China Land Cover Consistency Mask 2020

This product is a spatial mask dataset generated through a systematic consistency analysis of eight mainstream medium-to-high resolution land cover products (including five 10-meter and three 30-meter products) across the entirety of China. The mask is presented at a spatial resolution of 10 meters, where the value of each pixel (ranging from 0 to 8) indicates the number of products that agree on the classification result at that pixel. It intuitively reflects the reliability of land cover products and can be applied to data screening, optimization of sampling areas and strategies, and accuracy improvement of land cover products. The overview of this product is illustrated in Figure 1 bellow. Figure 1 Overview of China Land Cover Consistency Mask 2020 ProductNote:This map is presented with the following consistency classification scheme as an example: complete consistency (value=8), high consistency (values=7–6), moderate consistency (values=5–4), low consistency (values=3–2), and complete inconsistency (value=1). Users can adjust the classification levels or apply the map for other purposes according to their specific needs. Main Features: Coverage: The entirety of China. Spatial Resolution: 10 meters. Data Format: GeoTIFF. Consistency Levels: 0 (Complete Inconsistency) to 8 (Complete Consistency). Source Products: Derived from eight mainstream products: FROM-GLC10, ESA WorldCover, Dynamic World, GLC_FCS10, ESRI Land Cover, GLC_FCS30, CLCD, and GlobeLand30. Regional Subsets: To facilitate download and application, the national mask is also subdivided into seven regional subsets based on China’s widely used physical geographical divisions. The corresponding regions are: East, North, Northeast, South, Southwest, Northwest, and Central. The vector boundary file for regional division (filename: Geographical_divisions_of_China.zip) is provided synchronously and can be used to quickly locate the data needed (Figure 2). Figure 2 Spatial division of each region Application Value: Guidance for Product Selection: Provide spatially explicit reliability references to support regionally adaptive land cover product selection. Identification of Uncertain Areas: Quickly locate regions with high classification uncertainty (e.g., ecological transition zones, areas with complex terrain, urban-rural fringes). Optimized Sampling Strategy: It enables prioritizing sample collection in low-consistency areas for future mapping or validation, thereby significantly reducing data acquisition costs. Improved Research Efficiency: Help researchers focus on disputed areas, thus enhancing the efficiency and accuracy of studies such as land cover change detection and ecological assessment.