Assessing MODIS Vegetation Continuous Fields tree cover product(collection 6): performance and applicability in tropical forests and savannas

Abstract. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer vegetation continuous fields (MODIS VCF) Earth observation product is widely used to estimate forest cover changes, parameterise vegetation and Earth System models, and as a reference for validation or calibration where field data is limited. However, although limited independent validations of MODIS VCF have shown that MODIS VCF's accuracy decreases when estimating tree cover in sparsely-vegetated areas, such as in tropical savannas, no study has yet assessed the impact this may have on the VCF based tree cover distributions used by many in their research. Using tropical forest and savanna inventory data collected by the TROpical Biomes In Transition (TROBIT) project, we produce a series of corrections that take into account (i) the spatial disparity between the in-situ plot size and the MODIS VCF pixel, and (ii) the trees' spatial distribution within in-situ plots. We then applied our corrections to areas identified as forest or savanna in the International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme (IGBP) land cover mapping product. All IGBP classes identified as savanna show substantial increases in cover after correction, indicating that the most recent version of MODIS VCF consistently underestimates woody cover in tropical savannas. We estimate that MODIS VCF could be underestimating tropical tree cover by between 9–15 %. Models that use VCF as their benchmark could be underestimating the carbon uptake in forest-savanna areas and misrepresenting forest-savanna dynamics. While more detailed in-situ field data is necessary to produce more accurate and reliable corrections, we recommend caution when using MODIS VCF in tropical savannas.