Data Read Me Files

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README - FUTURE LAND-USE HARMONIZATION - BIOFUELS - RELEASE CANDIDATE 1

In response to widespread interest and demand from the scientific community for additional information on the spatial distribution and implementation of biofuels in the Integrated Assessment Models (IAMs), we have created the following supplementary files for each IAM that provide fractional gridded information on biofuels. These files are in "release candidate" mode and are a first attempt to provide gridded biofuels information. With time, more advanced versions of this information should also become available.

IMAGE:
The IMAGE team primarily treats biofuels as crops. They provided us with fractions of each gridcell occupied by each of 19 different croptypes, four of which were classified as biofuels. In addition they provided information on which gridcells had a "Biofuels" landcover type. We combined these data and interpolated temporally to produce these annual grids of fraction of each gridcell occupied by biofuel crops. Since we have not "harmonized" this data to ensure that these biofuels fractions are completely consistent with our harmonized crop fractions, there might be some locations in which the biofuel fraction is greater than the specified crop fraction.

MiniCam:
The MiniCAM team treats biofuels as herbaceous crops. They provided us with the regional area occupied by these biofuels and we computed the fraction of regional cropland that this represents and then applied this fraction to the cropland area in each gridcell and then interpolated temporally to get annual fractions of each gridcell occupied by biofuels. In addition to these grids, we have provided the regional fractions of cropland occupied by biofuels so that teams could use that data instead if they choose.

MESSAGE:
The MESSAGE team treats biofuels as part of wood harvest. They provided us with their gridded wood harvest data split into wood harvest for timber and wood harvest for fuel. We temporally interpolated the wood harvest for fuel grids to get annual biofuels harvest per gridcell in tC. Since we have not harmonized this data to ensure that the biofuels harvest is completely consistent with the spatial pattern of wood harvest in our harmonized land-use data products, there might be some gridcells in which the biofuel harvest is greater than the specified wood harvest.

AIM:
The AIM team treats biofuels as crops. They provided us with gridded maps each decade that give the fraction of each gridcell occupied by biofuels. We interpolated these grids temporally to get annual fractions of each of gridcell used for biofuels. Since we have not harmonized this data to ensure that the biofuels area is completely consistent with the spatial pattern of cropland in our harmonized land-use data products, there might be some gridcells in which the biofuel fraction is greater than the specified cropland fraction.

For any questions/comments/suggestions, please feel free to contact us using the following contact information:

Louise Parsons Chini: lchini@umd.edu, +1-301-405-4050
George Hurtt: gchurtt@umd.edu, +1-301-405-8541
Steve Frolking: steve.frolking@unh.edu, +1-603-862-0244

 

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