. None of the forest types exceeds 60% of landscape. 
Closed shrublands: Lands with woody vegetation less than 2 meters tall and with shrub canopy 
cover 1s >60%. The shrub foliage can be either evergreen or deciduous. 
Open Shrublands: Lands with woody vegetation less than 2 meters tall and with shrub canopy 
cover is between 10-60%. The shrub foliage can be either evergreen or deciduous. 
Woody Savannas: Land with herbaceous and other understory systems, and with forest canopy 
cover between 30-60%. The forest cover height exceeds 2 meters. 
Savannas: Lands with herbaceous and other understory systems, and with forest canopy over 
between 10-30%. The forest cover height exceeds 2 meters. 
Grasslands: Land with herbaceous types of cover. Tree and shrub cover is less than 10%. 
Permanent Wetlands: Lands with a permanent mixture of water and herbaceous or woody 
vegetation that cover extensive areas. The vegetation can be present in either salt, brackish, or 
fresh water. 
Developed Lands 
Croplands: Lands covered with temporary crops followed by harvest and a bare soil 
period (e.g., single and multiple cropping systems). Note that perennial woody crops will be 
classified as the appropriate forest or shrub land cover type. 
Urban and Built-up: Land covered by buildings and other man-made structures. Note that this 
class will not be mapped from the AVHRR imagery but will be developed from the populated 
places layer that is part of the Digital Chart of the World (Defense Mapping Agency, 1992)