The USGS Land Cover Institute (LCI)
US Land Cover |
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| Land Cover Land Use Trends Land Cover Trends is a research project focused on understanding the rates, trends, causes, and consequences of contemporary U.S. land use and land cover change. The research is supported by the Geographic Analysis and Monitoring Program (GAM) of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and is a collaborative effort with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). |
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| Multi-resolution Land Characteristics Consortium (MRLC) The Multi-Resolution Land Characteristics (MRLC) Consortium is a group of federal agencies who first joined together in 1993 (MRLC 1992) to access Landsat 5 imagery for the conterminous U.S. and to develop a land cover dataset called the National Land Cover Dataset (NLCD 1992). In 1999, a second-generation MRLC consortium was formed to purchase three dates of Landsat 7 imagery for the entire United States (MRLC 2001) and to coordinate the production of a comprehensive land cover database for the nation called the National Land Cover Database (NLCD 2001). |
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| National Burn Severity Mapping Project The Joint National Park Service/ USGS National Burn Severity Mapping Project addresses the need to quantify fire effects over large, often-remote regions and long time intervals. It reflects collaborative efforts to bring previous research into operational implementation for fire managers and scientists. The project focuses on National Park Service Units and adjoining lands throughout the U.S., mostly beginning with fire-year 2000, although earlier burns have been examined in some areas. |
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| Fire Science Fire is an integral part of ecosystem functions and processes. The need to develop spatial information and technology lies in a fire's natural cycle: fire danger and live fire monitoring, post-fire mapping of burn scars and analysis of fire effects, fire fuels characteristics and mapping. These activities form the core of a strategy for the USGS EROS Center fire research and development. |
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| Landfire The LandFire project is a collaborative effort between several federal agencies, including the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) Fire & Aviation Management, Rocky Mountain Research Station (RMRS), USGS and Department of the Interior National Fire Plan Coordinators. The objective of this project is to develop the inputs and methods, including a comprehensive package of spatial data layers, models, and tools required to implement the National Fire Plan. |
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| Phenological Characterization The use of satellite imagery provides a unique vantage point for observing seasonal dynamics of the landscape. The USGS EROS Center has developed a data set of seasonal metrics derived from multi-temporal Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) observations for the conterminous United States. |
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| Tribal Lands: Monitoring and Analysis Tribal leaders from the San Carlos Apache Tribe have expressed their need for acquiring remotely sensed data products and technology to assist with ecosystem management plans and wise use of their resources. The Southwest Geographic Science Team is currently working closely with Tribal natural resource personnel to develop products to satisfy jointly developed objectives and which reflect their stated priorities. |
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| Characterizing the status, variability and temporal dynamics of ecological systems in the southwest This research characterizes the seasonal phenology and interannual dynamics of ecological systems as recently mapped in the arid and semi-arid southwest to create a 'phenological profile' of the system. Changes in these profiles may be due to many factors, including fire, invasion of non-native species, land use activities, and vegetation response to climate fluctuations or change. |
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| To determine the availability of other land cover related datasets inside and outside of the U.S. please access the "Get Land Cover Data" webpage. | |
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For a more complete and up to date list of ongoing land cover projects at other USGS Science Centers:
•Alaska Science Center •Eastern Geographic Science Center •Rocky Mountain Geographic Science Center •Mid-Continent Geographic Science Center •Rocky Mountain Geographic Science Center •Western Geographic Science Center |
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U.S. Department of the Interior | U.S. Geological Survey
URL: http://landcover.usgs.gov
Page Contact Information: LCI Administrator
Page Last Modified: March 2007
