Land Cover 2017

Abstract

The Land Cover 2017 dataset is a compilation of land cover data created by Florida's five Water Management Districts. Each Water Management District used a similar mapping source, mapping methods, and attribute coding. Codes are based on the Florida Land Use, Cover and Forms Classification System (FLUCCS-DOT 1999).

The data dates vary by Water Management District as follows:

  • NWFWMD - 2015-2016
  • SJRWMD - 2013-2016
  • SFWMD - 2014-2016
  • SRWMD - 2016-2017
  • SWFWMD - 2017

This data is also referred to as Land Use / Land Cover. Some Water Management Districts coded for land use as the primary code and land cover as the secondary code. But they only did this for a selected set of codes. So its inconsistently applied statewide. Based on the FLUCCS coding scheme, MapWise views the data as mainly a land cover data set.

Purpose

Land Cover maps are essential to understanding current land use and land cover patterns as well as change over time. The data is also a key input to scientific models that predict phenomena such as groundwater recharge and surface water runoff.

The Florida Department of Environmental Protection created the statewide version of the data to seamlessly utilize the data across the state of Florida.

Supplemental Information

Florida's five Water Management Districts and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection have mapped detailed land cover multiple times since 1990. The mapping sources, methods and coding schemes have remained fairly consistent through time. However, as more information has become available, such as parcels, higher resolution aerials, updated elevation, etc the maps have been improving over time. They also demonstrate land cover changes over time when multiple years are compared.

Time Period of Content

  • Beginning date: 2013
  • Ending date: 2017

Publish Date

02/01/2020

Originator

The five Florida Water Management Districts: Northwest Florida, South Florida, Southwest Florida, St Johns River, and Suwannee River Water Management District

Publisher

Florida Department of Environmental Protection

Theme Keywords

land, cover, use

Place Keywords

Florida

Source Scale

1:12,000

Horizontal Accuracy

Approximately +/- 23 feet

Process Steps

Each Water Management District follwed similar steps to creating this data.

  • Acquire high-resolution aerial photography.
  • Load aerials, previous land use / land cover data, soils, parcels, etc into desktop GIS.
  • Review aerials and ancillary data for an area of interest.
  • Update changes to land use / land cover data by modifying, adding or deleting polygons. Modify / update codes as needed.

Format

SHP

Format Details

Polygon

Projection

Florida Albers HARN

Field Names

Field Description Type
LANDUSE_CODE 4-digit land use / land cover code Integer
LANDUSE_DESCRIPTION 4-digit code: Code descriptive name, e.g. 4320 String
LEVEL1_LANDUSE_CODE Level 1 version of 4-digit code, e.g. 4000 Integer
LEVEL1_LANDUSE_DESCRIPTION Level 1 Code descriptive name String
LEVEL2_LANDUSE_CODE Level 2 version of 4-digit code, e.g. 4300 Integer
LEVEL2_LANDUSE_DESCRIPTION Level 2 Code descriptive name String
LANDCOVER_CODE 4-digit land cover code Integer
LANDCOVER_DESCRIPTION 4-digit land cover code descriptive name String
WATER_MANAGEMENT_DISTRICT Water Management District Code String
LANDUSE_YEAR Data year / range String

Comments

The following PDF documents provide detailed descriptions of the landcover codes available in the SFWMD and SWFWMD portions of the land cover data set.

NOTE: The PDFs are very large and you may want to Save As... instead of loading into your browser.

SFWMD Photo-interpretation Key (PDF 32MB)

SWFWMD Photo-interpretation Key (PDF 30MB)