NLCD 2001 Land Cover Class Definitions, 2004 DRAFT

NLCD 2001 Land Cover Class Definitions

11\. Open Water - All areas of open water, generally with less than 25%
cover of vegetation or soil.

12\. Perennial Ice/Snow - All areas characterized by a perennial cover
of ice and/or snow, generally greater than 25% of total cover.

21\. Developed, Open Space - Includes areas with a mixture of some
constructed materials, but mostly vegetation in the form of lawn
grasses. Impervious surfaces account for less than 20 percent of total
cover. These areas most commonly include large-lot single-family housing
units, parks, golf courses, and vegetation planted in developed settings
for recreation, erosion control, or aesthetic purposes

22\. Developed, Low Intensity - Includes areas with a mixture of
constructed materials and vegetation. Impervious surfaces account for
20-49 percent of total cover. These areas most commonly include
single-family housing units.

23\. Developed, Medium Intensity - Includes areas with a mixture of
constructed materials and vegetation. Impervious surfaces account for
50-79 percent of the total cover. These areas most commonly include
single-family housing units.

24\. Developed, High Intensity - Includes highly developed areas where
people reside or work in high numbers. Examples include apartment
complexes, row houses and commercial/industrial. Impervious surfaces
account for 80 to100 percent of the total cover.

31\. Barren Land (Rock/Sand/Clay) - Barren areas of bedrock, desert
pavement, scarps, talus, slides, volcanic material, glacial debris, sand
dunes, strip mines, gravel pits and other accumulations of earthen
material. Generally, vegetation accounts for less than 15% of total
cover.

32\. Unconsolidated Shore\* - Unconsolidated material such as silt,
sand, or gravel that is subject to inundation and redistribution due to
the action of water. Characterized by substrates lacking vegetation
except for pioneering plants that become established during brief
periods when growing conditions are favorable. Erosion and deposition by
waves and currents produce a number of landforms representing this
class.

41\. Deciduous Forest - Areas dominated by trees generally greater than
5 meters tall, and greater than 20% of total vegetation cover. More than
75 percent of the tree species shed foliage simultaneously in response
to seasonal change.

42\. Evergreen Forest - Areas dominated by trees generally greater than
5 meters tall, and greater than 20% of total vegetation cover. More than
75 percent of the tree species maintain their leaves all year. Canopy is
never without green foliage.

43\. Mixed Forest - Areas dominated by trees generally greater than 5
meters tall, and greater than 20% of total vegetation cover. Neither
deciduous nor evergreen species are greater than 75 percent of total
tree cover.

51\. Dwarf Scrub - Alaska only areas dominated by shrubs less than 20
centimeters tall with shrub canopy typically greater than 20% of total
vegetation. This type is often co-associated with grasses, sedges,
herbs, and non-vascular vegetation.

52\. Shrub/Scrub - Areas dominated by shrubs; less than 5 meters tall
with shrub canopy typically greater than 20% of total vegetation. This
class includes true shrubs, young trees in an early successional stage
or trees stunted from environmental conditions.

71\. Grassland/Herbaceous - Areas dominated by grammanoid or herbaceous
vegetation, generally greater than 80% of total vegetation. These areas
are not subject to intensive management such as tilling, but can be
utilized for grazing.

72\. Sedge/Herbaceous - Alaska only areas dominated by sedges and forbs,
generally greater than 80% of total vegetation. This type can occur with
significant other grasses or other grass like plants, and includes sedge
tundra, and sedge tussock tundra.

73\. Lichens - Alaska only areas dominated by fruticose or foliose
lichens generally greater than 80% of total vegetation.

74\. Moss - Alaska only areas dominated by mosses, generally greater
than 80% of total vegetation.

81\. Pasture/Hay - Areas of grasses, legumes, or grass-legume mixtures
planted for livestock grazing or the production of seed or hay crops,
typically on a perennial cycle. Pasture/hay vegetation accounts for
greater than 20 percent of total vegetation.

82\. Cultivated Crops - Areas used for the production of annual crops,
such as corn, soybeans, vegetables, tobacco, and cotton, and also
perennial woody crops such as orchards and vineyards. Crop vegetation
accounts for greater

than 20 percent of total vegetation. This class also includes all land
being actively tilled.

90\. Woody Wetlands - Areas where forest or shrubland vegetation
accounts for greater than 20 percent of vegetative cover and the soil or
substrate is periodically saturated with or covered with water.

91\. Palustrine Forested Wetland\* -Includes all tidal and non-tidal
wetlands dominated by woody vegetation greater than or equal to 5 meters
in height and all such wetlands that occur in tidal areas in which
salinity due to ocean-derived salts is below 0.5 percent. Total
vegetation coverage is greater than 20 percent.

92\. Palustrine Scrub/Shrub Wetland\* - Includes all tidal and non-tidal
wetlands dominated by woody vegetation less than 5 meters in height, and
all such wetlands that occur in tidal areas in which salinity due to
ocean-derived salts is below 0.5 percent. Total vegetation coverage is
greater than 20 percent. The species present could be true shrubs, young
trees and shrubs or trees that are small or stunted due to environmental
conditions.

93\. Estuarine Forested Wetland\* - Includes all tidal wetlands
dominated by woody vegetation greater than or equal to 5 meters in
height, and all such wetlands that occur in tidal areas in which
salinity due to ocean-derived salts is equal to or greater than 0.5
percent. Total vegetation coverage is greater than 20 percent.

94\. Estuarine Scrub/Shrub Wetland\* - Includes all tidal wetlands
dominated by woody vegetation less than 5 meters in height, and all such
wetlands that occur in tidal areas in which salinity due to
ocean-derived salts is equal to or greater than 0.5 percent. Total
vegetation coverage is greater than 20 percent.

95\. Emergent Herbaceous Wetlands - Areas where perennial herbaceous
vegetation accounts for greater than 80 percent of vegetative cover and
the soil or substrate is periodically saturated with or covered with
water.

96\. Palustrine Emergent Wetland (Persistent)\* - Includes all tidal and
non-tidal wetlands dominated by persistent emergent vascular plants,
emergent mosses or lichens, and all such wetlands that occur in tidal
areas in which salinity due to ocean-derived salts is below 0.5 percent.
Plants generally remain standing until the next growing season.

97\. Estuarine Emergent Wetland\* - Includes all tidal wetlands
dominated by erect, rooted, herbaceous hydrophytes (excluding mosses and
lichens) and all such wetlands that occur in tidal areas in which
salinity due to ocean-derived salts is equal to or greater than 0.5
percent and that are present for most of the growing season in most
years. Perennial plants usually dominate these wetlands.

98\. Palustrine Aquatic Bed\* - The Palustrine Aquatic Bed class
includes tidal and nontidal wetlands and deepwater habitats in which
salinity due to ocean-derived salts is below 0.5 percent and which are
dominated by plants that grow and form a continuous cover principally on
or at the surface of the water. These include algal mats, detached
floating mats, and rooted vascular plant assemblages.

99\. Estuarine Aquatic Bed\* - Includes tidal wetlands and deepwater
habitats in which salinity due to ocean-derived salts is equal to or
greater than 0.5 percent and which are dominated by plants that grow and
form a continuous cover principally on or at the surface of the water.
These include algal mats, kelp beds, and rooted vascular plant
assemblages.

\* Coastal NLCD class only

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Last Update: Thursday, March 16, 2006