Principal
Investigators:
Principal
Investigators:
Inna T. Fedorova and Yelena A. Volkova
Komarov Botanical Institute
Russian Academy of Sciences
St. Petersburg, RUSSIA
Dmitry L. Varlyguin
Clark University
Graduate School of Geography
Worcester, MA USA
This dataset characterizes natural primary vegetation cover which is an indicator of long-term stable climatic and ecological conditions. Three hierarchical classifications (Code, Type, and Group) are provided in both Vector and Raster form based on the structural and floristic characteristics of vegetation as well as on ecological-geographic criteria. These maps reveal the characteristic features of zonal subdivision of the vegetation on the plains and altitudinal differentiation in the mountains as well as regional vegetation types.
Fedorova, I.T., Y.A. Volkova, and D.L. Varlyguin. 1997. World Vegetation Cover Map. In: Global Ecosystems Database Disc-B. 1997. Boulder, CO: NOAA National Geophysical Data Center. HTML publication on CD-ROM. (In: Technical Report, this document)
Komarov Botanical Institute. 1991.
Legend of World Vegetation Cover Map. Translated by Dmitry L.
Varlyguin. Russian Academy of Sciences
DataSet
Citation:Fedorova, I.T., Y.A. Volkova, and D.L. Varlyguin. 1994. World Vegetation Cover. Digital Raster Data on a 10-minute Geodetic (lat/long) 1080x2160 grid. In: Global Ecosystems Database Version 2.0. Boulder, CO: NOAA National Geophysical Data Center. 3 independent single-attribute spatial layers and one tabular attribute data file on CD-ROM, 11,075,991 MB.
Projection:
Global Cartesian Geodetic (lat/long)
Spatial
Representation:
Vector: Polgygon class boundaries
Raster: 10-minute grid of characteristic classes.
Temporal
Representation:Modern
Data
Representation:Layers
and Attributes:Vector: One polygon spatial layer and one tabular attribute data file.
Raster: Three independent single-attribute spatial layers
Variables:
Vegetation types (including information about their geographic location, climatic zone, and species composition)
Origin:
Multiple paper maps (see reference list) primarily collected and organized by continents (Europe by S.A. Gribova, Asia by Y.A. Volkova, Africa by I.T. Fedorova, North America by S.S. Kholod, South America by I.N. Safronova and V.N. Khramtsov, Australia by G.H. Ogureeva) and then integrated and modified by I.T. Fedorova and Y.A. Volkova
Geographic
Reference:Russian polyconical projection developed in the Central Scientific Research Institute of Geodesy, Aerial Photography, and Cartography (TsNIIGAiK) under the leadership of G.A. Ginzburg
Geographic
Coverage: Global
Maximum Latitude:+90 degrees (N)
Minimum Latitude:-90 degrees (S)
Maximum Longitude:+180 degrees (E)
Minimum Longitude:-180 degrees (W)
Geographic
Sampling:Characteristic classes for 0.5 degree grid cell areas
Time
Period:Modern vegetation from continental maps published since 1950s
Temporal
Sampling:Modern composite of available data.
Source
Data Citation:Fedorova, I.T. and Y.A. Volkova. 1990. World Vegetation Cover Map. Global analog map of 1:80,000,000 scale in Russian polyconical projection. Paper manuscript on one sheet. Unpublished.
Contributor:
Inna T. Fedorova and Yelena A. Volkova
Komarov Botanical Institute
Russian Academy of Sciences
St. Petersburg, RUSSIA
Distributor:
Komarov Botanical Institute
Russian Academy of Sciences
St. Petersburg, RUSSIA
Date
of Production: circa 1990
Lineage
& Contacts: Main cartographic sources and published texts on the vegetation of continents and the world were used to compile the World Vegetation Cover map.
Fukarek, F. (ed.). 1979. Pflanzenwelt der Erde. Leipzig-Jena-Berlin.
Isachenko, A.G. and A.A. Shlyapnikov. 1989. Nature of the World:
Landscapes. Mysl. Moscow. (in Russian).
Pospeschil, F. 1992. Micro World Databank II (MWDB-II): Coastlines,
Country Boundaries, Islands, Lakes, and Rivers. Digital vector
data at 1-minute resolution. In: Global Ecosystems Database Version
1.0: Disc A. Boulder, CO: NOAA National Geophysical Data Center.
6 independent single-attribute spatial layers on CD-ROM, 2.5 MB.
Schmithüsen, J., A. Hanle, and R. Hegner. 1976. Atlas zur
Biogeographie. Meyers Grosser Physischer Weltatlas, 3. B.I.-Hochschulatlanten,
303. Bibliographisches Institut. Mannheim.
Sochava, V.B. 1964. Vegetation map of the World. 1:60,000,000.
In: I.P. Gerasimov. (ed.) Physical Geographical Atlas of the World.
Moscow. pp. 66-67. (In Russian). (Text for the Atlas was translated
in Soviet Geography: Review and Translation, 1965, 6(5-6): 1-403.)
Takhtadzhian , A.Z., T.J. Crovello, and A. Cronquist. 1986. Floristic
regions of the World. Univ. of California Press. Berkeley.
Walter, H. 1964. Die Vegetation der Erde in oko-physiologischer
Betrachtung. Die tropischen und subtropischen Zonen, 1. VEB Gustav
Fischer Verlag. Jena.
EUROPE
Atlas over Sverige. 1953-1971. Utg. av Svenska sallskapet for
antropologi och geografi. Huvudred Magnus Lundqvist. Generalstabens
litografiska anstalts forlag. Stockholm.
Bondev, I.A. et al. 1985. Vegetation map of European countries
- members of CMEA. Main principles and the legend. In: Geobotanical
mapping. Leningrad. p. 7-34. (In Russian).
Donita, N. and N. Roman. 1976. Vegetatia. 1:1,000,000. In: Atlas
Socialista Republica Romania. Bucuresti.
Gribova, S.A., T.I. Isachenko, and E.M. Lavrenko. (eds.). 1979.
Vegetation map of European part of the USSR. 1:2,500,000. GUGK.
Moscow. (In Russian).
Imhof, E. (ed.) 1965-1975. Atlas der Schweiz. Verlag der Eidgenossischen
Landestopographie. Wabem-Bern.
Jurkevitch, I.D., D.S. Golod, et al. 1979. Vegetation of Byelorussia,
its mapping, protection and use. (Incl. Vegetation map of 1:1,000,000
scale). Minsk. (In Russian).
Map of natural potential vegetation of FSR Yugoslavia. 1:1,000,000.
Ljubljana. 1986.
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Polen. 1:2,000,000. Braun-Blanquetia, 1 0393-5434. Camerino.
Michalko, J. 1980. Potential natural vegetation. 1:500,000. In:
Atlas Slovenskej Socialistickej Republiky. Bratislava.
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Republiky: Mapa rekonstruovane prirozeni vegetace. 1:1,000,000.
Academia. Praha.
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potentielle de la France. 1:1,500,000. Doc. Cartographie ecologique:
49-80.
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Europeenne et du Conseil de l'Europe. 1:3,000,000. Office of Official
Publications. European Communities. Luxembourg.
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de la vegetation potentielle de la region Mediterraneenne. 1:2,500,000.
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la recherche scientifique. Paris.
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tidsskr, 42(2-3): 183-187.
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Yugoslavia. 1:1,000,000. Glas sum. pokuse, Poseb. izd, 3: 269-276.
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1979. (In Russian).
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Socialisticka Republika. 1:200,000. (Vedecky). Slovenska kartografia.
Bratislava.
AFRICA
Agnew, S. and M. Stubbs. 1972. Malawi in maps. Univ. of London
Press. London.
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Editions Jeune Afrique. Paris.
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vegetales tropicales. Adansonia, 5(2): 153-196.
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Geographique National. Paris.
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1969/1970. Arid zone research, 30. UNESCO/FAO. Paris.
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definitions de Jangambi considerees sous l'angle de la structure
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London.
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Africa. Kirkia, 9: 1-68.
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in Africa south of the Sahara. Acta phytogeogr. suec., 54.
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der einzelnen Grossraume, 3. Fischer. Stuttgart.
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Jeune Afrique. Paris.
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and its bearing on land-use. Govt. of Uganda. Entebbe.
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le Développement de la Production Agricole. Tananarive.
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Longman. London.
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Geography Division. Addis Abeba. 1981.
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Lilongwe. 1983.
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Lagos. 1978.
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Afrique. Paris.
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Burundi. Association pour l'Atlas eu Burundi. Gradignan.
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du Hoggar. Institut de recherches sahariennes de l'Universite
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Jeune Afrique. Paris.
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vegetaux en Afrique noire francaise. Ann. biologique, 3, 31(5-6):
317-334.
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Paris.
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accompany the UNESCO/AETFAT/UNSO vegetation map of Africa. Natural
Resources Research, 20. UNESCO. Paris.
ASIA
A concise atlas geography of Ceylon. Vijayaluckshmi Book Depot.
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Akman, Y. and O. Ketenoglu. 1986. The climate and vegetation of
Turkey. Proceedings of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. Sect. B
(Biol. Scien.), 89: 123-134.
Atlas of Israel. Department of Surveys. Jerusalem. 1956-1964.
Bindaqji, H.H. 1978. Atlas of Saudi Arabia. Oxford Univ. Press.
Oxford.
Carte ecologique du Nepal. Univ. Sc. et Medic. de Grenoble. Grenoble.
1985.
Dutt, A.K., S.P. Chatterjee, and M.M. Geib. 1976. India in maps.
Kendall/Hunt Pub. Co. Dubuque, Iowa.
Freitag, H. 1971. Studies in the natural vegetation of Afghanistan.
In: P.H. Davis. (ed.) Plant life of South-West Asia. Royal Botanic
Garden. Edinburgh. pp. 89-106.
Hou, H.Y. 1979. Vegetation map of China. 1:4,000,000. Cartographic
Publ. House. Beijing.
Hou, H.Y. 1983. Vegetation map of China. 1:14,000,000. Annals
of the Missouri Botanical Garden, 70(3): 509-548.
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1981. Bangladesh in maps. (Atlas.) Univ. of Dacca. Dacca.
Junatov, A.A. 1961. To the knowledge of vegetation cover of West
Kunlun and adjacent part of Tarim depression. In: E.M. Murzaev
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of mountain systems of Asian eastern outskirts and their reflection
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Iran-Turanian subregions of Afro-Asian desert region. Botanical
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of Mongolian People's Republic. 1:3,000,000. In: N. Orshikh, N.A.
Morgunova, and M.N. Rodionov. (eds.)
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(In Russian).
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des sciences. Toulouse.
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internationale du tapis vegetal et des conditions ecologiques,
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serie, 11; No. de publication, 16. Pondichery.
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Map of Japan. 1:4,000,000. Tokyo.
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map of Arabia. In: Geobotanical mapping. Leningrad. pp. 61-71.
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of mountain Afghanistan. In: Ecology and biogeography of Afghanistan.
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AUSTRALIA
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NORTH AMERICA
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Vegetation CodeDescription:
Vegetation classification codes from the Legend of World Vegetation Cover Map (Komarov Botanical Institute. 1991).
Structure:
Vector: Polygon units in a Geodetic
(latitude/longitude) reference system and table of linked attributes
Raster: 10-minute Cartesian Geodetic
(latitude/longitude) single-attribute raster grid produced from
the polygon attribute data.
Series:Hierarchical classification series (Code, Type, and Group)
System Files:
| File type | Metadata | Data |
| Raster grid | fvvcode.doc | fvvcode.img |
| Vector Polygon | fvvveg.dvc | fvvveg.vec |
| Attribute Table | fvvlgnd.dvl | fvvveg.txt, vvveg.mdb |
| Color Palette | fvvgrp.pal | fvvgrp.smp |
| Projection | latlong.ref | |
| System links | fvvveg.igf |
Notes:
Vegetation TypeDescription:
Natural primary vegetation cover is characterized in both Vector and Raster form, with three hierarchical classifications. The original Komarov Institute vegetation type codes (FVVCODE) were reclassified to Vegetation Types (FVVTYPE) and generalized to thirty-two Major Vegetation Groups (FVVGRP).
Structure:
Vector: Polygon units in a Geodetic
(latitude/longitude) reference system and table of linked attributes
Raster: 10-minute Cartesian Geodetic
(latitude/longitude) single-attribute raster grids produced from
the polygon attribute data.
Series:Hierarchical classification series (Code, Type, and Group).
System Files:
| File type | Metadata | Data |
| Raster grid | fvvtype.doc | fvvtype.img |
| Vector Polygon | fvvveg.dvc | fvvveg.vec |
| Attribute Table | fvvlgnd.dvl | fvvveg.txt, vvveg.mdb |
| Color Palette | fvvtype.pal | fvvtype.smp |
| Projection | latlong.ref | |
| System links | fvvveg.igf |
Notes:
Vegetation GroupDescription:
Major Vegetation Groups, derived from the Vegetation Types map.
Structure:
Vector: Polygon units in a Geodetic
(latitude/longitude) reference system and table of linked attributes
Raster: 10-minute Cartesian Geodetic
(latitude/longitude) single-attribute raster grids produced from
the polygon attribute data.
Series:Hierarchical classification series (Code, Type, and Group).
System Files:
| File type | Metadata | Data |
| Raster grid | fvvgrp.doc | fvvgrp.img |
| Vector Polygon | fvvveg.dvc | fvvveg.vec |
| Attribute Table | fvvlgnd.dvl | fvvveg.txt, vvveg.mdb |
| Color Palette | fvvgrp.pal | fvvgrp.smp |
| Projection | latlong.ref | |
| System links | fvvveg.igf |
Notes:
I.T.Fedorova and Y.A. Volkova
Komarov Botanical Institute
Russian Academy of Sciences
St. Petersburg, RUSSIA e
Dmitry L. Varlyguin
Graduate School of Geography
Clark University
950 Main Street
Worcester MA 01610-1477 USA
phone: 508/849-2309 (Clark)
fax: 508/793-8881 (Clark)
E-mail: DVARLYGUIN@vax.clarku.edu
The World Vegetation Cover map is based on world textual and cartographic sources published in recent decades. The map reveals the characteristic features of zonal subdivision of the vegetation on the plains and altitudinal differentiation in the mountains as well as regional vegetation types. The map principally represents natural primary vegetation cover, which is an indicator of long-term stable climatic and ecological conditions. It also shows some long-term stable but quasi-primary vegetation types, such as wet tropical savannas or grasslands. The vegetation classification for the map is based on the structural and floristic characteristics of vegetation as well as on ecological-geographic criteria.
Major vegetation differentiation is based on latitudinal bioclimatic zonality that includes arctic and subarctic (subantarctic in the southern hemisphere), subarctic-boreal, boreal, subboreal, subboreal-subtropical, subtropical, tropical and subequatorial, and equatorial belts. Typically each belt consists of a number of zonal vegetation types subdivided according to the community structure. For example, subboreal vegetation of the northern hemisphere includes broad-leaved (nemoral) forests, forest-steppes, steppes (or prairies in North America), semideserts, and deserts. Tropical and subequatorial vegetation includes moist forests, seasonal (semi-deciduous) forests, wet savannas, dry deciduous forests, woodlands, savannas, semideserts, and deserts. It should also be noted that intermediate ('transitional') zones are shown on the map as independent categories. For example, forest-tundra, forest-steppes, and semideserts are distinct subdivisions in the legend.
In the conceptual development of this map, much attention was given to mountain vegetation. It was considered individually within each bioclimatic belt on the world map. If the vegetation of the altitudinal belt could be shown at the map scale, it was represented as a separate typological unit. Where the scale did not permit altitudinal differentiation, we used such units as altitudinal series covering the whole spectrum of the belts belonging to a mountain system. The classification of altitudinal series is based not only on the number of belts, but also on the zonal position of every mountain system, which is reflected in the vegetation of lower belts. For example, altitudinal belts of subboreal mountain vegetation include the series of broad-leaved (nemoral) forests - dark coniferous forests - high-mountain open forests - alpine meadows (Alps - Carpathian type) and the series of semideserts - steppes - fragments of dark coniferous forests - high-mountain meadows (Northern Tian Shan type).
The map also shows typical regional vegetation types within latitudinal and altitudinal categories. At this stage we distinguish Manchurian oak and middle-Japanese beech forests within Asian broad-leaved (nemoral) forests. These regional types are the main mapped units. On the vegetation map of the world there are 291 such categories.
Arctic and subarctic vegetation (polar deserts, tundra), and boreal vegetation (taiga) occur in the northern hemisphere in all sectors of the Eurasian and North American continents. Internal zonal differentiation is restricted to the vegetation of taiga and tundra.
Boreal is replaced by subboreal vegetation in the southerly areas as the annual temperature increases. Subboreal vegetation forms a continuous belt in all of the continents, but it is characterized by high longitudinal heterogeneity. Thus, broad-leaved (nemoral) forests occur in coastal sectors, while forest-steppes, steppes, prairies, semideserts, and deserts lie in continental and subcontinental sectors. Subboreal broad-leaved forests have been divided into subzonal categories. On the map they are represented by different types of deciduous mesophytic forests. Subzonal subdivisions are also shown for the Eurasian steppes and the North American prairies. Semideserts are an independent category in the legend. They include desert steppes and steppe deserts and are an intermediate zone between steppes and deserts.
Subboreal-subtropical vegetation, unique to the regions with transitional climates from boreal to subtropical, have been defined on the map for the first time. This vegetation includes three zonal types: broad-leaved forests, steppes and prairies, and deserts. These vegetation types belong to the regions with different degrees of continentality. Broad-leaved deciduous forests of the subboreal-subtropical belt differ from nemoral ones by the inclusion of some species of evergreen trees and shrubs. They are divided into two ecological variants: mesophytic (eastern China, southern Korea) and hemixerophytic (northern Mediterranean, northeastern China, southeastern North America) forests. Subboreal-subtropical forest-steppes, steppes, and prairies are distinguished by the occurrence of some tropical species together with temperate-zone grasses in the cover formation. Subboreal-subtropical deserts are characterized by the unique structure of plant communities. They form desert types unusual in northern latitudes. For example, in Central Asia these include extremely arid and absolute deserts (where, due to aridity, vegetation is concentrated only in dry river beds or is altogether absent), succulent and ephemeral deserts.
Subtropical vegetation of the northern hemisphere is represented by hard-leaved evergreen forests and shrublands, among which there are moist forests (southeastern Asia, southeastern North America), summer-dry forests and open woodlands (Mediterranean). Semideserts and deserts are also identified within the subtropical vegetation of the northern hemisphere.
Tropical vegetation consists of tropical (monsoon), subequatorial, and equatorial vegetation. The first is characterized by seasonal dynamics due to the existence of dry and moist periods, while equatorial vegetation is notable for the absence of seasonal dynamics. Zonal types of tropical and subequatorial vegetation are established not only by temperature, but by the regime of humidity, which is indicated by tropical monsoons. Therefore, zonality in these areas often has a meridional rather than a latitudinal character. Moist tropical evergreen forests (with a small element of deciduous species), seasonally wet semi-evergreen forests, and wet savannas, widespread south and north of the equator, are identified in connection with seasonal dynamics of humidity. Wet savannas are the secondary vegetation type on the place of seasonally wet forests.
Tropical evergreen rain forests (equatorial and subequatorial) have been shown without differentiation in all previously published global maps. The classification of tropical rain forests by Aubreville (1965) based on floristic criteria (dominance of specific genera and families) is used in the legend of this map to show the regional distinctions of this type of vegetation. As the duration of the dry season increases, evergreen forests become replaced by deciduous ones (sometimes sclerophyllous), as well as by open woodlands and dry savannas. Widespread shrub and succulent tropical deserts complete these zonal series. They differ from nontropical deserts in their floristic composition, their great variety of life forms, and their diversity of succulents. There are extremely arid deserts in Central Africa and Arabia where vegetation occurs only in dry river beds and extremely (absolutely) arid deserts without higher plants because of the absence of precipitation for periods of several years. The subtropical deserts of the Sahara are separated from tropical deserts on a large number of maps. Nevertheless, this boundary is conventional and hard to define because of the absence of placor vegetation in the central Sahara. The transition from tropical to subtropical deserts is continuous in character. Therefore, subtropical-tropical deserts characterized by Holarctic and Palaeotropic floristic elements are merged with tropical deserts.
The series of zonal vegetation types of the nontropical belt of the southern hemisphere is shorter because this belt includes only narrow parts of the continents (South America, Africa, Australia). Southern subtropical vegetation is represented by evergreen and semi-evergreen forests in Australia, New Zealand, and the Cape region of Africa. Subtropical dry deciduous forests and open woodlands are characteristic of South America, Australia, and Africa. Grasslands and deserts occupy limited areas in southern subtropical regions. Patagonian shrubs and succulent deserts are considered as subboreal-subtropical vegetation. Subantarctic vegetation is represented by the oceanic meadows, mires, and cushion formations of the South Atlantic islands and the northeastern part of Tierra del Fuego.
This map incorporates the latest advances in the study of global
and continental vegetation and reflects the current level of botanical
mapping. The main cartographic sources and published texts on
the vegetation of continents and the world that were used compile
this new map are listed in the "Additional References"
section.
Data development at Clark University
Dmitry L. Varlyguin
Graduate School of Geography
Clark University
950 Main Street
Worcester MA 01610-1477 USA
phone: 508/849-2309 (Clark)
fax: 508/793-8881 (Clark)
e-mail: DVARLYGUIN@vax.clarku.edu
Vegetation source data (Fedorova and Volkova, 1990) came as paper manuscript of 1:80,000,000 scale map in an unknown Russian polyconical lat/long projection. For the project the World Vegetation Cover map was digitized using PC Arc/Info software, re-sampled into Plate Carree lat/long projection, and overlapped with coastlines from the MWDB-II dataset (Pospeschil, 1992). The PAT.dbf (DBase) file of the Arc/Info coverage (FVVVEG) was edited to include numeric and descriptive information for each polygon.
To produce Idrisi raster images, the Arc/Info coverage was opened in Arc/View3.0 software and converted into a "Shapefile". This produced a vector file with an associated attribute tabular file in Access format. The SHAPEIDR module in Idrisi for Windows ver. 2.0 was used to import the Arc/View file and its associated database into Idrisi to produce the Idrisi vector file FVVVEG.vec and FVVVEG.mdb (Access) file.
The Idrisi vector file was rasterized and vegetation IDs from the FVVVEG.mdb file were assigned to it to produce FVVCODE.img, FVVTYPE.img, and FVVGRP.img image files.
Dataset Integration at NGDC
John J. Kineman and Joshua N. Knight
NOAA National Geophysical Data Center
325 S. Broadway, E/GC1
Boulder, CO 80303 USA
fax: (303) 497-6513
Email: jkineman@ngdc.noaa.gov
Web: http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/seg/eco
The dataset was received from Dmitry Varlyguin in a compatible form for publication in the Global Ecosystems Database, greatly minimizing the integration work required for publication. Only minor processing was required for publication purposes. For completeness of the raster portion of the dataset, FVVCODE.img was produced from the vector and attribute files (the original vegetation codes were provided by the investigators in the attribute file, but not as a raster layer). This was a simple rasterization using the same methods and software as the original investigators. File names and some of the fileld names were changed for consistency and clarity. The tabular database was separated into two portions to go with the Fedorova, et. al and Bazilevich datasets individually. Although these datasets are related, they have different authorship and so are documented separately. Other than these editorial changes, the dataset is included as contributed.
Documentation was also provided by the Investigators in a GED compatible form, again minimizing the editorial work needed for publication. Because of modifications in the GED documentation template, some editing was required for final publication.