Metadata for Montana Gap Analysis - Land Cover Metadata for Montana Gap Analysis - Land Cover

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Identification Information:

Citation:

Originator: Wildlife Spatial Analysis Lab, The University of Montana
Publication date: 09/30/1998
Title: Montana Gap Analysis - Land Cover
Online linkage: https://ftpgeoinfo.msl.mt.gov/Data/Spatial/NonMSDI/Raster/Gap1998.zip

Browse graphic file name: https://ftpgeoinfo.msl.mt.gov/Documents/Maps/Thumbnails/19980528_580_thumb.jpg
Browse graphic file description: Thumbnail image of Montana Land Cover Type map

Browse graphic file name: https://ftpgeoinfo.msl.mt.gov/Documents/Maps/Individual/19980528_580_1998_MTLandCover.gif
Browse graphic file description: Montana Land Cover Type map

Abstract:

This data set is a 90 meter land cover grid (raster file) covering the state of Montana, including a 10 km buffer around the state border as required by the National Gap Analysis Program for edge-matching with adjacent states. Parts of the following 33 Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) scenes are included: path 34, rows 27-29; path 35, rows 26-29; path 36, rows 27-29; path 37, rows 26-29; path 38, rows 26-29; path 39, rows 26-29; path 40, rows 26-29; path 41, rows 26-28; path 42, rows 26-27; and path 43, row 26.

Land cover was classified in a two-step process: unsupervised classification to define patch boundaries and spectral classes, followed by a supervised classification to assign cover type labels. TM bands 1 - 7, elevation, slope, and aspect attributes were used in the supervised classification. In all scenes, irrigated and non-irrigated agriculture, clouds, cloud shadow, urban areas, surface mines, and fires were manually labeled.

Parts of this grid were produced in four separate projects. Western Montana and northern Idaho were classified for the U.S. Forest Service, Region One, in a project (FSR1) completed in June 1996. The FSR1 project produced a separate riparian layer, unlike the other three projects where riparian vegetation was included in the overall supervised classification.

This separate riparian grid was combined with the other FSR1 grids in order to match the later projects. The Little Missouri and Sheyenne National Grasslands were classified for the Custer National Forest as part of a project (CUSTER) completed in July 1997. The central Idaho project (CICP) was contracted by the U.S. Forest Service, Region Four, and was completed in August 1997. Finally, the eastern Montana project (EMT) was contracted by the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks, and was completed in November 1997.

All individual grids within the state of Montana have undergone updates and standardization since the project completion dates in order to have as congruous a coverage throughout the state as possible. Cover types were combined and reduced to 50 types from a total of 94 for use with Gap Analysis. The grid was merged to a 2 ha minimum mapping unit (MMU) for upland cover types and a 90 meter MMU for riparian cover types. Cloud and cloud shadow were merged to 100 ha. Ground-truth data were provided by a variety of organizations for use in the classification process.

For more information, please refer to the project's final report:
Redmond, R.L., M.M. Hart, J.C. Winne, W.A. Williams, P.C. Thornton, Z. Ma, C.M. Tobalske, M.M. Thornton, K.P. McLaughlin, T.P. Tady, F.B. Fisher, S.W. Running. 1998.
The Montana Gap Analysis Project: final report.
Montana Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit, The University of Montana, Missoula. xiii + 136 pp. + appendices.
This is on-line at https://ftpgeoinfo.msl.mt.gov/Documents/Metadata/MtGap1998Report.pdf.

An atlas of land cover for the state also is available:
Fisher, F.B., J.C. Winne, M.M. Thornton, T.P. Tady, Z. Ma, M.M. Hart, and R.L. Redmond. 1998.
Montana land cover atlas.
Montana Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit, The University of Montana, Missoula. viii + 50 pp.
This is on-line at https://ftpgeoinfo.msl.mt.gov/Documents/Metadata/MtGap1998Atlas.pdf

The following metadata elements are required by GAP, but do not parse using the FGDC mp parser (although similar elements can be found later in this document for several of these). For the convenience of GAP users, these elements are listed here.
Data Set Identity: MTGAPVEG;
Raster File Format: ARC/INFO GRID;
Raster File Sensor: NA;
Vector File Format: NA;
Nonspatial File Format: NA;
Source Distance Resolution: 90 meters;
Raster File Number of Bytes per Pixel: 4;
Native Data Structure: Raster.

Purpose:

These data were produced to map existing land cover in a standardized, consistent manner across the state for use in Montana Gap Analysis (MT-GAP). This land cover grid is suited for analysis at the regional, sub-regional, and landscape levels; it can also provide support for many management disciplines, including timber, wildlife, fisheries, and recreation.

Time period of content:

Beginning date: 04/01/1994
Ending date: 09/30/1998
Currentness reference: calendar date

Status:

Progress: Complete

Access constraints:

This data set is in the public domain, and the recipient may not assert any proprietary rights thereto nor represent it to anyone as other than a data set produced by the Wildlife Spatial Analysis Lab at the University of Montana.

Use constraints:

This data set is provided "as-is" without warranty of any kind, including, but not limited to, the implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose. The user assumes all responsibility for the accuracy and suitability of this data set for a specific application. In no event will the creators, The University of Montana, or the US Geological Survey be liable for any damages, including lost profits, lost savings, or other incidental or consequential damages arising from the use of or inability to use this data set. Users must assume responsibility for determining the suitability of these data for their purposes. Not for use at scales greater than 1:100000.

The Montana State Library provides this product/service for informational purposes only. The Library did not produce it for, nor is it suitable for legal, engineering, or surveying purposes. Consumers of this information should review or consult the primary data and information sources to ascertain the viability of the information for their purposes. The Library provides these data in good faith but does not represent or warrant its accuracy, adequacy, or completeness. In no event shall the Library be liable for any incorrect results or analysis; any direct, indirect, special, or consequential damages to any party; or any lost profits arising out of or in connection with the use or the inability to use the data or the services provided. The Library makes these data and services available as a convenience to the public, and for no other purpose. The Library reserves the right to change or revise published data and/or services at any time.

Point of contact:

Roland L. Redmond
Principal Investigator
Wildlife Spatial Analysis Lab, The University of Montana
Wildlife Spatial Analysis Lab, The University of Montana
Missoula, MT 59812-1063
Telephone: 406-243-5208 (email preferred)
Fax: 406-243-6064
E-Mail: red@wru.umt.edu

Data set credit:

The Wildlife Spatial Analysis Lab for creation of the geospatial data set.

Data Quality Information:

Attribute accuracy report:

Thematic accuracy of the land cover map was assessed using a bootstrap method which did not require the collection of an independent set of reference data. Cover type classification accuracies were estimated for 45 types; these averaged 61.4%, and ranged from 4.4% for Western Hemlock to 93.2% for Missouri Breaks. Interpolation of the mean error estimates at each ground reference point allowed us to map the land cover accuracy across the state. Estimated mean accuracy exceeded 80% in the southwest corner (Beaverhead and Madison Counties) and in the western portion of the Highline in Glacier, Toole, and Pondera Counties; lower estimated accuracies were associated with some of the insular mountain ranges in central Montana from Gallatin County north through Cascade and Judith Basin Counties. For more information on accuracy of vegetation attributes, please refer to the project's final report: Redmond, R.L., M.M. Hart, J.C. Winne, W.A. Williams, P.C. Thornton, Z. Ma, C.M. Tobalske, M.M. Thornton, K.P. McLaughlin, T.P. Tady, F.B. Fisher, S.W. Running. 1998. The Montana Gap Analysis Project: final report. Unpublished report. Montana Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit, The University of Montana, Missoula. xii + 136 pp. + appendices. This is on-line at https://ftpgeoinfo.msl.mt.gov/Documents/Metadata/MtGap1998Report.pdf.

Logical consistency report:

All grid attributes were checked for consistency of appropriate range values.

Completeness report:

All areas in Montana and the surrounding 10km buffer are included in this map.

Horizontal Positional Accuracy Report:

Claimed root-mean square error for horizontal position of the terrain- corrected Landsat TM images is 18 meters in the x direction (WNW-ESE) and 30 meters in the y direction (NNE-SSW).

Lineage:

Source information:

Originator: Hughes STX Corporation
Publication date: 1993
Title:: Terrain-corrected Landsat Thematic Mapper Images p34r29, p35r26-28, p36r26-29, p37r26-29, p38r26-29, p39r26-29, p40r26-29, p41r26-28, p42r26-27 -- 1991, 1992, and 1993
Source scale denominator: 60000
Source contribution: Provided base imagery for classification.
Beginning date: 06/15/1991
Ending date: 08/05/1993

Source information:

Originator: Multi-Resolution Land Cover Consortium (MRLC)
Publication date: 1996
Title:: Terrain-corrected Landsat Thematic Mapper Images p34r28, p35r29, p43r26 -- 1994 and 1996
Source scale denominator: 60000
Source contribution: Provided base imagery for classification.
Beginning date: 08/29/1994
Ending date: 05/15/1996

Source information:

Originator: EOSAT Corporation
Publication date: 06/17/1995
Title: Terrain-corrected Landsat Thematic Mapper Image p34r27
Source scale denominator: 60000
Source contribution: Provided base imagery for classification.
Calendar date: 06/17/1995

Source information:

Originator: U.S. Forest Service, Region 1
Publication date: 04/1995
Title: Existing Ground-Truth Databases
Source scale denominator: 24000
Source contribution: Provided training data for assigning cover type labels.
Beginning date: 04/1995
Ending date: 10/1995

Source information:

Originator: U.S. Forest Service, Region 4
Publication date: 04/1995
Title: Existing Ground-Truth Databases
Source scale denominator: 24000
Source contribution: Provided training data for assigning cover type labels.
Beginning date: 09/1996
Ending date: 05/1997

Source information:

Originator: U.S. Bureau of Land Management
Publication date: 04/1997
Title: Existing Ground-Truth Databases
Source scale denominator: 60000
Source contribution: Provided training data for assigning cover type labels.
Calendar date: 04/1997

Source information:

Originator: Natural Resource Conservation Service
Publication date: 06/1997
Title: Existing Ground-Truth Soil Survey Databases
Source scale denominator: 24000
Source contribution:: Provided training data for assigning cover type labels. To protect private landowners, NRCS overlaid WSAL polygons with their points and identified polygons containing ground truth plots; source scale is 1:24,000 or finer.
Calendar date: 06/1997

Source information:

Originator: U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs
Publication date: 06/1997
Title: Existing Ground-Truth Databases
Source scale denominator: 24000
Source contribution: Provided training data for assigning cover type labels.
Calendar date: 06/1997

Source information:

Originator: U.S. Geological Survey
Publication date: 03/1996
Title: 1:100,000-scale Digital Line Graphs
Source scale denominator: 100000
Source contribution: Provided hydrography layer.
Beginning date: 03/1996
Ending date: 04/1997

Source information:

Originator: U.S. Geological Survey
Publication date: 07/1995
Title: 7.5-minute Digital Elevation Models
Source scale denominator: 24000
Source contribution: Provided majority of topography layer.
Beginning date: 07/1995
Ending date: 09/1996

Source information:

Originator: Defense Mapping Agency
Publication date: 07/1995
Title: 1-degree Digital Elevation Models
Source scale denominator: 250000
Source contribution:: Provided topography layer where 7.5-minute DEM data were unavailable.
Beginning date: 07/1995
Ending date: 09/1996

Source information:

Originator: U.S. Geological Survey, Gap Analysis Program
Publication date: 1997
Title: Northwest GAP Analysis Land Cover
Online linkage: http://www.gap.uidaho.edu

Process step:

Classify: unsupervised classification was performed on the input image.


Process date: 06/01/1996

Process step:

Merge: using customized software, merged all raster polygons below a specified minimum mapping unit (mmu) with most similar neighbor larger than the mmu. Makedem: extracted a digital elevation model (DEM) from the WSAL dem database for use during labeling.

Makehydrography: extracted a hydrography coverage from the WSAL hydrography database for use during labeling.

Buildvat: built an Arc/Info value attribute table (VAT) to hold all items (fields) for which descriptive data could be developed for each region.


Process date: 09/01/1996

Process step:

Processgt: filled in spectral, topographic, and hydrologic information in ground-truth training data for use in supervised classification.


Process date: 02/01/1997

Process step:

Labelagurbcloud and Labelother: manually labeled agricultural, urban, and cloud areas, as well as mines and areas burned in fires.


Process date: 08/1997

Process step:

Labelveg: performed supervised classification, labelling each region with its vegetation attributes: cover_code, cov_code_1, cov_code_2, cov_code_3, and cov_prob_1.


Process date: 03/01/1997

Process step:

Edgematch: for each scene, identified and labeled regions to be retained where overlap occurs among scenes to make a seamless image for the entire state.


Process date: 10/31/1997

Process step: Validate: validation was performed for all items in the VAT.


Process date: 11/25/1997

Process step:

TrimDatabase: when appropriate, key veg item values were set to zero (null) outside the Montana state border (with a 10 km border).


Process date: 12/01/1997

Process step: LandCover: create 30m ARC/INFO grid of land cover.


Process date: 11/1997

Process step:

RecodeVeg: Recombined the 94 land cover types to 50 for Gap Analysis.


Process date: 12/1997

Process step:

MergeFinal: Merged all land cover types except cloud and cloud shadow to a 2 hectare MMU. Merged cloud and cloud shadow to 100 ha MMU. (Uses customized software)


Process date: 02/23/1998

Process step: Grid: Resampled 30m land cover grid to 90m.


Process date: 02/27/1998

Process step:

Riparian: Extracted water and riparian cover types (5000 - 6400) from 30m land cover grid. Resampled to 90m, and merged with the 90m land cover grid, LDGD (giving the riparian grid priority in the merge).


Process date: 02/29/1998

Spatial Data Organization Information:

Raster object information:

Raster object type: Grid cell
Row count: 6115
Column count: 10430

Spatial Reference Information:

Horizontal coordinate system definition:

Grid coordinate system name: State Plane Coordinate System 1983

SPCS zone identifier: 2500

Lambert conformal conic:

Standard parallel: 45
Standard parallel: 49
Longitude of central meridian: -109.5
Latitude of projection origin: 44.25
False easting: 600000.00000
False northing: 0.00000

Planar distance units: meters

Geodetic model:

Horizontal datum name: North American Datum of 1983
Ellipsoid name: Geodetic Reference System 80
Semi-major axis: 6378137
Denominator of flattening ratio: 298.257

Entity and Attribute Information:

Entity type label: MTGAPVEG.VAT

Entity type definition: Grid Cell Value Attribute Table

Attribute label: VALUE

Attribute definition:: Land cover class assigned in supervised classification, then recoded to GAP land cover types.

Attribute label: COUNT

Attribute definition: Number of 90m x 90m pixels for each land cover type.

Attribute label: LandCover

Attribute definition:: The descriptive name of each land cover type assigned in the supervised classification (see Enumerated_Domain_Value_Definitions for VALUE attribute, above).

Distribution Information:

Distributor:

Montana State Library
PO Box 201800
Helena, MT 59620-1800
Telephone: 406-444-5354
Telephone: 406-444-5354
TDD/TTY telephone: Montana Relay 711
Fax: 406-444-0266
E-Mail: geoinfo@mt.gov
E-Mail: geoinfo@mt.gov

Resource description: Downloadable Data

Distribution liability:

The Montana State Library provides this product/service for informational purposes only. The Library did not produce it for, nor is it suitable for legal, engineering, or surveying purposes. Consumers of this information should review or consult the primary data and information sources to ascertain the viability of the information for their purposes. The Library provides these data in good faith but does not represent or warrant its accuracy, adequacy, or completeness. In no event shall the Library be liable for any incorrect results or analysis; any direct, indirect, special, or consequential damages to any party; or any lost profits arising out of or in connection with the use or the inability to use the data or the services provided. The Library makes these data and services available as a convenience to the public, and for no other purpose. The Library reserves the right to change or revise published data and/or services at any time.

Standard order process:

Digital form:

Metadata Reference Information:

Metadata date: 11/04/2013

Metadata review date: 04/17/2013

Metadata review date: 09/29/2004

Metadata review date: 01/20/2000

Metadata review date: 01/08/1998

Metadata contact:

Michele Thornton or Melissa Hart
Image Analyst; MT-GAP Coordinator
Wildlife Spatial Analysis Lab
Wildlife Spatial Analysis Lab, The University of Montana
Missoula, Montana 59812-1063
Telephone: 406-243-5208 (email preferred)
Fax: 406-243-6064
E-Mail: mhart@wru.umt.edu