Underestimated Shrubland Distribution in the Eurasian Drylands

The arid and semi-arid regions of the Eurasian continent host extensive shrublands that play essential roles in regional ecosystems. However, accurately identifying shrublands and distinguishing them from grasslands remain challenging due to their similar spectral and phenological characteristics. In this study, we developed a shrubland mapping dataset for the Eurasian arid region by integrating a multi-strategy sampling framework with a phenology-pixel-based classification approach. The resulting map achieved a mean F1 score of 67.05%, significantly outperforming existing global land cover products. The total shrubland area was estimated to be approximately 427,643 km², providing an improved and spatially consistent representation of shrubland distribution across the region.