Time-series spectral dataset for croplands in France (2006–2017)

Decadal time-series derived from satellite observations are useful for discriminating crops and identifying crop succession at national and regional scales. However, use of these data for crop modeling is challenged by the presence of mixed pixels due to the coarse spatial resolution of these data, which influences model accuracy, and the scarcity of field data over the decadal period necessary to calibrate and validate the model. For this data article, cloud-free satellite “Vegetation Indices 16-Day Global 250 m” Terra (MOD13Q1) and Aqua (MYD13Q1) products derived from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), as well as the Land Parcel Information System (LPIS) vector field data, were collected throughout France for the 12-year period from 2006 to the end of 2017. A GIS workflow was developed using R software to combine the MOD13Q1 and MYD13Q1 products, and then to select “pure” MODIS pixels located within single-crop parcels over the entire period. As a result, a dataset for 21,129 reference plots (corresponding to “pure” pixels) was generated that contained a spectral time-series (red band, near-infrared band, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), and Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI)) and the associated annual crop type with an 8-day time step over the period. This dataset can be used to develop new classification methods based on time-series analysis using deep learning, and to monitor and predict crop succession.