ESA WorldCover
WorldCover provides the first global land cover products for 2020 and 2021 at 10 m resolution, developed and validated in near-real time based on Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 data. The dataset contains 11 land cover classes, which are independently validated with a global overall accuracy of about 75% and 76.7%, respectively for the 2020 and 2021 dataset.
Dataset: WorldCover 2020 v100 and WorldCover 2021 v200
Spatial Resolution: 10 m
Temporal Resolution: available for 2020 and 2021
Geographical Coverage: 90°N - 90°S
Data Format: Cloud Optimized GeoTIFFs (COGs)
Projection: EPSG:4326
Data Source: ESA
Link: https://esa-worldcover.org/en
Product Specification: Product User Manual for WorldCover 2020 v100 and WorldCover 2021 v200
Citation: © ESA WorldCover project [year] / Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data ([year]) processed by ESA WorldCover consortium With year either 2020 or 2021 for the WorldCover 2020 and 2021 map, respectively
Publications: Zanaga, D., Van De Kerchove, R., De Keersmaecker, W., Souverijns, N., Brockmann, C., Quast, R., Wevers, J., Grosu, A., Paccini, A., Vergnaud, S., Cartus, O., Santoro, M., Fritz, S., Georgieva, I., Lesiv, M., Carter, S., Herold, M., Li, Linlin, Tsendbazar, N.E., Ramoino, F., Arino, O., 2021. ESA WorldCover 10 m 2020 v100. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.5571936
Zanaga, D., Van De Kerchove, R., Daems, D., De Keersmaecker, W., Brockmann, C., Kirches, G., Wevers, J., Cartus, O., Santoro, M., Fritz, S., Lesiv, M., Herold, M., Tsendbazar, N.E., Xu, P., Ramoino, F., Arino, O., 2022. ESA WorldCover 10 m 2021 v200. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7254221
Land cover classification:
The discrete classification map provides 11 classes and is defined using the Land Cover Classification System (LCCS) developed by the United Nations (UN) Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). The UN-LCCS system was designed as a hierarchical classification, which allows adjusting the thematic detail of the legend to the amount of information available
| Map Code | Land Cover Class | LCCS code | Definition | Color code (RGB) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | Tree cover | A12A3 // A11A1 A24A3C1(C2)-R1(R2) | This class includes any geographic area dominated by trees with a cover of 10% or more. Other land cover classes (shrubs and/or herbs in the understorey, built-up, permanent water bodies, …) can be present below the canopy, even with a density higher than trees. Areas planted with trees for afforestation purposes and plantations (e.g. oil palm, olive trees) are included in this class. This class also includes tree covered areas seasonally or permanently flooded with fresh water except for mangroves. | 0,100,0 |
| 20 | Shrubland | A12A4 // A11A2 | This class includes any geographic area dominated by natural shrubs having a cover of 10% or more. Shrubs are defined as woody perennial plants with persistent and woody stems and without any defined main stem being less than 5 m tall. Trees can be present in scattered form if their cover is less than 10%. Herbaceous plants can also be present at any density. The shrub foliage can be either evergreen or deciduous. | 255, 187, 34 |
| 30 | Grassland | A12A2 | This class includes any geographic area dominated by natural herbaceous plants (Plants without persistent stem or shoots above ground and lacking definite firm structure): (grasslands, prairies, steppes, savannahs, pastures) with a cover of 10% or more, irrespective of different human and/or animal activities, such as: grazing, selective fire management etc. Woody plants (trees and/or shrubs) can be present assuming their cover is less than 10%. It may also contain uncultivated cropland areas (without harvest/ bare soil period) in the reference year. | 255, 255, 76 |
| 40 | Cropland | A11A3(A4)(A5) // A23 | Land covered with annual cropland that is sowed/planted and harvestable at least once within the 12 months after the sowing/planting date. The annual cropland produces an herbaceous cover and is sometimes combined with some tree or woody vegetation. Note that perennial woody crops will be classified as the appropriate tree cover or shrub land cover type. Greenhouses are considered as built-up. | 240, 150, 255 |
| 50 | Built-up | B15A1 | Land covered by buildings, roads and other man-made structures such as railroads. Buildings include both residential and industrial building. Urban green (parks,sport facilities) is not included in this class. Waste dump deposits and extraction sites are considered as bare. | 250, 0, 0 |
| 60 | Bare / sparse vegetation | B16A1(A2) // B15A2 | Lands with exposed soil, sand, or rocks and never has more than 10 % vegetated cover during any time of the year. | 180, 180, 180 |
| 70 | Snow and ice | B28A2(A3) | This class includes any geographic area covered by snow or glaciers persistently. | 240, 240, 240 |
| 80 | Permanent water bodies | B28A1(B1) // B27A1(B1) | This class includes any geographic area covered for most of the year (more than 9 months) by water bodies: lakes, reservoirs, and rivers. Can be either fresh or salt-water bodies. In some cases the water can be frozen for part of the year (less than 9 months). | 0, 100, 200 |
| 90 | Herbaceous wetland | A24A2 | Land dominated by natural herbaceous vegetation (cover of 10% or more) that is permanently or regularly flooded by fresh, brackish or salt water. It excludes unvegetated sediment (see 60), swamp forests (classified as tree cover) and mangroves see 95). | 0, 150, 160 |
| 95 | Mangroves | A24A3C5-R3 | Taxonomically diverse, salt-tolerant tree and other plant species which thrive in intertidal zones of sheltered tropical shores, "overwash" islands, and estuaries. | 0, 207, 117 |
| 100 | Moss and lichen | A12A7 | Land covered with lichens and/or mosses. Lichens are composite organisms formed from the symbiotic association of fungi and algae. Mosses contain photo-autotrophic land plants without true leaves, stems, roots but with leaf-and stemlike organs. | 250, 230, 160 |