Land Cover Mapping, Status & Trends
The RMGSC conducts geographic research and develops capabilities that are critical to assessing landscape conditions and trends across the nation. Our research contributes to a better understanding of the types, causes and consequences of land use and land cover change, which ultimately influence human well-being and environmental conditions. Land cover data acquisition has evolved from photo interpretation and map compilation to sophisticated land cover classification using a variety of methods and satellite data sources. The RMGSC has developed a strong tradition of innovative land cover mapping while also advancing the knowledge and application of geographic information.
Land Cover Trends
Land Use and Land Cover Land use and land cover changes have wide ranging impacts on the ecological regions of the Great Plains and Rocky Mountains that require systematic documentation and analysis. For instance, what are the effects of agricultural expansion and loss on grassland ecoregions? What is the impact of regional population change and urbanization on land cover? What are the patterns of contemporary forest change in the United States?
Land Cover Status and Trends for the Eastern United States
Land Cover Trends: Geographic Dimensions of U.S. Regional Change
Understanding these trends and their consequences depends in large part on regional analyses of land use and land cover change. The Land Cover Trends study is examining the type, geographic distribution, and rate of land cover changes for 84 United States ecoregions from 1973 to 2000 using statistical sampling and remote sensing change analysis techniques. Key human and environmental driving forces and consequences of change are also documented. Current research at the RMGSC focuses on the causes, rates, and consequences of land changes in the central U.S. and contributes to a national synthesis of land cover trends.
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The Consequences of Projected Land Use and Land Cover Change Land use and land cover change is perhaps the most pervasive and consequential of all environmental changes. Land use change modifies land cover, and subsequently affects a broad range of socio-economic, biologic, and hydrologic systems. The potential consequences of land use changes are complex, not easily understood, difficult to quantify, and frequently confounded by environmental variability due to effects of both natural and human forcing factors. We hypothesize that land use and land cover changes are significant forcing factors for modifying carbon dynamics, land surface hydrology, regional weather and climate variability.
The RMGSC is researching various capabilities for projecting future land cover change and assessing the consequences of change. Land use and cover are forecasted for the 2020 period using a scenario-based stochastic model using data from the Land Cover Trends research, the 1992 National Land Cover Database, and driving forces analysis. Sensitivity analysis using climate models (RAMS/LEAF2/GEMTM) and the CENTURY biogeochemical model will focus on the impacts of land use changes on climate, hydrology, and carbon.
National Land Cover Data
Image Processing for NLCD
Original image
Impervious Surface
Tree canopy
The RMGSC is a partner in the USGS National Land Cover Data (NLCD) Program, which is mapping land cover across the Nation at a medium scale of 1:100,000. The NLCD uses Landsat imagery to map the earth's surface into 21 land cover categories. The data have a variety of uses, including landscape change detection, forest management activities, hydrology studies, ecosystem monitoring, and biological applications. The RMGSC has participated in the successful completion of the NLCD 2001 for the Conterminous United States by completing six map zones. During 2007 the RMGSC will continue to support the NLCD Program by working to complete three large map zones in Alaska.
NLCD 2001 information and data for the Conterminous United States
USGS/NPS Vegetation Mapping Program
The RMGSC is working on vegetation mapping projects for the National Park Service in parks and monuments throughout the Rocky Mountain West. RMGSC researchers have pioneered innovative methods to increase the accuracy, consistency, and efficiency of this mapping effort. In fact, the RMGSC has become a leader in the USGS-NPS Vegetation Mapping Program through its original combination of geospatial modeling, semi-automated classification of imagery, and use of object-oriented software.
We have completed projects in six park units:
Mesa Verde National Park
Canyonlands National Park
Canyon De Chelly National Monument
Capitol Reef National Park
Colorado National Monument
Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument
And we are currently working on five additional National Parks:
Fossil Butte National Monument
Rocky Mountain National Park
Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve
Bryce Canyon National Park
Cedar Breaks National Monument
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