--- chapters: [] contact_email: ~ contact_note: ~ contributors: - display_name: 'Data Producer : Multi-Resolution Land Characteristics Consortium ' href: http://52.38.26.42:8080/contributor/4515.yaml id: 4515 organization: country_code: US display_name: Multi-Resolution Land Characteristics Consortium identifier: multi-resolution-land-characteristics-consortium name: Multi-Resolution Land Characteristics Consortium organization_type_identifier: federal type: organization url: http://www.mrlc.gov organization_uri: /organization/multi-resolution-land-characteristics-consortium person: {} person_id: ~ person_uri: ~ role_type_identifier: data_producer uri: /contributor/4515 - display_name: 'Point of Contact : Linda Heath (U.S. Forest Service Northern Research Station) ' href: http://52.38.26.42:8080/contributor/4508.yaml id: 4508 organization: country_code: US display_name: U.S. Forest Service Northern Research Station identifier: us-forest-service-northern-research-station name: U.S. Forest Service Northern Research Station organization_type_identifier: federal type: organization url: http://www.nrs.fs.fed.us/ organization_uri: /organization/us-forest-service-northern-research-station person: display_name: Linda Heath first_name: Linda id: 2291 last_name: Heath middle_name: ~ orcid: ~ type: person url: http://www.nrs.fs.fed.us/people/lheath person_id: 2291 person_uri: /person/2291 role_type_identifier: point_of_contact uri: /contributor/4508 - display_name: 'Contributing Agency : U.S. Forest Service Northern Research Station ' href: http://52.38.26.42:8080/contributor/4509.yaml id: 4509 organization: country_code: US display_name: U.S. Forest Service Northern Research Station identifier: us-forest-service-northern-research-station name: U.S. Forest Service Northern Research Station organization_type_identifier: federal type: organization url: http://www.nrs.fs.fed.us/ organization_uri: /organization/us-forest-service-northern-research-station person: {} person_id: ~ person_uri: ~ role_type_identifier: contributing_agency uri: /contributor/4509 - display_name: 'Contributing Agency : U.S. Geological Survey ' href: http://52.38.26.42:8080/contributor/3905.yaml id: 3905 organization: country_code: US display_name: U.S. Geological Survey identifier: us-geological-survey name: U.S. Geological Survey organization_type_identifier: federal type: organization url: http://www.usgs.gov/ organization_uri: /organization/us-geological-survey person: {} person_id: ~ person_uri: ~ role_type_identifier: contributing_agency uri: /contributor/3905 display_name: 'Indicator: Forest Cover' doi: ~ files: - display_name: forests_v3_09.16.2014.jpg file: 54/f3/50faf82e658417e838da4006a459/forests_v3_09.16.2014.jpg href: http://data.globalchange.gov/assets/54/f3/50faf82e658417e838da4006a459/forests_v3_09.16.2014.jpg identifier: 48d3eb2b-3402-48ff-85bc-ea3b53417e06 landing_page: ~ location: ~ mime_type: image/jpeg sha1: d81b991765891b3409afa5bafeaeff9cba97acb3 size: 20874594 thumbnail: 54/f3/50faf82e658417e838da4006a459/.thumb-48d3eb2b-3402-48ff-85bc-ea3b53417e06.png thumbnail_href: http://data.globalchange.gov/assets/54/f3/50faf82e658417e838da4006a459/.thumb-48d3eb2b-3402-48ff-85bc-ea3b53417e06.png type: file uri: /file/48d3eb2b-3402-48ff-85bc-ea3b53417e06 url: http://data.globalchange.gov/assets/54/f3/50faf82e658417e838da4006a459/forests_v3_09.16.2014.jpg href: http://52.38.26.42:8080/report/indicator-forest-cover.yaml identifier: indicator-forest-cover parents: [] publication_year: 2015 report_figures: - display_name: indicator-forest-cover href: http://52.38.26.42:8080/report/indicator-forest-cover/figure/indicator-forest-cover.yaml uri: /report/indicator-forest-cover/figure/indicator-forest-cover report_findings: [] report_tables: [] report_type_identifier: indicator summary: "Key Points:\r\n\r\n1.\tThis indicator measures different types of forest cover and their locations throughout the contiguous United States. Forest cover is affected by climate factors, such as drought or increased rainfall, and human factors, such as changes in land use or management. \r\n\r\n2.\tForests accounted for about 29% of the land area in the contiguous United States in 2011.\r\n\r\n3.\tForest cover data can inform decisions about wildfire control, forest production and preservation, invasive species management, and climate change mitigation strategies.\r\n\r\nFull Summary:\r\n\r\nAs of 2011, forests accounted for about 29% of the land area in the contiguous United States. Human activities—such as fire suppression, changes in grazing patterns, abandonment of agricultural lands, and timber harvest—affect forest cover. Climate, windstorms, fire, insects, and pests also can affect forest cover in some areas. For example, drought can cause tree death and impede tree regrowth. On the other hand, in regions where increased rainfall and soil moisture limit tree growth, forest cover may increase with drought. \r\n\r\nData to visually represent forest cover were obtained from the National Land Cover Dataset (NLCD) produced by the Multi-Resolution Land Characteristics Consortium (MRLC). In this indicator, forest cover is defined as areas where trees are dominantly greater than 16 feet tall and make up greater than 20% of the total vegetation cover. In addition to forest cover, this indicator also shows cover by woody wetlands. \r\n\r\nForest cover data can inform decisions about wildfire control, forest production and preservation, and invasive species management. Because forests may be used for carbon sequestration, forest cover data can also inform climate change mitigation strategies. In addition to considering forest cover, monitoring the condition of forests through the use of vegetation indices (such as year-to-year variability in peak greenness) may provide further insights.\r\n" title: 'Indicator: Forest Cover' uri: /report/indicator-forest-cover url: http://www.globalchange.gov/browse/indicators/indicator-forest-cover