{
  "cdh_schema_version": "v0.3.0",
  "id": "glw4-2020",
  "title": "Gridded livestock density for 2020 (GLW4)",
  "description": "Gridded Livestock of the World, version 4 (GLW 4) maps modelled densities of six livestock species: buffalo, cattle, sheep, goats, pigs, and chickens. This data is for the 2020 reference year. Densities are estimated with a Random Forest model that downscales harmonized subnational census counts onto a regular grid, so the values represent modelled distributions rather than direct observations. All of the values are number of animals per km^2\n",
  "deprecated": false,
  "series": {
    "name": "Gridded Livestock of the World (GLW)",
    "url": "https://www.fao.org/livestock-systems/global-distributions/en/"
  },
  "license": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "resource_type": "dataset",
  "note": "Values are densities (head/km²), so individual pixel values are valid anywhere. However, the data are distributed in lat/long (EPSG:4326), where pixel ground area shrinks toward the poles. A standard lat/long map visually over-represents high-latitude densities, and naive spatial aggregation (totals, means, zonal statistics) assuming equal-area pixels will be biased. Reproject to an equal-area projection or weight by true pixel area for visualization and area-based analysis.\n",
  "keywords": [
    "gridded",
    "modelled",
    "exposure",
    {
      "term": "animal husbandry",
      "scheme": "https://agrovoc.fao.org/",
      "uri": "http://aims.fao.org/aos/agrovoc/c_8532"
    }
  ],
  "contact": [
    {
      "organization": "Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations",
      "roles": [
        "licensor",
        "producer",
        "processor"
      ],
      "url": "https://www.fao.org/home/en/"
    },
    {
      "name": "Dominik Wisser",
      "organization": "Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations",
      "roles": [
        "point-of-contact"
      ],
      "email": "Dominik.Wisser@fao.org"
    },
    {
      "name": "Giuseppina Cinardi",
      "organization": "Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations",
      "roles": [
        "point-of-contact"
      ],
      "email": "giuseppina.cinardi@fao.org"
    },
    {
      "name": "Brayden Youngberg",
      "organization": "Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT",
      "roles": [
        "processor",
        "custodian"
      ],
      "email": "b.youngberg@cgiar.org"
    }
  ],
  "citation": {
    "title": "GLW 4: Gridded Livestock Density (Global - 2020 - 10 km)",
    "authors": [
      "Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations"
    ],
    "date": "2024",
    "publisher": "FAO Agro-Informatic Data Catalog",
    "url": "https://data.apps.fao.org/catalog/dataset/9d1e149b-d63f-4213-978b-317a8eb42d02"
  },
  "related_publications": [
    {
      "doi": "10.1371/journal.pone.0133381"
    }
  ],
  "funding": [],
  "created": "2026-06-23",
  "updated": "2026-06-23",
  "spatial": {
    "bbox": [
      -180,
      -90,
      180,
      90
    ],
    "geography": [
      "world"
    ],
    "crs": "EPSG:4326",
    "resolution": [
      {
        "type": "xy",
        "unit": "degree",
        "value": 0.08333333,
        "label": "5 arc-minutes (~10km at equator)"
      }
    ]
  },
  "temporal": {
    "date": "2020"
  },
  "dimensions": [
    {
      "name": "species",
      "type": "species",
      "description": "The livestock species for which the data is provided",
      "values": [
        "buffalo",
        "cattle",
        "chicken",
        "goat",
        "pig",
        "sheep"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "variables": [
    {
      "name": "Livestock Density",
      "description": "Number of livestock per km2",
      "data_type": "float32",
      "unit": "{head}/km-1"
    }
  ],
  "cdh": {
    "domain": [
      "agricultural-production"
    ],
    "usage": {
      "intended_uses": [
        "global and regional analysis of livestock distribution",
        "livestock exposure layers for hazard, disease, and emissions assessment",
        "spatial targeting at national and sub-national scale"
      ],
      "not_recommended_for": [
        {
          "use": "exact livestock counts",
          "reason": "values are spatially modeled estimates derived from census and other data",
          "use_instead": "official livestock census counts where available"
        }
      ]
    }
  },
  "classes": [],
  "commodities": [
    "buffalo",
    "cattle",
    "chickens",
    "goats",
    "swine",
    "sheep"
  ],
  "processing": [
    {
      "id": "source",
      "description": "Original GLW 4 release",
      "date": "2024-07-15",
      "derived_from": [
        {
          "url": "https://data.apps.fao.org/catalog//iso/9d1e149b-d63f-4213-978b-317a8eb42d02",
          "title": "GLW 4 2020"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "cloud-optimize",
      "description": "Optimize data for cloud storage",
      "date": "2026-06-23",
      "code": {
        "url": "https://github.com/CGIAR-Climate-Data-Hub/cdh-data-pipeline/blob/main/recipes/glw4.py",
        "version": "885ed96"
      },
      "derived_from": []
    }
  ],
  "data": [
    {
      "name": "zarr",
      "description": "Zarr store of GLW 4 2020",
      "locations": [
        {
          "url": "https://digital-atlas.s3.amazonaws.com/cdh/data/glw4-2020/glw4-2020.zarr",
          "title": "HTTPS"
        },
        {
          "url": "s3://digital-atlas/cdh/data/glw4-2020/glw4-2020.zarr",
          "title": "S3"
        }
      ],
      "media_type": "application/vnd.zarr; version=3",
      "file_size": "31.1 MB",
      "nodata": "NaN"
    },
    {
      "name": "cogs",
      "description": "Cloud-optimized GeoTIFFs of GLW 4 2020",
      "locations": [
        {
          "url": "https://digital-atlas.s3.amazonaws.com/cdh/data/glw4-2020/cog/",
          "title": "HTTPS"
        },
        {
          "url": "s3://digital-atlas/cdh/data/glw4-2020/cog/",
          "title": "S3"
        }
      ],
      "href_template": "glw4-2020-{species}.tif",
      "media_type": "image/tiff; application=geotiff; profile=cloud-optimized",
      "nodata": -3.4028235e+38
    }
  ],
  "additional_assets": [],
  "additional_links": [
    {
      "name": "FAO Livestock Distributions",
      "rel": "related",
      "url": "https://www.fao.org/livestock-systems/global-distributions/en/"
    },
    {
      "name": "FAOSTAT Crop and Livestock Production",
      "rel": "related",
      "url": "https://www.fao.org/faostat/en/#data/QCL"
    }
  ],
  "$schema": "https://cgiar-climate-data-hub.github.io/cdh-metadata-standard/v0.3.0/schemas/profiles/cdh.schema.json",
  "extensions": [
    "https://cgiar-climate-data-hub.github.io/cdh-metadata-standard/v0.3.0/extensions/cdh/schema.json",
    "https://cgiar-climate-data-hub.github.io/cdh-metadata-standard/v0.3.0/extensions/datacube/schema.json",
    "https://cgiar-climate-data-hub.github.io/cdh-metadata-standard/v0.3.0/extensions/agriculture/schema.json"
  ]
}