A 30m African Cropland Layer for 2016 by Integrating Multiple Remote sensing, Crowdsource, and Auxiliary Datasets A 30m African Cropland Layer for 2016 by Integrating Multiple Remote sensing, Crowdsource, and Auxiliary Datasets

In order to produce the most accurate cropland layer at 30 m spatial resolution for Africa, the cropland layers extracted from four remote sensing land cover datasets were integrated. The four datasets covered the period 2015 to 2017. Hence, the constructed cropland layer was produced for the nominal year 2016. To build the final layer, the cropland mapping accuracies of the four cropland layers were firstly investigated at the units of Agro-ecological zones. Then, the best cropland layers for all zones were spatially joined. The resulted cropland layer is a binary mask with higher overall accuracy than individual layers and more consistent with FAO official statistics. In order to produce the most accurate cropland layer at 30 m spatial resolution for Africa, the cropland layers extracted from four remote sensing land cover datasets were integrated. The four datasets covered the period 2015 to 2017. Hence, the constructed cropland layer was produced for the nominal year 2016. To build the final layer, the cropland mapping accuracies of the four cropland layers were firstly investigated at the units of Agro-ecological zones. Then, the best cropland layers for all zones were spatially joined. The resulted cropland layer is a binary mask with higher overall accuracy than individual layers and more consistent with FAO official statistics.