Type TIFF
This dataset shows land cover change across North America between 2005 and 2010 at a spatial resolution of 250 meters. It captures transitions between the nineteen Level II land cover classes defined using the Land Cover Classification System (LCCS) standard developed by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations.
This dataset shows land cover change across North America between 2005 and 2010 at a spatial resolution of 250 meters. It captures transitions between the nineteen Level II land cover classes defined using the Land Cover Classification System (LCCS) standard developed by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations.
The dataset was produced as part of the North American Land Change Monitoring System (NALCMS), a trilateral effort between Natural Resources Canada, the United States Geological Survey, and three Mexican organizations: the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Geografía), the National Commission for the Knowledge and Use of Biodiversity (Comisión Nacional para el Conocimiento y Uso de la Biodiversidad), and the National Forestry Commission of Mexico (Comisión Nacional Forestal). The collaboration is facilitated by the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC), an international organization created by the governments of Canada, Mexico, and the United States under the North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation to promote environmental collaboration between the three countries.
Land Cover Change Values
Each pixel value in this dataset encodes a class transition: the first one or two digits represent the land cover class in 2005, while the last two digits represent the land cover class in 2010.
For example:
105: Class 1 to 5 ("Temperate or sub-polar needleleaf forest" to "Temperate or sub-polar broadleaf deciduous forest")
814: Class 8 to 14 ("Temperate or sub-polar shrubland" to "Wetland")
1716: Class 17 to 16 ("Urban and built-up" to "Barren land")
A dataset on general losses and gains is also available for users interested in landscape changes to forest, shrubland, grassland, wetland, cropland, barren lands, urban areas, water, and snow and ice. Data showing 2015–2020 changes between the twelve Level I land cover classes is also available upon request.
Geographic Coverage
This dataset covers Canada, Alaska, the conterminous United States, and Mexico.
Data Sources and Licensing
Land cover transitions were assessed from the 2005 Land Cover of North America at 250 meters and the 2010 Land Cover of North America at 250 meters, both derived from monthly composites of Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) satellite imagery over North America. This dataset is produced by the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC), derived from national land cover maps provided by Natural Resources Canada, the National Commission for the Knowledge and Use of Biodiversity, the National Institute of Statistics and Geography, the National Forestry Commission, and the United States Geological Survey. The compiled dataset is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0), allowing redistribution and adaptation with appropriate attribution.
Update frequency: Irregular
Limitations of use: Intended for continental-scale reference.
Vintage: 2005–2010
Applications (Intended Use)
* Monitoring land cover change and environmental trends over time.
* Assessing impacts on climate change, carbon sequestration, and biodiversity loss.
* Spatial analysis and integration with other thematic layers in the North American Environmental Atlas.
* Supporting cross-border environmental cooperation and policy-making among North American nations.
Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC). 2013. " North American Environmental Atlas - Land Change 2005-2010 250m". North American Land Change Monitoring System. Canada Centre for Remote Sensing (CCRS), U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), Comisión Nacional para el Conocimiento y Uso de la Biodiversidad (CONABIO), Comisión Nacional Forestal (CONAFOR), Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Geografía (INEGI). Ed. 1.0, Raster digital data [250-m].
This material is licensed under CC BY 4.0, allowing non-exclusive rights to distribute, remix, adapt, and build upon the material in any medium or format, including for commercial purposes, so long as attribution is given to the creator.
| West | -180 | East | -50 |
| North | 85 | South | 14 |
| Maximum (zoomed in) | 1:5,000 |
| Minimum (zoomed out) | 1:150,000,000 |
Contact Person: Fariba Mohammadimanesh
Contact Person: Jon Dewitz
Contact Person: Isabel Cruz
Contact Person: José Luis Ornelas de Anda
Contact Person: José Armando Alanís de la Rosa
This map demonstrates land cover change between 2005 and 2010 in North America at a spatial resolution of 250 meters. The dataset shows the 2005-2010 changes between the nineteen Level II land cover classes, which were defined using the Land Cover Classification System (LCCS) standard developed by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of United Nations. The land cover change data is part of a series of maps produced by the North American Land Change Monitoring System (NALCMS). NALCMS is a collaborative initiative between Canada, Mexico, and the United States to monitor land cover and its change over time. The NALCMS product displayed in this map represents land cover change based on monthly composites of 2005 and 2010 Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) satellite imagery. The NALCMS is a joint project between Natural Resources Canada/Canada Centre for Remote Sensing (NRCan/CCRS); the United States Geological Survey (USGS); and three Mexican organizations: Insituto Nacional de Estadística y Geografía – INEGI; Comisión Nacional para el Conocimiento y Uso de la Biodiversidad – CONABIO); and Comisión Nacional Forestal – CONAFOR. The project is facilitated by the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC).
Este mapa muestra los cambios en la cobertura del suelo de América del Norte entre 2005 y 2010, con una resolución espacial de 250 metros. El conjunto de datos presenta los cambios registrados de 2005 a 2010 en 19 clases de cobertura del suelo de nivel II, definidas conforme a la norma del Sistema de Clasificación de la Cobertura de la Tierra (Land Cover Classification System, LCCS), de la Organización de las Naciones Unidas para la Agricultura y la Alimentación (FAO). El mapa de cambios en la cobertura del suelo forma parte de una serie cartográfica elaborada en el marco del Sistema de Monitoreo del Cambio en la Cobertura del Suelo de América del Norte (NALCMS, por sus siglas en inglés), iniciativa conjunta de Canadá, Estados Unidos y México para monitorear la cubierta física de la superficie y sus cambios con el tiempo. El producto del NALCMS mostrado en este mapa representa la cobertura del suelo con base en compuestos mensuales de imágenes con una resolución espacial de 250 m obtenidas en 2005 y 2010 por el sensor MODIS (espectrorradiómetro de formación de imágenes de resolución media, conocido por sus siglas en inglés). El NALCMS es un proyecto conjunto del Centro Canadiense de Teledetección (Canada Centre for Remote Sensing, CCRS), del ministerio de Recursos Naturales de Canadá; el Servicio de Estudios Geológicos de Estados Unidos (US Geological Survey, USGS), y tres organismos mexicanos: el Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Geografía (Inegi), la Comisión Nacional para el Conocimiento y Uso de la Biodiversidad (Conabio) y la Comisión Nacional Forestal (Conafor), facilitado por la Comisión para la Cooperación Ambiental (CCA).
Cette carte illustre les changements de la couverture terrestre en Amérique du Nord de 2005 à 2010, avec une résolution spatiale de 250 mètres. Le jeu de données montre les changements observés de 2005 à 2010 entre les 19 classes de couverture de niveau II définies à l’aide de la norme du Système de classification de l’occupation du sol mise au point par l’Organisation des Nations Unies pour l’alimentation et l’agriculture (FAO). Ces données sur les changements de la couverture terrestres font partie d’une série de cartes établie à l’aide du Système nord-américain de surveillance des changements dans la couverture terrestre (NALCMS, selon le sigle anglais), un projet concerté du Canada, du Mexique et des États-Unis destiné à surveiller cette couverture et les changements qu’elle subit au fil du temps. Les données ont été élaborées à partir d’images satellites composites recueillies mensuellement, en 2005 et 2010, par un spectroradiomètre imageur à résolution moyenne (MODIS). Coordonné par la Commission de coopération environnementale (CCE), le NALCMS est le fruit d’une collaboration entre le Centre canadien de télédétection (CCT) de Ressources naturelles Canada, l‘United States Geological Survey (USGS, Service géologique des États‑Unis) et trois organisations mexicaines, à savoir l’Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Geografía (Inegi, Institut national de statistiques et de géographie), la Comisión Nacional para el Conocimiento y Uso de la Biodiversidad (Conabio, Commission nationale sur la connaissance et l’utilisation de la biodiversité) et la Comisión Nacional Forestal (Conafor, Commission nationale des forêts).
Information on the change in land cover across North America provided by this dataset is valuable for a range of audiences, including international organizations such as the United Nations Environment Programme, nongovernmental conservation organizations, land managers, and scientific researchers. The continental scale land cover data generated under NALCMS can be used to address issues such as climate change, carbon sequestration, biodiversity loss, and changes in ecosystem structure and function, by helping users to better understand the dynamics and continental-scale patterns of North America’s changing environment. The North American Atlas data are intended for geographic display and analysis at the national and continental level. These data should be displayed and analyzed at scales appropriate for 1:10,000,000-scale data. No responsibility is assumed by Natural Resources Canada, Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Geografía, the U.S. Geological Survey, or the Commission for Environmental Cooperation in the use of these data. ---------- Land Cover Class Names 1.- Temperate or sub-polar needleleaf forest 2.- Sub-polar taiga needleleaf forest 3.- Tropical or sub-tropical broadleaf evergreen forest 4.- Tropical or sub-tropical broadleaf deciduous forest 5.- Temperate or sub-polar broadleaf deciduous forest 6.- Mixed forest 7.- Tropical or sub-tropical shrubland 8.- Temperate or sub-polar shrubland 9.- Tropical or sub-tropical grassland 10.- Temperate or sub-polar grassland 11.- Sub-polar or polar shrubland-lichen-moss 12.- Sub-polar or polar grassland-lichen-moss 13.- Sub-polar or polar barren-lichen-moss 14.- Wetland 15.- Cropland 16.- Barren land 17.- Urban and built-up 18.- Water 19.- Snow and ice ---------- Land Cover Change values The first one or two digits in each pixel value show the land cover class in 2005, while the third and four digits show the land cover class in 2010. E.g. 105 = Class 1 to 5 ""Temperate or sub-polar needleleaf forest"" to ""Temperate or sub-polar broadleaf deciduous forest"" 206 = Class 2 to 6 ""Sub-polar taiga needleleaf forest"" to ""Mixed forest"" 814 = Class 8 to 14 ""Temperate or sub-polar shrubland"" to ""Wetland"" 915 = Class 9 to 15 ""Tropical or sub-tropical grassland"" to ""Cropland"" 1018 = Class 10 to 18 ""Temperate or sub-polar grassland"" to ""Water"" 1502 = Class 15 to 02 ""Cropland"" to ""Sub-polar taiga needleleaf forest"" 1716 = Class 17 to 16 ""Urban and built-up"" to ""Barren land"" 1913 = Class 19 to 13 ""Snow and ice"" to ""Sub-polar or polar barren-lichen-moss"" The Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) is an international organization created by Canada, Mexico, and the United States of America under the North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation (NAAEC), which came into force at the same time as the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). The CEC was established to address regional environmental concerns, help prevent potential trade and environmental conflicts, and to promote the effective enforcement of environmental law. As of 2020, the CEC operates in accordance with the Environmental Cooperation Agreement, which entered into force at the same time as the CUSMA/T-MEC/USMCA trade agreement. This data set is available in several formats, including TIFF, Map package, and a PDF Map, along with other files appropriate to particular format, such as .lyrx and .qlr files.
Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC). 2013. " North American Environmental Atlas - Land Change 2005-2010 250m". North American Land Change Monitoring System. Canada Centre for Remote Sensing (CCRS), U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), Comisión Nacional para el Conocimiento y Uso de la Biodiversidad (CONABIO), Comisión Nacional Forestal (CONAFOR), Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Geografía (INEGI). Ed. 1.0, Raster digital data [250-m].
This dataset includes land cover change data for all North America
This material is licensed under CC BY 4.0, allowing non-exclusive rights to distribute, remix, adapt, and build upon the material in any medium or format, including for commercial purposes, so long as attribution is given to the creator.
This material is licensed under CC BY 4.0, allowing non-exclusive rights to distribute, remix, adapt, and build upon the material in any medium or format, including for commercial purposes, so long as attribution is given to the creator.
Data completeness reflects the content of the original 2005 and 2010 land Cover maps for Canada, the United States and Mexico.
No tests for logical consistency have been performed on this data set.
This data set shows areas where the land cover classification changed between 2005 and 2010. The 2005-2010 Land Cover Change of North America at 250 meters dataset was produced as part of the North American Land Change Monitoring System (NALCMS), a trilateral effort between Natural Resources Canada, the United States Geological Survey, and three Mexican organizations including the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Geografía), National Commission for the Knowledge and Use of the Biodiversity (Comisión Nacional Para el Conocimiento y Uso de la Biodiversidad), and the National Forestry Commission of Mexico (Comisión Nacional Forestal). The collaboration is facilitated by the Commission for Environmental Cooperation, an international organization created by the Canada, Mexico, and United States governments under the North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation to promote environmental collaboration between the three countries. The general objective of NALCMS is to devise, through collective effort, a harmonized multi-scale land cover monitoring approach which ensures high accuracy and consistency in monitoring land cover changes at the North American scale and which meets each country’s specific requirements. This data set was created from the 2005 Land Cover of North America at 250 meters and the 2010 Land Cover of North America at 250 meters. This Land Cover change map shows class transitions from 2005 to 2010 over Canada, Alaska, the conterminous United States and Mexico. Changes have been assessed from Land Cover maps at 250 meters resolution derived from MODIS Imagery over North America.
Areas of potential change were identified in LandCover2005_v2, then analyzed and classified using various methods; the resulting reclassifications were published as LandCover2010. Detailed information on the change identification process can be found in the metadata for LandCover2010. Areas of change were saved in a separate file.
2005 Land Cover of North America at 250 meters
250m spatial resolution
Contact Person: Fariba Mohammadimanesh
Contact Person: Jon Dewitz
Contact Person: Isabel Cruz
Contact Person: José Luis Ornelas de Anda
Contact Person: José Armando Alanís de la Rosa
2010 Land Cover of North America at 250 meters
250m spatial resolution
Contact Person: Fariba Mohammadimanesh
Contact Person: Jon Dewitz
Contact Person: Isabel Cruz
Contact Person: José Luis Ornelas de Anda
Contact Person: José Armando Alanís de la Rosa
Description of each type Land Cover Change class
North American Land Change Monitoring System (NALCMS) Group
Internal feature number.
Esri
Sequential unique whole numbers that are automatically generated.
Type of Land Cover class transition between 2005 and 2010. The first one or two digits in each pixel value show the land cover class in 2005, while the third and four digits show the land cover class in 2010. E.g. > 105 = Class 1 to 5 ""Temperate or sub-polar needleleaf forest"" to ""Temperate or sub-polar broadleaf deciduous forest"" > 206 = Class 2 to 6 ""Sub-polar taiga needleleaf forest"" to ""Mixed forest"" > 814 = Class 8 to 14 ""Temperate or sub-polar shrubland"" to ""Wetland"" > 915 = Class 9 to 15 ""Tropical or sub-tropical grassland"" to ""Cropland"" > 1018 = Class 10 to 18 ""Temperate or sub-polar grassland"" to ""Water"" > 1502 = Class 15 to 02 ""Cropland"" to ""Sub-polar taiga needleleaf forest"" > 1716 = Class 17 to 16 ""Urban and built-up"" to ""Barren land"" > 1913 = Class 19 to 13 ""Snow and ice"" to ""Sub-polar or polar barren-lichen-moss""
North American Land Change Monitoring System (NALCMS) Group
Number of pixels in each Land Cover class transition value
North American Land Change Monitoring System (NALCMS) Group
Land Cover in 2005
Name of the land cover class in 2005, described in English
Land Cover in 2010
Name of the land cover class in 2010, described in English
Cobertura del suelo en 2005
Name of the land cover class in 2005, described in Spanish
Name of the land cover class in 2010, described in Spanish
North American Land Change Monitoring System (NALCMS) Group
Name of the land cover class in 2005, described in French
North American Land Change Monitoring System (NALCMS) Group
Name of the land cover class in 2010, described in French
North American Land Change Monitoring System (NALCMS) Group
None. Acknowledgement of Natural Resources Canada, Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Geografía, and the U.S. Geological Survey is required in products derived from these data. Acknowledgement of the Commission for Environmental Cooperation would be appreciated in products derived from these data.
This material is licensed under CC BY 4.0, allowing non-exclusive rights to distribute, remix, adapt, and build upon the material in any medium or format, including for commercial purposes, so long as attribution is given to the creator.