Greater Virunga Key Landscape for Conservation Land Cover Change and Validation Datasets (2019)

The Greater Virunga land cover change dataset covers an area of 39062km2 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 change map was derived (2019). 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 2998 verified land cover points based on the [up to] 14 aggregated land cover change 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, Zoltan; Brink, Andreas; Lupi, Andrea (2021): An update and beyond: key landscapes for conservation land cover and change monitoring, thematic and validation datasets for the African, Caribbean and Pacific region (in review, [Earth System Science Data|https://www.earth-system-science-data.net/]).