Rangeland Ecological Potential Component Cover, Cover Departure, and Vegetation States – Now Available | Multi-Resolution Land Characteristics (MRLC) Consortium

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The USGS, in collaboration with the Bureau of Land Management, has produced Ecological Potential rangeland fractional cover data for the Western U.S. These products represent the potential cover given the most productive, least disturbed, portion of the 1985-2020 Landsat archive. Contemporary component cover in 2018 was compared to Ecological Potential cover to generate departure maps. Additionally, we converted Ecological Potential and 2018 cover maps into vegetation states. These general vegetation states (native sagebrush steppe, annual grasslands, etc.) highlight locations where vegetation communities have already changed or are vulnerable to future change.

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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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Annual NLCD image of CONUS showing land features

Annual NLCD CONUS Collection 1.1 Now Available

Published Jun 25, 2025

Land Cover Characteristics in a Suite of Six Products

Annual NLCD CU C1.1 adds 2024 to the established suite of six raster-based land use and land cover science products for the conterminous United States. It now covers the period between 1985 and 2024:

1. Land Cover
2. Land Cover Change
3. Land Cover Confidence
4. Fractional Impervious Surface
5. Impervious Descriptor
6. Spectral Change Day of Year

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