Global Cropland Abandonment and Reclamation Dataset (1990–2021)

This dataset provides a global, grid-based record of cropland abandonment and reclamation from 1990 to 2021, compiled in CSV format at a 1° × 1° latitude–longitude resolution. The dataset was derived from the 30-m GLC_FCS30D land-cover dynamics product, in which cropland abandonment and reclamation were first identified at the pixel level by tracking temporal transitions between cropland and non-cropland land-cover classes.

Pixel-level transition results were then spatially aggregated to 1° grid cells, and the total areas of cropland abandonment and reclamation were calculated for each grid cell and each time step. The temporal resolution follows the updating scheme of the source dataset, with five-year intervals prior to 2000 and annual records thereafter. The final dataset contains grid-level area statistics only and does not include pixel-level land-cover maps.

Organized as comma-separated values (CSV) files, the dataset is readily compatible with common statistical and geospatial analysis workflows and is suitable for large-scale analyses of global cropland abandonment and reclamation dynamics, including assessments of long-term trends and spatial redistribution across terrain gradients.