Data

Indices of climate, soil and vegetation quality

Data

Prod-ID: DAT-43-en

Created 22 Aug 2003 Published 22 Aug 2003 Last modified 25 Aug 2017

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Climate quality index: Structural analysis 1961-1990

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European data

ZIP compressed ESRI GRID, raster data

ZIP compressed ESRI GRID, raster data (ZIP archive)
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ZIP compressed ESRI GRID, raster data

ZIP compressed ESRI GRID, raster data (ZIP archive)
16.06 MB Download file

ZIP compressed ESRI GRID, raster data

ZIP compressed ESRI GRID, raster data (ZIP archive)
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Methodology

Mapping sensitivity to desertification (DISMED), 2003

Mapping sensitivity to desertification (DISMED), 2003 (PDF document)
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Metadata

Relation:

Derived data set: Desertification in the Mediterranean region

Rights:

EEA standard re-use policy: unless otherwise indicated, re-use of content on the EEA website for commercial or non-commercial purposes is permitted free of charge, provided that the source is acknowledged (https://www.eea.europa.eu/legal/copyright).

Methodology:

Climate quality index: Climatic aspects has been analyzed through the Aridity index (AI), using the methodology developed by FMA in accordance with the following formula

AI = P / PET where AI = Aridity index P = Yearly mean rainfall PET = Yearly mean potential evapotranspiration

Soil quality index: The soil quality index (SQI), developed by Sahara and Sahel Observatory (OSS), is based on four parameters:

Parental material
Soil depth
Texture
Slope

SQI is given by the geometric average of the indices for the four parameters:

SQI: = (Parental material * soil depth * texture * slope) raised to the 0,25 power

In case local data are not available for a single parameter, only the remaining parameters were used.

Vegetation quality index: Each CLC clas was assigned a value for each of these four parameters: erosion protection, resistance to drought, ground coverage. The same range of values was used for all four parameters: 0 (excluded from futher consideration), 1 (good), 1.5 (moderate), 2 (bad).

VQI is given by the geometric average of the indexes for the four parameters:

VQI = (ResistFire * ErosionProtection * ResistDrought * Coverage) raised to the 0,25 power

See, also: http://dismed.eionet.eu.int/Facilities/dismed_products/VQI

Data sources

Climate quality index: Coast Layer: - ESRI Digital Chart of the World 1:1M Digital Elevation Model: - USGS/EDC GTOPO 30 Rainfall data: - FAOCLIM 2 database (version 2.01) Temperature data: - FAOCLIM 2 database (version 2.01) Penman values: - FAOCLIM 2 database (version 2.01) - Portuguese Meteorological Institute (for Portugal only)

Soil quality index: European Soil Database (ESDB) version 1 from Joint Research Center

Vegetation quality index: Corine land cover 1990 from European Environment Agency

Owners:

Processors:

Applied Meteorology Foundation (FMA)

The European Topic Centre on Land Use and Spatial Information

Additional information

Climate data in DISMED will be based on the aridity index, which requires a harmonized way of computing evapotransipration, that at present differs among countries. In this respect FMA will be in charge of defining the most suitable algorithm(s) concerning evapotranspiration and the correct time frame, which depends on the available data and on the methodological approach adopted. Soil quality index: This index is one of the components of the sensitivity to desertification index for UNCCD annex IV countries (convention text). It is based on: soil parent material, soil depth, soil texture and the slope of the land surface. Vegetation quality index: This index is one of the components of the sensitivity to desertification index for UNCCD annex IV countries (convention text). It is based four aspects of the vegetation: the fire risk, the protection provided against different types of erosion, the resistance to water shortages and the amount of land surface coverage. The dataset was created by assigning values for each parameter to Corine Land Cover third level classes.