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USGS2003

Urban land-cover change detection through sub-pixel imperviousness mapping using remotely sensed data

We developed a Sub-pixel Imperviousness Change Detection (SICD) approach to detect urban land-cover changes using Landsat and high-resolution imagery. The sub-pixel percent imperviousness was mapped for two dates (09 March 1993 and 11 March 2001) over western Georgia using a regression tree algorithm. The accuracy of the predicted imperviousness was reasonable based on a comparison using independent reference data. The average absolute error between predicted and reference data was 16.4 percent for 1993 and 15.3 percent for 2001. The correlation coefficient (r) was 0.73 for 1993 and 0.78 for 2001, respectively. Areas with a significant increase (greater than 20 percent) in impervious surface from 1993 to 2001 were mostly related to known land-cover/land-use changes that occurred in this area, suggesting that the spatial change of an impervious surface is a useful indicator for identifying spatial extent, intensity, and, potentially, type of urban land-cover/land-use changes. Compared to other pixel-based change-detection methods (band differencing, rationing, change vector, post-classification), information on changes in sub-pixel percent imperviousness allow users to quantify and interpret urban land-cover/land-use changes based on their own definition. Such information is considered complementary to products generated using other change-detection methods. In addition, the procedure for mapping imperviousness is objective and repeatable, hence, can be used for monitoring urban land-cover/land-use change over a large geographic area. Potential applications and limitations of the products developed through this study in urban environmental studies are also discussed.

Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing↗

USGS2016

Status and trends of land change in selected U.S. ecoregions - 2000 to 2011

U.S. Geological Survey scientists developed a dataset of 2006 and 2011 land-use and land-cover ( LULC ) information for selected 100-km 2 sample blocks within 29 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ( EPA ) Level III ecoregions across the conterminous United States. The data can be used with the previously published Land Cover Trends Dataset: 1973 to 2000 to assess landuse/land-cover change across a 37-year study period. Results from analysis of these data include ecoregion-based statistical estimates of the amount of LULC change per time period, ranking of the most common types of conversions, rates of change, and percent composition. Overall estimated amount of change per ecoregion from 2001 to 2011 ranged from a low of 370 km 2 in the Northern Basin and Range Ecoregion to a high of 78,782 km 2 in the Southeastern Plains Ecoregion. The Southeastern Plains continues to encompass one of the most intense forest harvesting and regrowth regions in the country, with 16.6 percent of the ecoregion changing between 2001 and 2011. These LULC change statistics provide a new, valuable resource that complements other reference data and field-verified LULC data. Researchers can use this resource to independently validate other land change products or to conduct regional land change assessments.

Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing↗

USGS2011

Predicting future changes in Muskegon River Watershed game fish distributions under future land cover alteration and climate change scenarios

Future alterations in land cover and climate are likely to cause substantial changes in the ranges of fish species. Predictive distribution models are an important tool for assessing the probability that these changes will cause increases or decreases in or the extirpation of species. Classification tree models that predict the probability of game fish presence were applied to the streams of the Muskegon River watershed, Michigan. The models were used to study three potential future scenarios: (1) land cover change only, (2) land cover change and a 3°C increase in air temperature by 2100, and (3) land cover change and a 5°C increase in air temperature by 2100. The analysis indicated that the expected change in air temperature and subsequent change in water temperatures would result in the decline of coldwater fish in the Muskegon watershed by the end of the 21st century while cool- and warmwater species would significantly increase their ranges. The greatest decline detected was a 90% reduction in the probability that brook trout Salvelinus fontinalis would occur in Bigelow Creek. The greatest increase was a 276% increase in the probability that northern pike Esox lucius would occur in the Middle Branch River. Changes in land cover are expected to cause large changes in a few fish species, such as walleye Sander vitreus and Chinook salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytscha, but not to drive major changes in species composition. Managers can alter stream environmental conditions to maximize the probability that species will reside in particular stream reaches through application of the classification tree models. Such models represent a good way to predict future changes, as they give quantitative estimates of the n-dimensional niches for particular species.

Michigan↗

USGS1999

Modeling the effects of land use and climate change on riverine smallmouth bass

Anthropogenic changes in temperature and stream flow, associated with watershed land use and climate change, are critical influences on the distribution and abundance of riverine fishes. To project the effects of changing land use and climate, we modeled a smallmouth bass ( Micropterus dolomieu ) population in a midwestern USA, large river–floodplain ecosystem under historical (1915–1925), present (1977–1990), and future (2060, influenced by climate change) temperature and flow regimes. The age-structured model included parameters for temperature and river discharge during critical seasonal periods, fish population dynamics, and fishing harvest. Model relationships were developed from empirical field data collected over a 13-yr period. Sensitivity analyses indicated that discharge during the spawning/rearing period had a greater effect on adult density and fishing yield than did spawning/rearing temperature or winter discharge. Simulations for 100 years projected a 139% greater mean fish density under a historical flow regime (64.9 fish/ha) than that estimated for the present (27.1 fish/ha) with a sustainable fishing harvest under both flow regimes. Simulations under future climate-change-induced temperature and flow regimes with present land use projected a 69% decrease in mean fish density (8.5 fish/ha) from present and an unstable population that went extinct during 56% of the simulations. However, when simulated under a future climate-altered temperature and flow regime with historical land use, the population increased by 66% (45.0 fish/ha) from present and sustained a harvest. Our findings suggest that land-use changes may be a greater detriment to riverine fishes than projected climate change and that the combined effects of both factors may lead to local species extinction. However, the negative effects of increased temperature and precipitation associated with future global warming could be mitigated by river channel, floodplain, and watershed restoration.

Ecological Applications↗

USGS2015

Desertification, land use, and the transformation of global drylands

Desertification is an escalating concern in global drylands, yet assessments to guide management and policy responses are limited by ambiguity concerning the definition of “desertification” and what processes are involved. To improve clarity, we propose that assessments of desertification and land transformation be placed within a state change–land-use change (SC–LUC) framework. This framework considers desertification as state changes occurring within the context of particular land uses (eg rangeland, cropland) that interact with land-use change. State changes that can be readily reversed are distinguished from regime shifts, which are state changes involving persistent alterations to vegetation or soil properties. Pressures driving the transformation of rangelands to other types of land uses may be low, fluctuating, or high, and may influence and be influenced by state change. We discuss how the SC–LUC perspective can guide more effective assessment of desertification and management of drylands.

Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment↗

USGS2009

Coastline shifts and probable ship landing site submerged off ancient Locri-Epizefiri, southern Italy

A geophysical survey provides new information on marine features located seaward of Locri-Epizefiri (Locri), an ancient Greek settlement on the Ionian coastal margin in southern Italy. The study supplements previous work by archaeologists who long searched for the site's harbor and recently identified what was once a marine basin that is now on land next to the city walls of Locri. Profiles obtained offshore, between the present coast and outer shelf, made with a high-resolution, seismic subbottom-profiling system, record spatial and temporal variations of buried Holocene deposits. Two of these submerged features are part of a probable now-submerged ship landing facility. The offshore features can be linked to coastline displacements that occurred off Locri: a sea-to-land shift before Greek settlement, followed by a shoreline reversal from the archaeological site back to sea, and more recently, a return landward. The seaward directed coastal shift that occurred after Locri's occupation by Greeks was likely caused by land uplift near the coastal margin and tectonic seaward shift of the coast, as documented along this geologically active sector of the Calabrian Arc. The seismic survey records an angular, hook-shaped, low rise that extends from the present shore and is now buried on the inner shelf. The rise, enclosing a core lens of poorly stratified to transparent acoustic layers, bounds a broad, low-elevation zone positioned immediately seaward of the shoreline. Close proximity of the raised feature to the low-elevation area suggests it may have been a fabricated structure that functioned as a wave-break for a ship-landing site. The study indicates that the basin extended offshore as a function of the coastline's seaward migration during and/or after Greek occupation of Locri.

Journal of Coastal Research↗

USGS1970

Waterfowl breeding habitat in agricultural and nonagricultural land in Manitoba

Waterfowl populations and habitat characteristics were examined on 33 potholes in each of two 16-square-mile study areas of agricultural and nonagricultural land in southwestern Manitoba. The agricultural land potholes, lacking in or incompletely surrounded by trees, received greater use by lesser scaup ( Aythya affinis ), canvasback ( A. valisineria ), redhead ( A. americana ), coot ( Fulica americana ), and three species of grebes ( Podicipedidae ). The nonagricultural land potholes, completely surrounded by trees, were more attractive to blue-winged teal ( Anas discors ), and mallard ( A. platyrhynchos ), and over twice as many dabbler broods were censused there. Abundant, undisturbed nesting cover may have been the reason for greater dabbler use on the nonagricultural land potholes since chemical and biological properties suggest more fertile conditions in the agricultural land.

Manitoba↗

USGS2013

Landscape indicators and land cover change in the Mid-Atlantic Region of the United States, 1973-2001

Landscape indicators, derived from land use and land cover data as well as other data, were used to calculate the ecological consequences of land cover change in terms of nitrate loading and physical bird habitat. Both were modeled from 1973, 1992, and 2001 land cover data in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. Land cover statistics and trends are calculated for three time periods. In general, forest gain and agricultural loss was found in areas of improving landscape indicators and forest loss and agricultural gain was found to occur in areas of declining indicators, which was confirmed by high-resolution aerial photographic analysis.

Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, North Ca↗

USGS1975

Norfolk and environs: A land use perspective

The Norfolk-Portsmouth Standard Metropolitan Statistical Area (SMSA) in southeastern Virginia was the site of intensive testing of a number of land resources assessment methods, built around the availability of remotely sensed data from the Earth Resources Technology Satellite (ERTS-I), later renamed LANDSAT I. The Norfolk tests were part of a larger experiment known as the Central Atlantic Regional Ecological Test Site (CARETS), designed to test the extent to which LANDSAT and associated high-altitude aircraft data could be used as cost-effective inputs to a regional land use information system. The Norfolk SMSA contains a variety of land uses typical of the urbanized eastern seaboard, along with typical associated problems: rapid urbanization; heavy recreational, commercial, and residential demands on fragile beaches and coastal marsh environments; industrial, transportation, and governmental land and water uses impacting on residential and agricultural areas; drainage and land stability difficulties affecting construction and other uses; and increasing difficulties in maintaining satisfactory air and water quality.

Delaware;Maryl;New Jersey;North Carolina;Pennsylva↗

USGS1975

Norfolk and environs: A land use perspective

Delaware;Maryl;New Jersey;North Carolina;Pennsylva↗

USGS2010

National Land Cover Database 2001 (NLCD01) Tree Canopy Layer Tile 1, Northwest United States: CNPY01_1

This 30-meter resolution data set represents the tree canopy layer for the conterminous United States for the 2001 time period. The data have been arranged into four tiles to facilitate timely display and manipulation within a Geographic Information System, browse graphic: nlcd01-partition.jpg. The National Land Cover Data Set for 2001 was produced through a cooperative project conducted by the Multi-Resolution Land Characteristics (MRLC) Consortium. The MRLC Consortium is a partnership of Federal agencies (www.mrlc.gov), consisting of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the U.S. Forest Service (USFS), the National Park Service (NPS), the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), and the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). One of the primary goals of the project is to generate a current, consistent, seamless, and accurate National Land Cover Database (NLCD) circa 2001 for the United States at medium spatial resolution. For a detailed definition and discussion on MRLC and the NLCD 2001 products, refer to Homer and others (2004) and http://www.mrlc.gov/mrlc2k.asp. The NLCD 2001 was created by partitioning the United States into mapping-zones. A total of 68 mapping-zones browse graphic: nlcd01-mappingzones.jpg were delineated within the conterminous United States based on ecoregion and geographical characteristics, edge-matching features, and the size requirement of Landsat mosaics. Mapping-zones encompass the whole or parts of several states. Questions about the NLCD mapping zones can be directed to the NLCD 2001 Land Cover Mapping Team at the USGS/EROS, Sioux Falls, SD (605) 594-6151 or mrlc@usgs.gov

Report↗

USGS2010

National Land Cover Database 2001 (NLCD01) Tree Canopy Layer Tile 2, Northeast United States: CNPY01_2

This 30-meter resolution data set represents the tree canopy layer for the conterminous United States for the 2001 time period. The data have been arranged into four tiles to facilitate timely display and manipulation within a Geographic Information System, browse graphic: nlcd01-partition.jpg The National Land Cover Data Set for 2001 was produced through a cooperative project conducted by the Multi-Resolution Land Characteristics (MRLC) Consortium. The MRLC Consortium is a partnership of Federal agencies (www.mrlc.gov), consisting of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the U.S. Forest Service (USFS), the National Park Service (NPS), the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), and the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). One of the primary goals of the project is to generate a current, consistent, seamless, and accurate National Land Cover Database (NLCD) circa 2001 for the United States at medium spatial resolution. For a detailed definition and discussion on MRLC and the NLCD 2001 products, refer to Homer and others (2004) and http://www.mrlc.gov/mrlc2k.asp. The NLCD 2001 was created by partitioning the United States into mapping-zones. A total of 68 mapping-zones browse graphic: nlcd01-mappingzones.jpg were delineated within the conterminous United States based on ecoregion and geographical characteristics, edge-matching features, and the size requirement of Landsat mosaics. Mapping-zones encompass the whole or parts of several states. Questions about the NLCD mapping zones can be directed to the NLCD 2001 Land Cover Mapping Team at the USGS/EROS, Sioux Falls, SD (605) 594-6151 or mrlc@usgs.gov.

Report↗

USGS2010

National Land Cover Database 2001 (NLCD01) Tree Canopy Layer Tile 3, Southwest United States: CNPY01_3

This 30-meter resolution data set represents the tree canopy layer for the conterminous United States for the 2001 time period. The data have been arranged into four tiles to facilitate timely display and manipulation within a Geographic Information System, browse graphic: nlcd01-partition.jpg The National Land Cover Data Set for 2001 was produced through a cooperative project conducted by the Multi-Resolution Land Characteristics (MRLC) Consortium. The MRLC Consortium is a partnership of Federal agencies (www.mrlc.gov), consisting of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the U.S. Forest Service (USFS), the National Park Service (NPS), the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), and the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). One of the primary goals of the project is to generate a current, consistent, seamless, and accurate National Land Cover Database (NLCD) circa 2001 for the United States at medium spatial resolution. For a detailed definition and discussion on MRLC and the NLCD 2001 products, refer to Homer and others (2004) and http://www.mrlc.gov/mrlc2k.asp. The NLCD 2001 was created by partitioning the United States into mapping-zones. A total of 68 mapping-zones browse graphic: nlcd01-mappingzones.jpg were delineated within the conterminous United States based on ecoregion and geographical characteristics, edge-matching features, and the size requirement of Landsat mosaics. Mapping-zones encompass the whole or parts of several states. Questions about the NLCD mapping zones can be directed to the NLCD 2001 Land Cover Mapping Team at the USGS/EROS, Sioux Falls, SD (605) 594-6151 or mrlc@usgs.gov.

Report↗

USGS2010

National Land Cover Database 2001 (NLCD01) Tree Canopy Layer Tile 4, Southeast United States: CNPY01_4

This 30-meter resolution data set represents the tree canopy layer for the conterminous United States for the 2001 time period. The data have been arranged into four tiles to facilitate timely display and manipulation within a Geographic Information System, browse graphic: nlcd01-partition.jpg The National Land Cover Data Set for 2001 was produced through a cooperative project conducted by the Multi-Resolution Land Characteristics (MRLC) Consortium. The MRLC Consortium is a partnership of Federal agencies (www.mrlc.gov), consisting of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the U.S. Forest Service (USFS), the National Park Service (NPS), the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), and the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). One of the primary goals of the project is to generate a current, consistent, seamless, and accurate National Land Cover Database (NLCD) circa 2001 for the United States at medium spatial resolution. For a detailed definition and discussion on MRLC and the NLCD 2001 products, refer to Homer and others (2004) and http://www.mrlc.gov/mrlc2k.asp. The NLCD 2001 was created by partitioning the United States into mapping-zones. A total of 68 mapping-zones browse graphic: nlcd01-mappingzones.jpg were delineated within the conterminous United States based on ecoregion and geographical characteristics, edge-matching features, and the size requirement of Landsat mosaics. Mapping-zones encompass the whole or parts of several states. Questions about the NLCD mapping zones can be directed to the NLCD 2001 Land Cover Mapping Team at the USGS/EROS, Sioux Falls, SD (605) 594-6151 or mrlc@usgs.gov.

Report↗

USGS2024

Remote sensing for monitoring mine lands and recovery efforts

Under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Ecosystem Restoration Program, the U.S. Department of the Interior has invested in assessing and recovering degraded ecosystems to promote healthy human communities and wildlife habitats. One priority established by the program is the need to address degraded ecosystems associated with mine lands, including active, inactive, and abandoned mines. Mine lands occur in every State of the United States and present a range of environmental hazards and safety risks to human communities and wildlife habitats. However, limited information compiled across the United States exists on the whereabouts of mining activities and their potential environmental effects on landscapes. Remote sensing is the process of acquiring information about the landscape from ground platforms, aircraft, or satellites to assess surface characteristics such as topography, vegetation, and soil properties and can therefore provide important cost-effective methods for identifying mining sites and assessing their environmental effects. Based on a literature review of remote sensing applications that assessed land health conditions and monitoring of mine lands, this report highlights important approaches, capabilities, considerations, and case studies using a breadth of techniques. The report identifies considerations for setting appropriate vegetation recovery targets and demonstrates how remote sensing can inform the prioritization, recovery design, and long-term assessments of recovery to help support decision makers and land managers. Applications of remote sensing to mine recovery will be most effective when recovery targets are clearly defined and quantifiable from data collected before mining activity, per the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 and similar laws. Additionally, the collected data would need to be accessible and maintained in databases for baseline references used to establish these recovery targets.

continental United States↗

USGS1970

Standards for the classification of public coal lands

In order to provide uniformity in the classification of coal lands in the public domain, certain standards have been prepared from time to time by the U.S. Geological Survey. The controlling factors are the depth, quality, and thickness of the coal beds. The first regulations were issued April 8, 1907; others followed in 1908, 1909, and 1913. Except for minor changes in 1959, the regulations of 1913, which were described in U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 537, have been the guiding principles for coal-land classification. Changes made herein from the standards previously used are: (1) a maximum depth of 6,000 feet instead of 5,000 feet, (2) a maximum depth of 1,000 feet instead of 500 feet for coals of minimum thickness, (3) use of Btu (British thermal unit) values for as-received foal instead of air-dried, and (4) a minimum Btu value of 4,000 for as-received coal instead of 8,000 for air-dried. An additional modification is that the maximum thickness of 8 feet which was designated in the Classification Chart for Coal Lands in 1959 is changed to 6 feet. The effect of these changes will be the classification of a greater amount of the withdrawn land as coal land than was done under earlier regulations.

Circular↗

USGS2006

Mining claim activity on federal land in the contiguous United States, 1976 through 2004

Statistical compilations of mining claim activity on Federal Land derived from the Bureau of Land Management's LR2000 database have been published by the U.S Geological Survey. This report updates Causey (2005) by adding statistics for an additional year of mining claim records, incorporating any corrections in older data done by BLM, adding a Public Land Survey spatial database for South Dakota, and improving correlation of the statistics to spatial databases in Washington and Nevada. The statistics compiled from the LR2000 database are counts of number of active mining claims in a section each year from 1976 to 2004 for all states within the contiguous United States. Claims are broken down by lode and placer types and a dataset is provided summarizing all claims including millsite and tunnel-site claims. One table presents data by case type, case status, and number of claims in a section. This report includes a spatial database for each state in which mining claims were recorded. A field is present in both datasets that allows the statistical data to be joined to the spatial databases so that spatial displays and analysis can be done using appropriate software. The data show how mining claim activity has changed in intensity, space, and time. Variations can be examined on a state, as well as a national level. The data are tied to a section of land, approximately 640 acres, which allows it to be used at regional, as well as local scale. It is restricted in that it only encompasses Federal land.

Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, ↗

USGS2010

National Land Cover Database 2001 (NLCD01) Imperviousness Layer Tile 1, Northwest United States: IMPV01_1

This 30-meter resolution data set represents the imperviousness layer for the conterminous United States for the 2001 time period. The data have been arranged into four tiles to facilitate timely display and manipulation within a Geographic Information System, browse graphic: nlcd01-partition. The National Land Cover Data Set for 2001 was produced through a cooperative project conducted by the Multi-Resolution Land Characteristics (MRLC) Consortium. The MRLC Consortium is a partnership of Federal agencies (www.mrlc.gov), consisting of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the U.S. Forest Service (USFS), the National Park Service (NPS), the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), and the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). One of the primary goals of the project is to generate a current, consistent, seamless, and accurate National Land Cover Database (NLCD) circa 2001 for the United States at medium spatial resolution. For a detailed definition and discussion on MRLC and the NLCD 2001 products, refer to Homer and others (2004) and http://www.mrlc.gov/mrlc2k.asp.. The NLCD 2001 was created by partitioning the United States into mapping-zones. A total of 68 mapping-zones browse graphic: nlcd01-mappingzones.jpg were delineated within the conterminous United States based on ecoregion and geographical characteristics, edge-matching features, and the size requirement of Landsat mosaics. Mapping-zones encompass the whole or parts of several states. Questions about the NLCD mapping zones can be directed to the NLCD 2001 Land Cover Mapping Team at the USGS/EROS, Sioux Falls, SD (605) 594-6151 or mrlc@usgs.gov.

Data Series↗