thumbnail

U.S. conterminous wall-to-wall anthropogenic land use trends (NWALT), 1974–2012

Data Series 948
By:
https://doi.org/10.3133/ds948

Links

Abstract

This dataset provides a U.S. national 60-meter, 19-class mapping of anthropogenic land uses for five time periods: 1974, 1982, 1992, 2002, and 2012. The 2012 dataset is based on a slightly modified version of the National Land Cover Database 2011 (NLCD 2011) that was recoded to a schema of land uses, and mapped back in time to develop datasets for the four earlier eras. The time periods coincide with U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Census of Agriculture data collection years. Changes are derived from (a) known changes in water bodies from reservoir construction or removal; (b) housing unit density changes; (c) regional mining/extraction trends; (d) for 1999–2012, timber and forestry activity based on U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Landscape Fire and Resource Management Planning Tools (Landfire) data; (e) county-level USDA Census of Agriculture change in cultivated land; and (f) establishment dates of major conservation areas. The data are compared to several other published studies and datasets as validation. Caveats are provided about limitations of the data for some classes. The work was completed as part of the USGS National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program and termed the NAWQA Wall-to-Wall Anthropogenic Land Use Trends (NWALT) dataset. The associated datasets include five 60-meter geospatial rasters showing anthropogenic land use for the years 1974, 1982, 1992, 2002, and 2012, and 14 rasters showing the annual extent of timber clearcutting and harvest from 1999 to 2012.

Suggested Citation

Falcone, J.A., 2015, U.S. conterminous wall-to-wall anthropogenic land use trends (NWALT), 1974–2012: U.S. Geological Survey Data Series 948, 33 p. plus appendixes 3–6 as separate files, http://dx.doi.org/10.3133/ds948.

ISSN: 2327-638X (online)

Table of Contents

  • Acknowledgments
  • Abstract
  • Introduction
  • Methods
  • Quality Assurance
  • Validation
  • Caveats and Assumptions
  • Summary
  • Future Enhancements
  • References Cited
  • Appendix 1. Supplemental Notes to Text
  • Appendix 2. Product Class Descriptions of the  NAWQA Wall-to-Wall Anthropogenic  Land Use Trends Dataset 
  • [Appendixes 3-6 are available at http://dx.doi.org/10.3133/ds948.]
Publication type Report
Publication Subtype USGS Numbered Series
Title U.S. conterminous wall-to-wall anthropogenic land use trends (NWALT), 1974–2012
Series title Data Series
Series number 948
DOI 10.3133/ds948
Year Published 2015
Language English
Publisher U.S. Geological Survey
Publisher location Reston, VA
Contributing office(s) National Water Quality Assessment Program
Description Report: viii, 33 p.; Appendixes 3-6; Spatial Data
Country United States
Online Only (Y/N) Y
Additional Online Files (Y/N) Y
Google Analytic Metrics Metrics page
Additional publication details