Upemba Key Landscape for Conservation Land Cover and Validation Datasets (2016)

The Upemba land cover dataset covers an area of 47318km2 and mapped with both dichotomous (8 land cover classes) and modular (up to 32 land cover classes) levels based on FAO's Land Cover Classification System (LCCS). High-resolution optical satellite imagery were used to generate dense time-series data from which the thematic land cover map was derived (2016). The map was fully verified and validated by an independent team to achieve the Copernicus Global Land Monitoring Programme's strict data quality requirements. An independent validation dataset was also collected and it is shared here. The validation dataset contains 3786 verified land cover points based on the [up to] 32 modular level land cover classes. Furthermore, two predefined symbology (QGIS legend files) for the land cover and validation datasets based on FAO's LCCS is also shared here to ease the visualization of them (Dichotomous and Modular levels). Further details regarding the sites selection, mapping and validation procedures are described in the corresponding publication: Szantoi, Z., Brink, A., Lupi, A., Mannone, C., and Jaffrain, G.: Key Landscapes for Conservation Land Cover and Change Monitoring Thematic and Validation Datasets for Sub-Saharan Africa, Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 12-3001-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-12-3001-2020.