Accuracy assessment of land cover products in China from 2000 to 2020

The accuracy assessment of land cover data is of significant value to accurately monitor and objectively reproduce spatio-temporal dynamic changes to land surface landscapes. In this study, the interpretation and applicability of CCI, MCD, and CGLS long time-series land cover data products for China were evaluated via consistency analysis and a confusion matrix system using NLUD-C periodic products as reference data. The results showed that CGLS had the highest overall accuracy, Kappa coefficient, and area consistency in the continuous time-series evaluation, followed by MCD, whereas CCI had the worst performance. For the accuracy assessment of subdivided land cover types, the three products could accurately describe the distribution of forest land in China with a high recognition level, but their recognition ability for water body and construction land was poor. Among the other types, CCI could better identify cropland, MCD for grassland, and CGLS for unused land. Based on these evaluation results and characteristics of the data products, we developed suitable selection schemes for users with different requirements.