Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
Table 7.1
Land Use/Land Cover classes and characteristics
Land cover classes
General description
Corn
Includes corn used for grain or silage. Planted late April to
early May with full cover by late July. Harvested
September through November.
Soybeans
Planted in May, full cover by July. Harvested in September
through October.
Sorghum
Includes sorghum for grain and silage as well as milo, sudan,
and cane. Planted in May with full cover by July.
Harvested September through October.
Potatoes
Planted in late April to early May. Harvested in September or
October.
Alfalfa
Green-up during April and early May with first cut beginning
in May. Harvested 3-4 times during the growing season
ending in early October.
Small grains
Includes winter wheat, spring wheat, oats, barley, rye and
millet. Winter wheat planted September of previous year
with harvest beginning in early July. Oats and barley are
generally planted in late March or early April and
harvested in July.
Summer fallow
Cropland kept out of production during a cropping season to
conserve moisture for the next season. It is common for
wheat producers to rotate half their cropland to summer
fallow each year.
Range/grass/pasture
Mostly range grasses and pasture, with some cultivated grass
and hay. Includes brome grass and land in the Conservation
Reserve Program. Green-up in spring and early summer.
Grazing occurs at irregular intervals.
Urban land
Areas defined as towns or cities with a population greater
than 300 people.
Open water
Lakes, streams, ponds, reservoirs. Water level varies due to
irrigation draw down and evaporation.
Riparian forest and woodlands
Forested areas including areas next to streams, lakes and
wetlands
Wetlands
Lands where saturation with water is the dominant factor
determining the nature of soil development and plant and
animal communities. This class may also include
sub-irrigated grassland areas.
Other agricultural lands
Includes developed areas associated with farming, such as
farmsteads, feedlots, etc.
Roads
Interstates, highways and county roads.
7.3.3 Additional Image-Based Data
Aerial and satellite imagery can serve a variety of purposes for wetlands man-
agement and analyses, including providing context for analyses, aiding revision
of geospatial data (e.g., hydrography, roads) and documenting LULC change. In
this project, as outlined above, Landsat TM imagery was used to provide LULC
data for the RWB. In addition, it was deemed important to explore applications
