Skip Navigation

University of Nebraska–Lincoln

Nebraska Land Cover Classification

Frequently-anticipated questions:

What does this data set describe?

Title: Nebraska Land Cover Classification
Abstract:
Gap Analysis is a geographic approach to planning for biodiversity that focuses on identifying wildlife habitats and species currently under-represented in the network of conservation lands. The Nebraska Gap land cover dataset was based primarily on Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) imagery acquired during early spring and later summer between 1991 and 1993. An unsupervised classification formed the initial land cover map. To solicit expert assessment of the draft map, hardcopy of relevant county-level maps were distributed to 81 NRCS district offices across Nebraska (Henebry et al. 2000). Local experts reviewed the draft maps and identified misclassifications by annotating the hard-copy map with a series of general and specific comments.

Three additional data sources were incorporated to improve thematic resolution: (1) the low-intensity residential and commercial/industrial/transportation layers from the USGS's North American Land Cover dataset; (2) the fallow agriculture layer from the land cover product of the COHYST (Cooperative Hydrological Study) project of the Central Platte, which was based on 1997 TM data; and (3) a subset of the National Wetlands Inventory polygonal data that enhanced the resolution of wetlands and riparian corridors. In addition the Omernik's Level III ecoregions was used to create the western boundary of the Upland Tallgrass Prairie class due to unavoidable spectral confusion between the Upland Tallgrass Prairie and Little Bluestem-Gramma Mixedgrass Prairie land cover classes.

  1. How should this data set be cited?

    University of Nebraska-Lincoln, School of Natural Resources, Center fo, 2005, Nebraska Land Cover Classification: University of Nebraska-Lincoln, School of Natural Resources, Center for Advanced Land Management Information Technologies (CALMIT), Lincoln, Nebraska.

    Online Links:

    • \\GEMS\E$\GAP\ne_gap\gap_landcover\nelandcover

    This is part of the following larger work.

    , 2005, The Nebraska Gap Analysis Project Final Report.

    Online Links:

    • www.gap.uidaho.edu

    Other_Citation_Details:
    Henebry, G.M., B.C. Putz, M.R. Vaitkus, and J.W. Merchant. 2005. The Nebraska Gap Analysis Project Final Report. School of Natural Resources, University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

  2. What geographic area does the data set cover?

    West_Bounding_Coordinate: -105.002633
    East_Bounding_Coordinate: -94.854364
    North_Bounding_Coordinate: 43.441463
    South_Bounding_Coordinate: 39.384876

  3. What does it look like?

  4. Does the data set describe conditions during a particular time period?

    Beginning_Date: 1991
    Ending_Date: 1997
    Currentness_Reference: Current as of date of satellite image acquisition

  5. What is the general form of this data set?

    Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: raster digital data

  6. How does the data set represent geographic features?

    1. How are geographic features stored in the data set?

      This is a Raster data set. It contains the following raster data types:

      • Dimensions 14042 x 27328 x 1, type Grid Cell

    2. What coordinate system is used to represent geographic features?

      The map projection used is Albers Conical Equal Area.

      Projection parameters:
      Standard_Parallel: 29.500000
      Standard_Parallel: 45.500000
      Longitude_of_Central_Meridian: -96.000000
      Latitude_of_Projection_Origin: 23.000000
      False_Easting: 0.000000
      False_Northing: 0.000000

      Planar coordinates are encoded using row and column
      Abscissae (x-coordinates) are specified to the nearest 30.000000
      Ordinates (y-coordinates) are specified to the nearest 30.000000
      Planar coordinates are specified in meters

      The horizontal datum used is North American Datum of 1983.
      The ellipsoid used is Geodetic Reference System 80.
      The semi-major axis of the ellipsoid used is 6378137.000000.
      The flattening of the ellipsoid used is 1/298.257222.

  7. How does the data set describe geographic features?

    landcover

    ObjectID
    Internal feature number. (Source: ESRI)

    Sequential unique whole numbers that are automatically generated.

    Value
    grid cell value (Source: recoded image classification clusters)

    ValueDefinition
    1Ponderosa Pine Forests and Woodlands
    2Deciduous Forests and Woodlands
    3Junpier Woodlands
    4Sandsage Shrubland
    5Sandhills Upland Prairie
    6Lowland Tallgrass Prairie
    7Upland Tallgrass Prairie
    8Little Bluestem-Gramma Mixedgrass Prairie
    9Western Wheatgrass Mixedgrass Prairie
    10Western Shortgrass Prairie
    11Barren/Sand/Outcrop
    12Agricultural Field
    13Open Water
    14Fallow Agricultural Field
    15Aquatic Bed Wetland
    16Emergent Wetland
    17Riparian Shrubland
    18Riparian Woodland
    19Low Intensity Residential
    20High Intensity Residential/Commercial/Industrial/Transportation

    Count
    Count of cells

    Entity_and_Attribute_Detail_Citation:
    Nebraska Land Cover Classes and Associated Alliance Names

    1) Ponderosa Pine Forests and Woodlands I.A.8.N.b.10 Pinus ponderosa forest alliance II.A.4.N.a.32 Pinus ponderosa woodland alliance 2) Deciduous Forests and Woodlands I.B.2.N.a.8 Acer saccharum - Tilia Americana - (Quercus rubra) forest alliance I.B.2.N.a.27 Quercus alba - (Quercus rubra, Carya spp.) forest alliance I.B.2.N.a.33 Quercus macrocarpa forest alliance I.B.2.N.b.3 Betula papyrifera forest alliance II.B.2.N.a.20 Quercus macrocarpa woodland alliance 3) Juniper Woodlands II.A.4.N.a.8 Juniperus scopulorum woodland alliance 4) Sandsage Shrubland III.A.4.N.a.4 Artemisia filfolia shrubland alliance 5) Sandhills Upland Prairie V.A.5.N.a.3 Andropogon hallii herbaceous alliance. 6) Lowland Tallgrass Prairie V.A.5.N.a.1 Andropogon gerardii - (Calamagrostis canadensis, Panicum virgatum) herbaceous alliance V.A.5.N.j.11 Spartina pectinata temporarily flooded herbaceous alliance 7) Upland Tallgrass Prairie V.A.5.N.a.2 Andropogon gerardii - (Sorghastrum nutans) herbaceous alliance 8) Little Bluestem-Gramma Mixedgrass Prairie V.A.5.N.c.20 Schizachyrium scoparium - Bouteloua curtipendula herbaceous alliance V.A.5.N.c.29 Hesperostipa comata - Bouteloua gracilis herbaceous alliance 9) Western Wheatgrass Mixedgrass Prairie V.A.5.N.c.27 Pascopyrum smithii herbaceous alliance 10) Western Shortgrass Prairie V.A.5.N.e.9 Bouteloua gracilis herbaceous alliance 11) Barren/Sand/Outcrop VII.A.1.N.a.6 Open cliff sparse vegetation alliance VII.A.1.N.a.8 Rock outcrop sparse vegetation alliance VII.C.3.N.b.7 Large eroding bluffs sparse vegetation alliance 12) Agricultural Field 13) Open Water 14) Fallow Agricultural Field 15) Aquatic Bed Wetland V.A.5.N.c.27 Pascopyrum smithii intermittently flooded herbaceous alliance V.A.5.N.j.5 Distichlis spicata - (Hordeum jubatum) temporarily flooded herbaceous alliance V.A.5.N.j.12 Polygonum spp. - Echinochloa spp. temporarily flooded herbaceous alliance V.C.2.N.a.14 Potamogeton spp. - Ceratophyllum spp. - Elodea spp. permanently flooded herbaceous alliance 16) Emergent Wetland V.A.5.N.j.5 Distichlis spicata - (Hordeum jubatum) temporarily flooded herbaceous alliance V.A.5.N.k.33 Typha spp. - (Schoenoplectus spp., Juncus spp.) seasonally flooded herbaceous alliance V.A.5.N.k.53 Carex pellita seasonally flooded herbaceous alliance V.A.5.N.l.6 Schoenoplectus pungens semipermanently flooded herbaceous alliance V.A.5.N.l.9 Typha (angustifolia, latifolia) - (Schoenoplectus spp.) semipermanently flooded herbaceous alliance V.A.5.N.m.19 Carex spp. - Typha spp. saturated herbaceous alliance 17) Riparian Shrubland III.B.2.N.d.20 Symphoricarpos occidentalis temporarily flooded shrubland alliance V.A.5.N.m.20 Carex pellita - (Carex nebrascensis) - Schoenoplectus spp. saturated herbaceous alliance VII.C.2.N.c.1 Sand flats temporarily flooded sparse vegetation alliance 18) Riparian Woodland I.B.2.N.d.15 Populus deltoides temporarily flooded forest alliance II.B.2.N.a.20 Quercus macrocarpa woodland alliance II.B.2.N.a.29 Fraxinus pennsylvanica - (Ulmus Americana) woodland alliance II.B.2.N.b.4 Populus deltoides temporarily flooded woodland alliance 19) Low Intensity Residential 20) High Intensity Residential/Commercial/Industrial/Transportation

Who produced the data set?

  1. Who are the originators of the data set? (may include formal authors, digital compilers, and editors)

    • University of Nebraska-Lincoln, School of Natural Resources, Center for Advanced Land Management Information Technologies (CALMIT)

  2. Who also contributed to the data set?

  3. To whom should users address questions about the data?

    Dr. Geoffrey M. Henebry
    University of Nebraska-Lincoln, School of Natural Resources, Center for Advanced Land Management Information Technologies (CALMIT)
    Principal Investigator
    102 E. Nebraska Hall
    Lincoln, NE 68588-0517
    United States

    402/472-6158 (voice)
    402/472-4608 (FAX)
    ghenebry@calmit.unl.edu

    Contact_Instructions:
    Alternative point of contact: Dr. James W. Merchant jmerchant1@unl.edu 402-472-7531

Why was the data set created?

This dataset serves as an input to the Nebraska Gap Analysis vertebrate wildlife distribution modeling process.

How was the data set created?

  1. From what previous works were the data drawn?

    (source 1 of 3)
    U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) EROS Data Center, Unknown, Landsat TM Scene: University of Nebraska, Center for Advanced Land Management Information Services (CALMIT), Lincoln, NE 68588.

    Type_of_Source_Media: raster digital data
    Source_Contribution:
    The images listed provide the base from which the land cover classification is determined. Path 27 Row 32 - 08/21/92 Path 28 Row 31 - 04/04/91 Path 28 Row 31 - 08/26/91 Path 28 Row 32 - 04/04/91 Path 28 Row 32 - 08/26/91 Path 29 Row 30 - 04/16/93 Path 29 Row 30 - 08/19/92 Path 29 Row 31 - 04/16/93 Path 29 Row 31 - 08/19/92 Path 29 Row 32 - 04/16/93 Path 29 Row 32 - 08/19/92 Path 30 Row 30 - 04/04/92 Path 30 Row 30 - 07/28/93 Path 30 Row 31 - 07/28/93 Path 30 Row 32 - 04/04/92 Path 30 Row 32 - 07/28/93 Path 31 Row 30 - 04/27/92 Path 31 Row 30 - 07/14/91 Path 31 Row 31 - 04/27/92 Path 31 Row 31 - 07/14/91 Path 31 Row 32 - 04/27/92 Path 31 Row 32 - 07/14/91 Path 32 Row 30 - 05/20/92 Path 32 Row 30 - 08/06/91 Path 32 Row 31 - 05/20/92 Path 32 Row 32 - 09/09/92 Path 33 Row 30 - 05/11/92 Path 33 Row 30 - 08/15/92 Path 33 Row 31 - 05/11/92 Path 33 Row 31 - 08/15/92 Path 33 Row 32 - 08/15/92

    (source 2 of 3)
    CALMIT, 2000, Delineation of 1997 Land Use Patterns for the Cooperative Hydrology Study in the Central Platte River Basin.

    Online Links:

    Type_of_Source_Media: Thematic map
    Source_Contribution:
    Agricultural and Fallow Agricultural classification along the Platte River.

    NWI (source 3 of 3)
    U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, National Wetlands Inventory, 1992, National Wetlands Inventory.

    Online Links:

    Source_Scale_Denominator: 1:20,000 - 1:132,000
    Source_Contribution: Identification of Nebraska wetlands.

  2. How were the data generated, processed, and modified?

  3. What similar or related data should the user be aware of?

    University of Nebraska, Center for Advanced Land Managemnet In, 2005, The Nebraska Gap Analysis Final Report.

    Online Links:

    • www.gap.uidaho.edu

    Other_Citation_Details:
    Henebry, G.M., B.C. Putz, M.R. Vaitkus, and J.W. Merchant. 2005. The Nebraska Gap Analysis Project Final Report. School of Natural Resources, University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

How reliable are the data; what problems remain in the data set?

  1. How well have the observations been checked?

    See the Nebraska Gap Analysis Project Final Report for details of the accuracy assessment.

    Challenging the land cover map with five collections of field observations total 1262 points yielded an overall accuracy of 35.3% and Cohen's Khat of 0.267 and Khat Z-score of 16.93. Using area to weight classes differentially, an overall accuracy of 51.4% is achieved. The field data used in these accuracy assessments were not collected in an appropriately random fashion and not all of the land cover classes were proportionally sampled. To address some of these issues, an aggregation of the land cover classes was performed and the assessment were redone.

    area-weighted AA on aggregated classes: overall accuracy = 72.7% total land area = 200,371 km2 producer's users' %land accuracy accuracy area Woodlands 0.149 0.325 2.96% Grasslands 0.868 0.776 53.92% Shrublands 0.002 0.071 0.91% Wetlands 0.051 0.350 2.04% Anthropolands 0.547 0.594 40.17%

  2. How accurate are the geographic locations?

    Unknown

  3. How accurate are the heights or depths?

    Unknown

  4. Where are the gaps in the data? What is missing?

  5. How consistent are the relationships among the observations, including topology?

    Not applicable for raster data

How can someone get a copy of the data set?

Are there legal restrictions on access or use of the data?

Access_Constraints: None
Use_Constraints:
These data are not to be used at scales greater that 1:100,000. Users should consult the NE-GAP final report for complete definitions of appropriate uses. Users can consult The National Gap Analysis webiste for further information <http://www.gap.uidaho.org>

  1. Who distributes the data set? (Distributor 1 of 2)

    Dr. Geoffrey M. Henebry
    University of Nebraska-Lincoln, School of Natural Resources, Center for Advanced Land Management Information Technologies (CALMIT)
    Principal Investigator
    102 E.Nebraska Hall
    Lincoln, Nebraska 68588-0517
    USA

    402/472-6158 (voice)
    402/4724608 (FAX)
    ghenebry@calmit.unl.edu

    Contact_Instructions:
    Alternative point of contact: Dr. James W. Merchant jmerchant1@unl.edu 402-472-7531
  2. What's the catalog number I need to order this data set?

    Downloadable Data

  3. What legal disclaimers am I supposed to read?

    N/A

  4. How can I download or order the data?

    • Availability in digital form:

      Data format: Size: 71.648

    • Cost to order the data:

  1. Who distributes the data set? (Distributor 2 of 2)

    Ree Brannon
    National GAP Analysis Program
    Senior GIS Analyst
    530 S. Asbury St., Suite 1
    Moscow, Idaho 83843
    USA

    208/885-3720 (voice)
    208/8853618 (FAX)
    abrannon@uidaho.edu

  2. What's the catalog number I need to order this data set?

    Downloadable Data

  3. What legal disclaimers am I supposed to read?

    Although these data have been processed successfully on a computer system by NE-GAP, no warranty expressed or implied is made regarding the accuracy or utility of the data on any other system or for general or scientific purposes, nor shall the act of distribution constitute any such warranty. This disclaimer applies both to individual use of the data and aggregate use with other data. It is strongly recommended that these data are directly acquired from a NE-GAP server and not indirectly through other sources which may have changed the data in some way. It is also strongly recommended that careful attention be paid to the content of the metadata file associated with these data. NE-GAP shall not be held liable for improper or incorrect use of the data described and/or contained herein. These data were compiled with regard to the following standards. Please be aware of the limitations of the data. These data are meant to be used at a scale of 1:100,000 or smaller (such as 1:250,000 or 1:500,000) for the purpose of assessing the conservation status of vertebrate species and vegetation types over large geographic regions. The data may or may not have been assessed for statistical accuracy. Data evaluation and improvement may be ongoing. NE-GAP makes no claim as to the data's suitability for other purposes. This is writeable data which may have been altered from the original product if not obtained from a designated data distributor

  4. How can I download or order the data?

    • Availability in digital form:

      Data format:

    • Cost to order the data:

Who wrote the metadata?

Dates:
Last modified: 01-Jul-2005
Metadata author:
Dr. Geoffrey M. Henebry
University of Nebraska-Lincoln, School of Natural Resources, Center for Advanced Land Management Information Technologies (CALMIT)
Principal Investigator
102 E. Nebraska Hall
Lincoln, Nebraska 68588-0517
USA

402/472-6158 (voice)
402/472-4608 (FAX)
ghenebry@calmit.unl.edu

Contact_Instructions:
alternative point of contact: Dr. James W. Merchant jmerchant1@unl.edu 402-472-7531
Metadata standard:
FGDC Content Standards for Digital Geospatial Metadata (FGDC-STD-001-1998)
Metadata extensions used:

Generated by mp version 2.8.6 on Fri Jul 01 16:25:25 2005