Use the interface below to filter and download available NLCD products. Click (here) for NLCD Science Research Products which offer more comprehensive delineation of shrub and grass classes and information about change disturbance. For access to dynamic MRLC viewer applications and tools, click (here).
Published Jun 04, 2021
A new generation of RCMAP fractional component time-series data spanning 1985-2020 are now available for download and on the rangelands viewer. Relative to the prior generation, several key improvements are 1) additional components: perennial herbaceous and non-sagebrush shrub, 2) addition of all available BLM AIM data as training, 3) improved change detection, and 4) better imagery compositing. These factors have led to a ~15% increase in independent accuracy. Additionally, we produce error maps for each component, which reflect model uncertainty. Trends analysis products of the 1985-2020 time-series using both linear and structural change (breaks and stable states) methods will be available by July 2021. While users are encouraged to use the new generation of data, the previous version of the time-series data is archived.
Published May 11, 2021
The USGS and Bureau of Land Management (BLM) are pleased to announce the launch of the Rangeland Condition Monitoring, Assessment, and Projection (RCMAP) project whose flagship product is a fractional component time-series. These data have been previously referred to by several names including “BIT”, “shrub-grass layers”, etc. The RCAMP time-series has been extended to 2020 using improved image composites, change detection, and inclusion of BLM Assessment, Inventory, and Monitoring (AIM) data. We have added two additional components in the current generation; perennial herbaceous and non-sagebrush shrub, in addition to the 6 components mapped previously; shrub, sagebrush, herbaceous, annual herbaceous, litter, and bare ground. The new generation of RCMAP data will be available for static download on and on the Rangelands Viewer in a few short weeks. Once the new generation is uploaded, the previous version of the time-series data will be archived at: https://doi.org/10.5066/P9C9O66W
Published Apr 15, 2021
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.