A 30 m soil and water conservation terrace measures dataset of China from 2000 to 2020

Abstract. Terrace, as one of the most widely distributed and heavily invested soil and water conservation (SWC) measures in China, currently lacks a comprehensive database with spatiotemporal distribution and diverse classification types. This absence significantly hampers accurate soil erosion assessment and SWC planning in China. To address this gap, we proposed a two-stage mapping framework for the different terrace measures classification to produce a new dataset named the Soil and Water Conservation Terrace Measures Dataset (SWCTMD) using time-series Landsat satellite imagery and digital elevation model data. This dataset, spanning from 2000 to 2020, incorporated a fine classification system, providing both terrace data and SWC measure factor. The terraces were classified into four types according to their features: level terrace, slope terrace, zig terrace, and slope-separated terrace. The results showed that the average overall accuracy (OA) of the terrace was 91.90 % and the average F1 score was 76.75 %. For different terrace types, the average OA was 83.50 % and the average F1 score was 52.14 %. Comparative analysis highlighted the superiority and robustness of the SWCTMD compared to existing products. This dataset revealed that terraces in China are predominantly concentrated in the Loess Plateau, Southwest and Southeast regions. From 2000 to 2020, the total terrace areas increased by 96,038.16 km2, with the largest increase occurring in slope terraces. While terrace expansion was concentrated in the Loess Plateau, and southwest and southeast of China, decreases were concentrated around urban areas. Notably, terraces reduced soil erosion of cropland by about 818 million tons in 2020. The SWCTMD enhances the accuracy of soil erosion simulations and enables long-term analysis of soil erosion trends. Moreover, the dataset offers valuable applications in earth system modelling and contributes to research on land resource management, food security, biodiversity, and water cycle. The SWCTMD is freely available at https://doi.org/10.11888/Terre.tpdc.302400 (Duan, 2025).