A national database of landscape metrics for secondary vegetation in Brazil

Secondary vegetation is a critical component of anthropogenic landscapes, providing ecosystem services and functioning as a significant carbon stock. However, existing forest monitoring systems identify SV areas without detailing structural and fragmentation characteristics at a national scale. Here we present a dataset that quantifies and characterizes secondary vegetation patches across all Brazilian biomes. Based on remote sensing data from historical Landsat and Sentinel-2 imagery (2008 – 2022), the dataset integrates calculated landscape metrics of patch area, core area, Fractal Dimension Index, and Euclidean Nearest-Neighbor Distance, as well as the type of nearby vegetation (primary or secondary). It also includes patch age estimates and a land tenure classification overlay. This interoperable data record reduces primary image processing constraints, and enables the evaluation of structural degradation, connectivity trends, and restoration potential across this tropical ecosystem.