Validation of the Global Land Cover 2000 Map

The Joint Research Center of the European Commission (JRC), in partnership with 30 institutions, has produced a global land cover map for the year 2000 the GLC 2000 map. The validation of the GLC2000 product has now been completed. The accuracy assessment relied on two methods: a confidence-building method (quality control based on a comparison with ancillary data) and a quantitative accuracy assessment based on a stratified random sampling of reference data. The sample site stratification used an underlying grid of Landsat data and was based on the proportion of priority land cover classes and on the landscape complexity. A total of 1265 sample sites have been interpreted. The first results indicate an overall accuracy of 68.6%.JRC.H.3-Global environement monitorin