1. Land Cover Characterization Program National Mapping Division EROS Data CenterU. S. Geological Survey The National Land Cover Dataset of the Multi- Resolution Land Characteristics Consortium Zhiliang Zhu USGS, EROS Data Center RS2000 April 13, 2000

2. Land Cover Characterization Program National Mapping Division EROS Data CenterU. S. Geological Survey Multi-Resolution Land Characteristics (MRLC) Consortium Partners n Environmental Protection Agency é Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program n US Geological Survey é Gap Analysis Program é National Water Quality Assessment Program é Land Cover Characterization Program n NOAA é Coastal Change Analysis Program n US Forest Service é Remote Sensing Applications Center (currently representing USFS)

3. Land Cover Characterization Program National Mapping Division EROS Data CenterU. S. Geological Survey MRLC Classification System 11. Open water 12. Perennial ice/snow 21. Low intensity residential 22. High intensity residential 23. Commercial 31. Bare rock/sand/clay 32. Quarries/mines/gravel 33. Transitional 41. Deciduous forest 42. Evergreen forest 43. Mixed forest 51. Shrub 52. Non-natural woody 61. Orchards/vineyards 71. Grasslands/herbaceous 81. Pasture/hay 82. Row crops 83. Small grains 84. Fallow 85. Urban grasses 91. Woody wetlands 92. Emergent herbaceous wetland

4. Land Cover Characterization Program National Mapping Division EROS Data CenterU. S. Geological Survey Classes Relevant to Forest Service n Forested land é Deciduous forest é Evergreen forest é Mixed forest n Shrub land n Woody wetland n Non-natural Woody (MRLC 2000)

5. Land Cover Characterization Program National Mapping Division EROS Data CenterU. S. Geological Survey National Land Cover Dataset n Landsat TM Source n 30 meter raster n Consistent Classification n Mapping by Federal Regions n Accuracy Assessment by Region n Distribution by Region and State

6. Land Cover Characterization Program National Mapping Division EROS Data CenterU. S. Geological Survey NLCD Mapping Process n Create mosaics from TM image data for subregions: leaf-on & leaf-off (MRLC2000: 3 dates) n Ancillary data: population, DEM, soils, land cover n Generate unsupervised classification clusters n Label clusters n Model confused clusters with ancillary data

7. Land Cover Characterization Program National Mapping Division EROS Data CenterU. S. Geological Survey NLCD Mapping Process, continued n Edit and recode select classes n Validate preliminary land cover data set n Edge match other subregions n Distribute for review / revise with user comments n Perform Accuracy Assessment

8. Land Cover Characterization Program National Mapping Division EROS Data CenterU. S. Geological Survey National Land Cover Dataset Nov 1999

9. Land Cover Characterization Program National Mapping Division EROS Data CenterU. S. Geological Survey Accuracy Assessment nSelect sample sites nAdditional sample sites for rare classes nAcquire air photos for sample sites nPhoto-interpret land cover nAnalyze and document results

10. Land Cover Characterization Program National Mapping Division EROS Data CenterU. S. Geological Survey nAll NLCD classes: overall accuracy 65% nAnderson I aggregation: overall accuracy 77% nAnderson I forested class: 85% nClass accuracies highly variable nOverall accuracy consistent between regions Accuracy Results (Regions 1 - 4)

11. Land Cover Characterization Program National Mapping Division EROS Data CenterU. S. Geological Survey National Land Cover Applications n EPA - Inventory, Monitoring, Enforcement n NAWQA - watershed analysis n Vector-borne diseases n Arsenic concentrations in ground water n Watershed characterization and management n BRD - GAP Projects n TNC - un-fragmented forest tracts

12. Land Cover Characterization Program National Mapping Division EROS Data CenterU. S. Geological Survey MRLC 2000 n Landsat 7 Data Acquisition - Consortium é Begin in FY 1999, centered around 2000 é 3 scenes per path/row Cost: $1.4 M n Land Cover Mapping Implementation é Complete remapping using Landsat 7 é Begin in FY 2000, completion TBD é Data base approach and mapping zones é Consistent with 1992 data set é Cost: $16M: project 50% USGS, 50% others.

13. Land Cover Characterization Program National Mapping Division EROS Data CenterU. S. Geological Survey Potential Applications to Forest Service n Forest/nonforest, forest type separation n Spatial modeling for forest management, wildlife habitat studies n Stratification tool to increase inventory precision n Change detection in forest area n Scheduling for the next inventory n Basis for fire fuel mapping n Basis for biomass, canopy density R&D

14. Land Cover Characterization Program National Mapping Division EROS Data CenterU. S. Geological Survey Potential MRLC Benefits to Forest Service n Cost saving on data buy and processing n Operational cost saving: amount of manpower, time, and facilities n Standardized methodologies, consistent results n Ability to influence science issues through involvement n The joy and benefits of working with professionals in sister agencies

15. Land Cover Characterization Program National Mapping Division EROS Data CenterU. S. Geological Survey Search EDC Home Page: edcwww.cr.usgs.gov