LUH2-ISIMIP2b Harmonized Global Land Use for the Years 2015-2100

This dataset provides 0.25-degree gridded, global, annual estimates of fractional land use and land cover patterns for the period 2015-2100, designed to support the ISIMIP2b effort to assess the impacts of 1.5 Deg Celcius global warming. Land use types, land use transitions, and cropland estimates of area fraction are provided and include detailed separation of primary and secondary natural vegetation into forest and non-forest sub-types, pasture into managed pasture and rangeland, and cropland into multiple crop functional types; all transitions between land use states per grid cell per year, including crop rotations, shifting cultivation, and wood harvest; and agriculture management including irrigation, synthetic nitrogen fertilizer, and biofuel management. The LUH2-ISIMIP2b datasets were derived using Land Use Harmonization 2 (LUH2) methodology and are based on land-use scenarios provided by the REMIND-MAgPIE Integrated Assessment Model using an SSP2 storyline along with RCP2.6 and RCP6.0 emissions scenarios. In contrast to the standard SSP scenarios, these land use changes additionally account for climate and atmospheric CO2 fertilization effects on the underlying patterns of potential crop yields, water availability, and terrestrial carbon content. This is achieved by using the LPJmL (Lund-Potsdam-Jena managed land) model forced with atmospheric CO2 concentrations and patterns of climate change generated from 4 different climate models (GFDL, HADGEM, IPSL, and MIROC) consistent with the 2 different RCP scenarios, resulting in a set of 8 different LUH2-ISIMIP2b datasets.