Conterminous United States Land-Cover Change (1985–2016): New Insights from Annual Time Series
Roger F. Auch,
Danika F. Wellington,
Janis L. Taylor,
Stephen V. Stehman,
Heather J. Tollerud,
Jesslyn F. Brown,
Thomas R. Loveland,
Bruce W. Pengra,
Josephine A. Horton,
Zhe Zhu,
Alemayehu A. Midekisa,
Kristi L. Sayler,
George Xian,
Christopher P. Barber,
Ryan R. Reker
Affiliations
Roger F. Auch
U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center, 47914 252nd Street, Sioux Falls, SD 57198, USA
Danika F. Wellington
KBR, Contractor to the U.S. Geological Survey, Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center, 47914 252nd Street, Sioux Falls, SD 57198, USA
Janis L. Taylor
KBR, Contractor to the U.S. Geological Survey, Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center, 47914 252nd Street, Sioux Falls, SD 57198, USA
Stephen V. Stehman
Department of Forest and Natural Resource Management, State University of New York, Syracuse, NY 13210, USA
Heather J. Tollerud
U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center, 47914 252nd Street, Sioux Falls, SD 57198, USA
Jesslyn F. Brown
U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center, 47914 252nd Street, Sioux Falls, SD 57198, USA
Thomas R. Loveland
U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center, 47914 252nd Street, Sioux Falls, SD 57198, USA
Bruce W. Pengra
KBR, Contractor to the U.S. Geological Survey, Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center, 47914 252nd Street, Sioux Falls, SD 57198, USA
Josephine A. Horton
Innovate! Inc., Contractor to the U.S. Geological Survey, Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center, 47914 252nd Street, Sioux Falls, SD 57198, USA
Zhe Zhu
Department of Natural Resources and the Environment, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT 06269, USA
Alemayehu A. Midekisa
KBR, Contractor to the U.S. Geological Survey, Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center, 47914 252nd Street, Sioux Falls, SD 57198, USA
Kristi L. Sayler
U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center, 47914 252nd Street, Sioux Falls, SD 57198, USA
George Xian
U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center, 47914 252nd Street, Sioux Falls, SD 57198, USA
Christopher P. Barber
U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center, 47914 252nd Street, Sioux Falls, SD 57198, USA
Ryan R. Reker
KBR, Contractor to the U.S. Geological Survey, Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center, 47914 252nd Street, Sioux Falls, SD 57198, USA
Sample-based estimates augmented by complete coverage land-cover maps were used to estimate area and describe patterns of annual land-cover change across the conterminous United States (CONUS) between 1985 and 2016. Most of the CONUS land cover remained stable in terms of net class change over this time, but a substantial gross change dynamic was captured by the annual and cumulative time intervals. The dominant types of changes can be grouped into natural resource cycles, increases in urbanization, and surface-water dynamics. The annual estimates over the 30-year time series showed a reduction in the rate of urban expansion after 2006, new growth in cropland after 2007, but a net overall decline in cropland since 1985, and two eras of net tree cover loss, the first one early in the time series and the second starting in 2012. Our study provides a holistic assessment of the CONUS land-cover conversion (class) change and can serve as a new benchmark for future research.
