This dataset portrays the anthropogenic biomes ("anthromes") of the world in 5-arc-minute gridded format for the
year 1700. This is from version 2.0, which is a time series containing four datasets from 1700-2000. <br /> <br /> {From Ellis
et al., 2010} <br /> Anthropogenic biomes (anthromes) were mapped for 1700, 1800, 1900 and 2000 using a rule-based anthrome
classification model applied to gridded global data for human population density and land use. Anthropogenic transformation
of terrestrial biomes was then characterized by map comparisons at century intervals. <br /> <br /> In 1700, nearly half of
the terrestrial biosphere was wild, without human settlements or substantial land use. Most of the remainder was in a seminatural
state (45%) having only minor use for agriculture and settlements. By 2000, the opposite was true, with the majority of the
biosphere in agricultural and settled anthromes, less than 20% seminatural and only a quarter left wild. Anthropogenic transformation
of the biosphere during the Industrial Revolution resulted about equally from land-use expansion into wildlands and intensification
of land use within seminatural anthromes. Transformation pathways differed strongly between biomes and regions, with some
remaining mostly wild but with the majority almost completely transformed into rangelands, croplands and villages. In the
process of transforming almost 39% of earth's total ice-free surface into agricultural land and settlements, an additional
37% of global land without such use has become embedded within agricultural and settled anthromes. <br /> <br /> Further information
and data download available at: http://ecotope.org/anthromes/v2/data/