Table 3 Semantic signification of each one of the 29 Land Use and Land Cover (LULC) classes contained in the Sentinel2GlobalLULC dataset according to the six-level (L0 to L5) hierarchical structure.

Land Cover

Terrestrial Lands

Bare land where at least 60% of the surface are non-vegetated barren areas (sand, rock, soil) with <10% of vegetation cover, <10% of tree cover, without gains or losses of tree cover during the study period, tree height <1 m, not cropped or urbanized, and never covered by seasonal or permanent water

Lands vegetated by mosses and lichens where at least 60% of the surface is non-vegetated barren land with <10% of vegetation cover, <10% of tree cover, without gains or losses of tree cover during the study period, tree height <1 m, not cropped or urbanized, and never covered by seasonal or permanent water

Grasslands dominated by herbaceous annuals (<2 m height), including plants without persistent stem, where tree and shrub cover are <10%, without gains or losses of tree cover during the study period, tree height <1 m, not cropped or urbanized, and never covered by seasonal or permanent water

Shrublands

Open shrublands dominated by woody perennials with persistent and woody stems (1-2 m height) with a shrub cover between 10% and 60%, tree cover <10%, without gains or losses of tree cover during the study period, tree height <2 m, not cropped or urbanized, and never covered by seasonal or permanent water

Close shrublands dominated by woody perennials with persistent and woody stems (1-2 m height) with a shrub cover >60%, tree cover <10%, without gains or losses of tree cover during the study period, tree height <2 m, not cropped or urbanized, and never covered by seasonal or permanent water

Forests

ForestsDe

ForestsDeBr

C6 ForestsOpDeBr

Forests dominated by deciduous broadleaf trees with tree cover between 15% and 30%, tree height >2 m, without gains or losses of tree cover during the study period, not urbanized, and never covered by seasonal or permanent water

C7 ForestsClDeBr

Forests dominated by deciduous broadleaf trees with tree cover between 40% and 60%, tree height >2 m, without gains or losses of tree cover during the study period, not urbanized, and never covered by seasonal or permanent water

C8 ForestsDeDeBr

Forests dominated by deciduous broadleaf trees with tree cover >60%, tree height >2 m, without gains or losses of tree cover during the study period, not urbanized, and never covered by seasonal or permanent water

ForestsDeNe

C9 ForestsOpDeNe

Forests dominated by deciduous needleleaf larch trees with tree cover between 15% and 30%, tree height >2 m, without gains or losses of tree cover during the study period, not urbanized, and never covered by seasonal or permanent water

C10 ForestsClDeNe

Forests dominated by deciduous needleleaf larch trees with tree cover between 40% and 60%, tree height >2 m, without gains or losses of tree cover during the study period, not urbanized, and never covered by seasonal or permanent water

C11 ForestsDeDeNe

Forests dominated by deciduous needleleaf larch trees with tree cover >60%, tree height >2 m, without gains or losses of tree cover during the study period, not urbanized, and never covered by seasonal or permanent water

ForestsEv

ForestsEvBr

C12 ForestsOpEvBr

Forests dominated by evergreen broadleaf trees with tree cover between 15% and 30%, tree height >2 m, without gains or losses of tree cover during the study period, not urbanized, and never covered by seasonal or permanent water

C13 ForestsClEvBr

Forests dominated by evergreen broadleaf trees with tree cover between 40% and 60%, tree height >2 m, without gains or losses of tree cover during the study period, not urbanized, and never covered by seasonal or permanent water

C14 ForestsDeEvBr

Forests dominated by evergreen broadleaf trees with tree cover >60%, tree height >2 m, without gains or losses of tree cover during the study period, not urbanized, and never covered by seasonal or permanent water

ForestsEvNe

C15 ForestsOpEvNe

Forests dominated by evergreen needleleaf conifer trees with tree cover between 15% and 30%, tree height >2 m, without gains or losses of tree cover during the study period, not urbanized, and never covered by seasonal or permanent water

C16 ForestsClEvNe

Forests dominated by evergreen needleleaf conifer trees with tree cover between 40% and 60%, tree height >2 m, without gains or losses of tree cover during the study period, not urbanized, and never covered by seasonal or permanent water

C17 ForestsDeEvNe

Forests dominated by evergreen needleleaf conifer trees with tree cover >60%, tree height >2 m, without gains or losses of tree cover during the study period, not urbanized, and never covered by seasonal or permanent water

Permanent snow and ice where at least 60% of area is covered by snow and ice for at least 10 moths of the year, not urbanized, and never covered by seasonal or permanent water

Aquatic Lands

Wetlands

Permanently inundated lands with seasonal or permanent water with a water cover between 30 and 60% and tree cover >10%, containing closed (>40%) broadleaved semi-deciduous and/or evergreen forest regularly flooded with saline water, tree height >2 m, without gains or losses of tree cover during the study period, and not urbanized

Permanently inundated lands with seasonal or permanent water with a water cover between 30 and 60% and tree cover >10%, containing closed (>40%) broadleaved forest regularly flooded with freshwater, or closed to open (>15%) vegetation like grassland, shrubland, woody vegetation on regularly flooded, or waterlogged soil with fresh, brackish or saline water but strictly different from closed (>40%) broadleaved semi-deciduous and/or evergreen forest regularly flooded with saline water. Tree height >2 m, without gains or losses of tree cover during the study period, and not urbanized

Permanently inundated lands with seasonal or permanent water with a water cover between 30 and 60%, tree cover 10% containing closed to open (>15%) vegetation like grassland, shrubland, woody vegetation on regularly flooded or waterlogged soil with fresh, brackish or saline water, tree height >2 m, without gains or losses of tree cover during the study period, and not urbanized

WaterBody

Water bodies (oceans and seas) where at least 60% of area is covered by permanent water bodies, and not urbanized

Water bodies (lakes, reservoirs and rivers, can be either fresh or salt-water bodies) where at least 60% of area is covered by permanent water bodies, and not urbanized

Land Use

Croplands

Croplands flooded with seasonal, ephemeral seasonal or permanent to seasonal water where at least 60% of area is cultivated cropland dominated by herbaceous annuals (<2 m), and not urbanized

CropCerea

Irrigated cereal croplands where at least 60% of area is cereal cropland dominated by herbaceous annuals (<2 m), with single or multiple season cropping systems under major or minor irrigation, not urbanized, and never covered by seasonal or permanent water

Rainfed cereal croplands where at least 60% of area is cereal cropland dominated by herbaceous annuals (<2 m), with single or multiple season cropping systems under rainfed or with minor or very minor fragments of rainfed agriculture, not urbanized, and never covered by seasonal or permanent water

CropBroad

Irrigated broadleaf croplands where at least 60% of area is broadleaf cropland dominated by herbaceous annuals (<2 m), with single or multiple season cropping systems under major or minor irrigation, not urbanized, and never covered by seasonal or permanent water

Rainfed broadleaf croplands with at least 60% of area is broadleaf cropland dominated by herbaceous annuals (<2 m), with single or multiple season cropping systems under rainfed or with minor or very minor fragments of rainfed agriculture, not urbanized, and never covered by seasonal or permanent water

Urban and built-up areas with artificial surfaces and associated areas (urban areas) >50%, with at least 30% of impervious surface area including building materials and asphalt and vehicles, and never covered by seasonal or permanent water