Olson's Major World Ecosystem Complexes Ranked by Carbon in Live Vegetation: An Updated Database Using the GLC2000 Land Cover Product Contributed by: Holly K. Gibbs Center for Sustainability and the Global Environment-SAGE http://www.sage.wisc.edu University of Wisconsin, Madison 1710 University Avenue, Madison, WI 53726, USA Email: hkgibbs@wisc.edu Prepared by: L.M. Olsen and T.A. Boden Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center Environmental Sciences Division OAK RIDGE NATIONAL LABORATORY Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831-6335 managed by University of Tennessee-Battelle, LLC for the U.S. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY Date Published: August 2006 CONTENTS ABSTRACT LIST OF TABLES 1. BACKGROUND INFORMATION 2. SOURCE AND SCOPE OF THE DATA 3. APPLICATIONS FOR THE DATA 4. DATA LIMITATIONS AND RESTRICTIONS 5. DESCRIPTION OF PROCESSING ROUTINE 6. REFERENCES 7. HOW TO OBTAIN DATA 8. LISTING OF FILES PROVIDED 9. DESCRIPTION OF THE DOCUMENTATION FILE 10. DESCRIPTION, FORMAT, AND PARTIAL LISTINGS OF THE ASCII DATA FILES ABBREVIATIONS CDIAC = Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center FTP = file transfer protocol GIS = geographic information systems NDP = numeric data package QA = quality assurance ABSTRACT Gibbs, H.K. 2006. Olson's Major World Ecosytem Complexes Ranked by Carbon in Live Vegetation: An Updated Database Using the GLC2000 Land Cover Product. NDP-017b. Available at [http://cdiac.ornl.gov/epubs/ndp/ndp017/ndp017b.html] from the Carbon Dioxide Information Center, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee. In the 1980s, Olson et al. developed a data base and corresponding map following more than 20 years of field investigations, consultations, and analyses of published literature. The original data characterize the use and vegetative cover of the Earth's land surface with a 0.5 x 0.5 degree grid. The purpose of these world-ecosystem-complex data and the accompanying map were to provide a current reference base for interpreting the role of vegetation in the global cycling of CO2 and other gases and a basis for improved estimates of vegetation and soil carbon, of natural exchanges of CO2, and of net historic shifts of carbon between the biosphere and the atmosphere. These data were widely used and cited in carbon cycle research. This updated database extends the methodology of Olson et al. to more contemporary land cover conditions of the Global Land Cover Database (GLC2000). The GLC2000 data were developed using remotely sensed imagery aquired in 2000. The updated data are presented in a GIS format and include estimates of mean and maximum carbon density values. Keywords: biosphere, terrestrial ecosystems, global carbon reservoirs, carbon cycle, vegetation formations, biogeography, climate regions, mapping, human impacts. NDP017b includes the following data and documentation files: - ascii documenation file - carbon density maps (jpegs) - crosswalk table of land cover classifications and carbon densities - gzipped ARC/INFO interchange file (.e00) of maximum carbon densities (grid) - gzipped ERDAS IMAGINE file (.img) of maximum carbon densities (raster) - gzipped TIFF file (.tif) of maximum carbon densities (raster) - gzipped ARC/INFO interchange file (.e00) of mean carbon densities (grid) - gzipped ERDAS IMAGINE file (.img) of mean carbon densities (raster) - gzipped TIFF file (.tif) of mean carbon densities (raster) - gzipped ARC/INFO interchange file (.e00) of GLC2000 land cover data (grid) - gzipped ARC/INFO interchange file (.e00) of 2000 FAO global ecological zones (coverage) - gzipped ARC/INFO interchange file (.e00) of gridded 2000 FAO global ecological zones (grid) - gzipped ARC/INFO interchange file (.e00) combined GLC2000 land cover and 2000 FAO global ecological zones (grid) See CDIAC's Anonymous FTP service for information on how to download compressed data files. LIST OF TABLES Table 1. Files in this NDP Table 2. Variable formats for max_c.VAT (.e00) Table 3. Variable formats for med_c.VAT (.e00) Table 4. Crosswalk table between GLC2000 land-cover classification and the Olson classification 1. BACKGROUND INFORMATION This document is an update of Olson, J.S., J.A. Watts, and L.J. Allison. 1985. Major world ecosystem complexes ranked by carbon in live vegetation: A Database. NDP-017, Carbon Dioxide Information Center, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee. This NDP was originally prepared by R.E. Millemann and T.A. Boden. Please see ndp017 [http://cdiac.ornl.gov/epubs/ndp/ndp017/ndp017.html] for background information regarding the orignal Olson et al. data set. This spatially-explicit global data set provides estimates and spatial distribution of the above- and below-ground carbon stored in living plant material, and provides an important input to climate, carbon cycle and conservation studies. The data set was created by updating the classic study by Olson et al. (1983,1985) with a contemporary map of global vegetation distribution (Global Land Cover database; GLC2000). 2. SOURCE AND SCOPE OF THE DATA This dataset uses the methodology of Olson et al. (1983, 1985) with a contemporary land cover map (GLC2000) to estimate biomass carbon in vegetation on a global scale. The original Olson data set was derived from vegetation patterns of pre-agricultural vegetation, while this updated data set is based on the land cover conditions in the year 2000 and consequently accounts for human-induced changes in land cover. Each cell in the gridded data set is coded with a carbon value (metric ton of C per hectare) based upon its land cover class. The gridded data is expressed in decimal degrees, in a geographic projection, with a datum opf wgs84. The cellsize for these data is 0.083 decimal degrees. 3. APPLICATIONS FOR THE DATA The rates of CO2 release to the atmosphere and its removal from the atmosphere are controlled by factors affecting photosynthesis, respiration, and burning as well as by shifts in land use and climate. An understanding of these relationships together with increased knowledge of the plant pools undergoing change will enhance our ability to integrate information from biology and geography into the geophysical modeling of element cycles and climate. The map of Major World Ecosystem Complexes provides a current reference base for interpreting the role of vegetation in the global cycling of CO2 and other gases. The data provide a basis for improved estimates of vegetation and soil carbon, of natural exchanges of CO2 and of net historic shifts of carbon between the biosphere and the atmosphere. 4. DATA LIMITATIONS AND RESTRICTIONS More recent biomass studies supersede Olson's estimates for some regions of the world, but Olson (1983,1985) still provides the only globally-consistent estimate of global carbon stored in vegetation. While this map represents an improvement over the original Olson (1983) map through improved satellite-based land cover mapping, it does not fully account for the spatial distribution of biomass across the world or within ecosystem complexes. These data represent biomass carbon values at the biome-level and should thus account for major bioclimatic gradients such as temperature, precipitation, and geologic substrate. Biomass, however, varies further within each broad land cover category according to site-level environmental characteristics such as slope, elevation, drainage class, soil type, and land-use history. 5. DESCRIPTION OF PROCESSING ROUTINE Please see ndp017 [http://cdiac.ornl.gov/epubs/ndp/ndp017/ndp017.html] for more information about the methods used by Olson et al. To develop the new data, the Olson land cover classification scheme was translated into the GLC2000 scheme to achieve common land cover classes. First, GLC2000 land cover (glc2000s5m.e00.gz) classes 20 (water) and 23 were set to NODATA (glc2000b.e00.gz). Secondly, broad forest classes from the 2000 FAO Ecological Zones map were used to further disaggregate the GLC2000 forest classes into subcategories of boreal, temperate, and tropical dry and humid forest types. Specifically, the FAO Ecological Zones coverage (eco_worldc.e00.gz) was converted to a grid (eco_grid.e00.gz) using the GEZ_TERM variable. Polar/boreal pixels were assigned a value of 1, temperate pixels were assigned a value of 2, tropical pixels were assigned a value of 3, water pixels were assigned a value of 0, and NODATA cells were assigned a value of 15. Thirdly, this grid (eco_grid.e00) was combined with the revised GLC2000 grid (glc2000b) to create a new grid (glceco.e00) containing both land cover class and ecoregion variables for each pixel. Next, following the assignment of consistent land cover classes, mean and high-end carbon values were applied to each land cover class following the methods of Olson et al. (1983,1985). Specifically, carbon values were assigned to each pixel based upon the combined land cover and ecoregion fields using values contained in Table 4 (olson_carbon_gibbs02107.xls). Please note that if a pixel was coded as water (0) in the ecoregions data yet was classified as a valid land cover class in the GLC2000 data, it was consequently assigned a -9998 in the output carbon grids (with the exception of GLC2000 classes 19,21, or 22 which were assigned a C value of 0 in accordance with the crosswalk table). Furthermore, if pixels were coded as NODATA (15) in the ecoregions grid and were assigned a valid land cover class in the GLC2000 data, they were coded as -9999 in the output carbon grids (with the exception of GLC2000 classes 19, 21, or 22, which were assigned a C value of 0 in accordance with the crosswalk table). Please note that total biomass was converted to carbon assuming a carbon content of 50%. The estimates presented here are for total above- and below-ground biomass, which includes biomass in living trees, litter, and coarse woody debris. 6. REFERENCES Olson, J.S., Watts,J.A. & Allison,L.J. 1983. Carbon in live vegetation of major world ecosystems. Oak Ridge National Laboratory, ORNL-5862, Oak Ridge TN. Olson, J.S., J.A. Watts, and L.J. Allison, 1985. Major World Ecosystem Complexes Ranked by Carbon in Live Vegetation (NDP-017). Carbon Dioxide Information Center, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge TN. Global Land Cover 2000 Database. European Commission, Joint Research Centre, 2003. [http://www-gem.jrc.it/glc2000"] FAO Global Ecological Zones are a part of the FAO Global Forest Resources Assessment, 2000. The assessment and related data are available online at [ http://www.fao.org/forestry/index.jsp ] and in print from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Forestry Department, Rome, Italy. 7. HOW TO OBTAIN THE DATA AND DOCUMENTATION This database (NDP-017b) is available free of charge from CDIAC. The files are available, via the Internet, from CDIAC's World-Wide-Web site (http://cdiac.esd.ornl.gov), or from CDIAC's anonymous file transfer protocol (FTP) area (cdiac.esd.ornl.gov) as follows: FTP to cdiac.esd.ornl.gov (128.219.24.36). Enter "ftp" as the user id. Enter your email address as the password (e.g., fred@zulu.org). Change to the directory "pub/ndp017b" (i.e., use the command "cd pub/ndp017b"). Set ftp to get ASCII files by using the ftp "ascii" command. Retrieve the ASCII database documentation file by using the ftp "get ndp017b.txt" command. Set ftp to get BINARY files by using the ftp "bin" command. Retrieve the compressed data files by using the ftp "mget" *.gz command. Exit the system by using the ftp "quit" command. For non-Internet data acquisitions (e.g., CD-ROM) or for additional information, contact: Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center Oak Ridge National Laboratory P.O. Box 2008 Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831-6335, U.S.A. Telephone: 1-865-574-3645 Telefax: 1-865-574-2232 E-mail: cdiac@ornl.gov 8. LISTING OF FILES PROVIDED max_c.e00.gz: compressed ARC/INFO interchange file (grid) containing maximum biomass estimates max_c.img.gz: compressed ERDAS IMAGINE file (raster) containing maximum biomass estimates max_c.tif.gz: compressed TIFF file (raster) containing maximum biomass estimates med_c.e00.gz: compressed ARC/INFO interchange file (grid) containing mean biomass estimates med_c.img.gz: compressed ERDAS IMAGINE file (raster) containing mean biomass estimates med_c.e00.gz: compressed TIFF file (raster) containing mean biomass estimates glc2000s5m.e00.gz: compressed ARC/INFO interchange file (grid) containing GLC2000 land cover classification glc2000b.e00.gz: compressed ARC/INFO interchange file (grid) containing revised GLC2000 land cover classification eco_worldc.e00.gz: compressed ARC/INFO interchange file (coverage) containing 2000 Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Global Ecological Zones Data eco_grid.e00.gz: compressed ARC/INFO interchange file (grid) containing gridded 2000 Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Global Ecological Zones Data glceco.e00.gz: compressed ARC/INFO interchange file (grid) containing combined GLC2000 land cover and 2000 Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Global Ecological Zones Data updated_olson_med.jpg: graphic showing mean biomass updated_olson_max.jpg: graphic showing maximum biomass olson_carbon_gibbs02107.xls: spreadsheet containing crosswalk between the GLC2000 land cover classification and Olson's classification (and carbon values). 9. DESCRIPTION OF DOCUMENTATION FILE Documentation is available in html form (ndp017b.html) and ASCII text form (this file ndp017b.txt). 10. DESCRIPTION, FORMAT, AND PARTIAL LISTINGS OF THE DATA FILES Table 2 describes the format and contents of the ARC/INFO export file max_c.e00.gz distributed with this numeric data package. First 10 data records of biomass_max.e00 (uncompressed): EXP 0 E:\TOM_BODEN\HOLLY_OLSON\NEW_FEB2007\OLSON_LISA\LISA_NEWEST\MAX_ GRD 2 4320 1676 1-0.21474836470000E+10 0.83330000000000E-01 0.83330000000000E-01 -0.18000000000000E+03-0.55994000000000E+02 0.17998560000000E+03 0.83667080000000E+02 -2147483647 -2147483647 -2147483647 -2147483647 -2147483647 -2147483647 -2147483647 -2147483647 -2147483647 -2147483647 -2147483647 -2147483647 -2147483647 -2147483647 -2147483647 -2147483647 -2147483647 -2147483647 -2147483647 -2147483647 Last 10 data records of max_c.e00 (uncompressed): 30 737681 50 96644 80 90979 90 42374 125 245927 140 63704 200 38851 250 235969 EOI EOS Table 3 describes the format and contents of the ARC/INFO export file med_c.e00.gz distributed with this numeric data package. First 10 data records of med_c.e00 (uncompressed): EXP 0 E:\TOM_BODEN\HOLLY_OLSON\NEW_FEB2007\OLSON_LISA\LISA_NEWEST\MED_ GRD 2 4320 1676 1-0.21474836470000E+10 0.83330000000000E-01 0.83330000000000E-01 -0.18000000000000E+03-0.55994000000000E+02 0.17998560000000E+03 0.83667080000000E+02 -2147483647 -2147483647 -2147483647 -2147483647 -2147483647 -2147483647 -2147483647 -2147483647 -2147483647 -2147483647 -2147483647 -2147483647 -2147483647 -2147483647 -2147483647 -2147483647 -2147483647 -2147483647 -2147483647 -2147483647 Last 10 data records of med_c.e00 (uncompressed): 9 737681 30 96644 40 90979 60 42374 70 263348 90 46283 120 235969 130 38851 EOI EOS Table 4 contains an html version of olson_carbon_gibbs02107.xls (a spreadsheet containing the crosswalk between the GLC2000 land cover classification and Olson's classification).