Exotic Annual Grasses: Invasive Species | Multi-Resolution Land Characteristics (MRLC) Consortium

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The U.S. Geological Survey’s Rangeland Exotic Plant Monitoring System team produces expedited early estimates of exotic annual grass (EAG) in semiarid and arid landscapes of western U.S. rangelands. The most recent data developed by the team provides percent cover estimates of EAG abundance and distribution spanning 10 consecutive weekly periods from April 2024 – June 2024. The data is publicly released and provides timely information about landscape conditions based on the EAG invasion that is used by land managers to pre-position fire-fighting resources and to plan and evaluate herbicide treatments. The invasion of EAGs add fine fuels to rangeland systems, fine fuels that ignite and spread fire more readily than in non-invaded areas. The fires eliminate the historical structure of native ecosystems and displace wildlife species from their homes.

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Thumbnail of Exotic Annual Grasses invasive species map of Western US

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Annual NLCD OCONUS Tree Canopy Cover Data Now Available

Published Feb 11, 2026

The USDA Forest Service Geospatial Office (GO) builds and maintains the National Tree Canopy Cover (TCC) dataset as part of the National Land Cover Database (NLCD). Annual data for areas outside the contiguous United States is now available from 1985-2023. This includes Southeast Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The TCC datasets are derived from Landsat and Sentinel-2 imagery along with USDA Forest Service - Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) data, based on a spatial resolution of 30 meters. Each Tree Canopy Cover (TCC) value is determined using photo interpretation methods and machine learning models, to produce the percentage of the area covered by tree canopy and interannual change between all years.

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Annual NLCD image of CONUS showing Validation Points

Annual NLCD Reference Data and Validation Metrics Now Available on MRLC

Published Sep 24, 2025

The U.S. Geological Survey has added a new outlet for Reference and Validation (R&V) data for Annual National Land Cover Database (NLCD) Conterminous U.S. (CU), Collection 1.0. In addition to availability on the USGS ScienceBase-Catalog, the R&V data are now hosted right here on MRLC.gov.
These R&V data provide Annual NLCD users with a statistical accuracy assessment of the land cover products, as well as the source reference data. This information helps users understand the accuracy of Annual NLCD and supports better decisions in research, land use planning, and resource management.

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Map of eastern CONUS with Ecological Potential data

RCMAP Ecological Potential Data Now Available

Published Jul 28, 2025

A new generation of RCMAP Ecological Potential (EP) vegetation cover components are now available. Rangelands have immense inherent spatial and temporal variability, yet assessments of land condition and trends are often assessed relative to the condition of a limited number of representative points or in some cases reference data for comparison is lacking. Understanding of the potential vegetation conditions of a site in an undisturbed state is invaluable for interpreting trends, disturbance impact, and restoration targets. EP was defined as the potential fractional cover of components (bare ground, herbaceous, litter, shrub, sagebrush, and tree) in the least disturbed and most productive spaces and times of western North America since 1985. This dataset enables: 1) setting realistic expectations for restoration and management targets, 2) better understanding of the extent of vegetation departure from potential and 3) improved spatial understanding of vegetation composition and productivity variation.

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