2. Minnesota Land Cover Classification System (MLCCS)
Standardizing land cover inventories
Bart Richardson
DNR Central Region
GIS Project Coordinator

3. Overview Brief history of MLCCS Data management issues Solutions
Future products

4. History
Started in 1999 with a DNR Metro Greenway planning grant for a Pine Bend River Bluff analysis with the Friends of the Mississippi River and Dakota County Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD)
Expanded with National Park Service funding to include the entire Mississippi National River Recreation Area (MNRRA) corridor using Greening the Great River Park (now Great River Greening) and DNR staff

5. A system that looks at the land’s cover...
land use vs land cover

6. Using the National Vegetation Classification System as a model
Hierarchical system
Federally mandated for federal projects
Compliant with MnDNR’s Natural Heritage communities (at the time…)
Incorporates NWI classifications
Can bridge many of the existing systems

8. Hybrid of NVCS and DNR Heritage
Cultural Levels
Level 1 - Artificial surfaces or cultivated vegetation
Level 2 - Vegetation structure
Level 3 - Vegetation growth-form characteristics or artificial surface type
Level 4 - Percent of impervious surfaces or soil conditions
Level 5 - Plant genus, plant communities, management practices, or surface type
Natural / Semi-natural Levels
Level 1 - Vegetation structure
Level 2 - Vegetation growth-form characteristics
Level 3 - Vegetation physiognomy refinement or hydrological regime (NWI)
Level 4 - Vegetation natural community types (MN Natural Heritage)
Level 5 - Vegetation natural community subtypes (MN Natural Heritage)

9. Overview of the MLCCS Hierarchical Classification System
Supersystem - Terrestrial
System - Cultural or Natural/Semi-natural
Five level system beginning with vegetation type
Modifiers for adding information for specific polygons

10. Natural and Semi-natural System
Level 1 - Vegetation structure
Level 2 - Vegetation growth-form characteristics
Level 3 - Vegetation physiognomy refinement or hydrological regime
Level 4 - Vegetation natural community types
Level 5 - Vegetation natural community subtypes

11. Coding Schemes Numeric
The MLCCS is a typical hierarchical classification system.
The organization of the numerical and alphanumerical codes reflect this multi-level nested hierarchy.
Numerical codes
The numerical codes use a five digit number. The digits are organized left to right and each digit represent a level of the classification system; the first digit represents level one, the second digit represents level two, etc.
The five levels of the MLCCS are represented by a five digit number:
Examples:
Interpreted to the first level, thus represents Forests
Interpreted to the second level, thus represents Deciduous forest
Interpreted to the third level, thus represents Upland deciduous forest
Interpreted to the forth level, thus represents Oak forest
Interpreted to the fifth level, thus represents Oak forest dry subtype

12. Coding Schemes Alphanumeric
Alphanumerical codes
The alphanumerical codes use a unique combination of numbers and letters (characters) for each level. The unique character clusters for each level are separated by periods.
Examples:
3 Interpreted to the first level, thus represents Forests
3.de Interpreted to the second level, thus represents Deciduous forest
3.de.UP Interpreted to the third level, thus represents Upland deciduous forest
3.de.UP.nOA Interpreted to the forth level, thus represents Oak forest
3.de.UP.nOA.nOD Interpreted to the fifth level, thus represents Oak forest dry subtype

13. Data management issues……

15. The gruesome facts
4,517,956 acres
339,280 polygons
Numerous sources

17. Data Issues: multiple sources
Overlapping projects
Different quality
Gaps, slivers, nulls...

18. Data Issues: attribute errors
Wrong field names
Wrong field types
Missing mandatory attributes

19. Different land cover interpretations
Data Issues
Different land cover interpretations
Oak savanna?
Woodland?
Aspen opening?
Prairie?

20. Different land cover interpretations
Data Issues
Different land cover interpretations
Prairie?
Non-native grass?
Hayfield?
Managed long grasses?

21. Different land cover interpretations
Data Issues
Different land cover interpretations
Short grasses (lawns)?
Non-native savanna?
Woodland?
Stream?

22. Managing the data issues
Pulling it all together with standards....

23. Setting standards for... Land cover type interpretations
Attribute tables
Delineation
Digitizing

24. Dichotomous key Standard aerial photo interpretation Subjective.....

25. Oak Woodland-Brushland

26. Begin with an existing geodatabase or shapefile to get legitimate fields and values

27. Standards for data creation
Use the best aerial photo available
Digitize at a detailed scale ( ~ 1:3,000)
Minimum Mapping Units
1 acre natural cover
2 acres for built up or agland

28. Standards for data creation
Interpret level 4/5 natural and semi-natural communities in the field
Stop at level 3 (or above) when interpreting from aerial photo
Use a GPS to verify codes and locations
Proof attribute table for typos

29. MLCCS Modifiers
An integral part of the MLCCS is the use of modifier codes.
Modifier codes are to be used to further define a site and are considered equal in weight to the MLCCS code.
Modifiers are intended to be used concurrently, and are organized by major themes.

30. Modifier Themes
Modifiers codes have been created for the following topics:
Percent Imperviousness
Land Use
Current vegetation management of a site
Types of disturbances observed in the natural communities
Natural quality of a site
Invasive species or reflects vegetative encroachment
Tree Species
Forest Dynamics
Percent tree canopy cover
Cover size measured by the average diameter of trees
Water regime

31. Definition of the codes
To further assist with land cover interpretation, definitions of all the codes are provided
Most of the definitions come directly from the Minnesota Key to Natural Communities, or The Nature Conservancy