Articles | Volume 17, issue 8
https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-17-3777-2025
https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-17-3777-2025
Data description paper
 | 
07 Aug 2025
Data description paper |  | 07 Aug 2025

An annual cropland extent dataset for Africa at 30 m spatial resolution from 2000 to 2022

Zihang Lou, Dailiang Peng, Zhou Shi, Hongyan Wang, Ke Liu, Yaqiong Zhang, Xue Yan, Zhongxing Chen, Su Ye, Le Yu, Jinkang Hu, Yulong Lv, Hao Peng, Yizhou Zhang, and Bing Zhang

Download

Interactive discussion

Status: closed

Comment types: AC – author | RC – referee | CC – community | EC – editor | CEC – chief editor | : Report abuse
  • RC1: 'Comment on essd-2025-133', Anonymous Referee #1, 21 Apr 2025
    • AC1: 'Reply on RC1', Zihang Lou, 08 May 2025
  • RC2: 'Comment on essd-2025-133', Anonymous Referee #2, 22 Apr 2025
    • AC2: 'Reply on RC2', Zihang Lou, 08 May 2025

Peer review completion

AR: Author's response | RR: Referee report | ED: Editor decision | EF: Editorial file upload
AR by Zihang Lou on behalf of the Authors (14 May 2025)  Author's response   Author's tracked changes   Manuscript 
ED: Referee Nomination & Report Request started (15 May 2025) by Kaiguang Zhao
RR by Anonymous Referee #2 (19 May 2025)
RR by Anonymous Referee #1 (20 May 2025)
ED: Publish as is (20 May 2025) by Kaiguang Zhao
AR by Zihang Lou on behalf of the Authors (26 May 2025)
Download
Short summary
This study creates the first detailed annual maps of Africa's cropland extent from 2000 to 2022 in 30 m resolution to support global efforts against hunger and sustainable farming. Our findings show Africa's cropland grew by 8.5 % over 2 decades, while 11.5 % of cropland was abandoned by 2018, revealing hidden challenges in agricultural sustainability. These yearly field-sized maps help governments track where farming grows or shrinks, plan food supplies, and protect vital cropland.
Share
Altmetrics
Final-revised paper
Preprint