Historical Land Use Changes over the Past 300 Years (1700-1992)

This data set consists of two reconstructed historical land use
databases. One database was developed at the National Institute of
Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) in the Netherlands and the
other was developed at the Center for Sustainability and the Global
Environment (SAGE), University of Wisconsin-Madison. These two
databases used historical statistical inventories on agricultural
lands (census data, tax records, land surveys, etc.) and applied
different spatial analysis techniques to reconstruct land cover change
due to land use for the last 300 years. The data sets focused on
reconstructing the historical expansion of cropland and pasture
areas. The data show that cropland areas expanded from 3-4 million km^2
1700 to 15-18 km^2 in 1990, while pasture areas expanded from 4-5
million km^2 in 1700 to 31-33 million km^2 in 1990. The database also
includes a global potential natural vegetation data set (developed by
SAGE). The databases are available on CD-ROM at a spatial resolution of
0.5 degree latitude and longitude at an annual resolution (SAGE) or
decadal/multi-decadal resolution (RIVM) from 1700-1992.