MuSyQ Global 5km/8-day and 500m/4-day Spatio-temporal Continuous Fractional Vegetation Cover Product (1981-2020)

Fractional Vegetation Cover (FVC) refers to the proportion of vertical projection area occupied by vegetation canopy (including leaves, stems, branches, and other vegetation components) per unit area, serving as a critical indicator for assessing surface vegetation conditions. Based on the gap probability theory, this study utilized the global GLASS leaf area index (LAI) product and the clumping index priori knowledge to generate the global FVC product with 5km/8-day from 1981 to 2000; and also utilized the spatio-temporal continuous global MuSyQ LAI and clumping index products to generate the global FVC product with 500m/4-day from 2001 to 2020. By incorporating the clumping index to account for the vegetation structure and spatial distribution characteristics, the product can effectively decrease the FVC overestimation for dense canopy. Based on the FVC ground-measurements obtained from the VALERI and IMAGINES projects, the accuracy of FVC product with the root mean square error (RMSE) of 0.16, mean relative error of 13.42%, and overall accuracy exceeding 85%. This product provides data support for the long-term dynamic monitoring of vegetation ecosystem changes.