Kentucky Tree Canopy Closure 2001 - National Land Cover Database (NLCD)

The National Land Cover Database 2001 tree canopy layer for mapping zone 47 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 (EPA), the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service (USFS), the National Park Service (NPS), the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), 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 et al. (2003) and . The NLCD 2001 was created by partitioning the U.S. into mapping zones. A total of 66 mapping zones were delineated within the conterminous U.S. based on ecoregion and geographical characteristics, edgematching features and the size requirement of Landsat mosaics. Mapping zone 47 encompasses whole or portions of several states including the states of Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio, Tennessee, and Missouri. Questions about the NLCD mapping zone 47 can be directed to the NLCD 2001 land cover mapping team at the USGS EROS Data Center (EDC), Sioux Falls, SD [phone] or [e-mail]. This document explains the methods employed to map percent tree canopy closure of NLCD Mapping Zones 47 and 53, which include the state of Kentucky.