The U.S. Forest Service (USFS) Geospatial Technology and Applications Center (GTAC) builds and maintains tree canopy cover (TCC) datasets for the conterminous U.S. (CONUS), coastal Alaska, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Since the TCC datasets cover all lands including federal, state, and private lands, multiple divisions of the USFS contribute funding supporting the development and production of the datasets. These divisions include the National Forest Systems, State and Private Forestry, and Research and Development. The TCC datasets are Landsat and Sentinel-2 based with a spatial resolution of 30 meters.
An annual Science product (direct model outputs, per pixel SE, and model uncertainty) with maps and data for years 2008-2021, that serve multiple user communities.
The National Land Cover Database (NLCD) TCC maps for years 2011, 2013, 2016, 2019 and 2021, that are maintained by the Multi-Resolution Land Characteristics Consortium (MRLC).
Metadata for all products
Table 1 provides for a tabular overview of the 2021.4 TCC product suite components and download links.
Additional documentation describing the components of the 2016 TCC Product Suite (workflows, inputs, models, QC and review processes, etc.) is available at the bottom of this page.
Previous versions of the 2016 and 2011 TCC datasets are archived and available. The 2011 and 2016 TCC products are the same as those released as part of the 2011 and 2016 NLCD. Please note that the nominal 2011 products included in the 2016 product suite released in 2019 were updated and are different datasets from the nominal 2011 products included in the 2011 TCC product suite that was originally released in 2014. The 2011 and 2016 TCC product suites are provided for user communities who still need access to the previous iterations. See Tables 2 and 3 for a tabular overview.
Current Data Release
USFS Science TCC
NLCD TCC
Description:
Science TCC product includes 30-meter spatial resolution maps of TCC and standard error for years 2008-2021.
Two-layer dataset, with modeled TCC values on every pixel, along with a standard error value + metadata
Provides objective numerical model outputs
Masks and thresholds are not applied to the Science version. TCC in water bodies or non-tree croplands (e.g., center-pivot irrigated fields) may be present.
Produced by USFS/GTAC
Data for the years of 2011 and 2016 are available below.
Description:
NLCD TCC product suite includes 30- meter spatial resolution maps of TCC for years 2011, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021.
The NLCD TCC data are the result of more in-depth post-processing of the Science products, including various masking (i.e., water and non-tree agriculture), filtering, minimum-mapping unit (MMU) routines, and a process to reduce interannual noise and return longer duration trends.
Produced by USFS/GTAC as a partner in the Multi-Resolution Land Characteristics Consortium (MRLC)
Primary User Community:
This version serves a user community that prizes statistics over visual appearance.
This community typically has access to advanced geospatial and statistical analysis resources.
Primary User Community:
This version serves a large part of the NLCD user community that desires:
Maps with reasonable cartographic appearance and reduced interannual noise.
Two-layer dataset, with modeled TCC values on every pixel, along with a standard error value + metadata
Closest to objective numerical model outputs
Masks are not applied to the Analytical version to clean up the visual appearance of the data. In the Analytical version, raw modeled tree cover in water bodies or non-tree croplands (e.g., center-pivot irrigated fields) may be present.
Data for the years of 2011 and 2016 are available
Description:
Single-layer dataset, with TCC values only (no standard error layer included) + metadata
TCC layer from the upstream “FS-Analytical” version of the product + application of masks to refine dataset visual appearance
Masks are applied to remove modeled TCC in water bodies, non-tree croplands, and in areas where the standard error is much higher than the TCC value itself. Essentially, pixels for which confidence in the pixel being tree-covered is very low are filtered out.
Data for the years of 2011 and 2016 are available
Description:
Three-layer dataset that is an integrated data stack (i.e., 2011 TCC + change = 2016 TCC for all pixels)
Data for the years of 2011 and 2016 are available, as well as estimated TCC change between the nominal years of 2011 and 2016
Produced by FS/GTAC as a partner in the Multi-Resolution Land Characteristics Consortium (MRLC)
Primary User Community:
This version serves a user community that prizes statistics over visual appearance.
This community typically has access to advanced geospatial and statistical analysis resources.
Primary User Community:
This version serves a user community desiring better visual appearance of 2011 and 2016 timesteps for cartographic purposes.
Primary User Community:
This version serves a large part of the NLCD user community that desires:
an integrated data stack with 2011 TCC + change = 2016 TCC
an estimate of change beyond simple subtraction on all pixels, everywhere across all AOIs
maps with reasonable cartographic appearance, yet this user community is willing to trade minor visual artifacts for the integrated data stack, where values “line up” (i.e., 2011 TCC + change = 2016 TCC)
Two-layer dataset, with modeled TCC values on every pixel, along with a standard error value + metadata
Closest to objective numerical model outputs
Masks are not applied to the Analytical version to clean up the visual appearance of the data. In the Analytical version, raw modeled tree cover in water bodies or non-tree croplands (e.g., center-pivot irrigated fields) may be present.
Data for the year 2011 are available
Description:
Released in 2014 as part of the 2011 NLCD
Single-layer dataset, with TCC values only (no standard error layer included) + metadata
TCC layer from the upstream “FS-Analytical” version of the product + application of masks to refine dataset visual appearance
Masks are applied to remove modeled TCC in water bodies, non-tree croplands, and in areas where the standard error is much higher than the TCC value itself. Essentially, pixels for which confidence in the pixel being tree-covered is very low, are filtered out.
Data for the year 2011 are available
Primary User Community:
This dataset serves a user community that prizes statistics over visual appearance and still needs access to the previous version of the 2011 TCC Products.
This community typically has access to advanced geospatial and statistical analysis resources.
Primary User Community:
This dataset serves a user community desiring better visual appearance of data for cartographic purposes and still needs access to the previous version of the 2011 TCC Products.
Q: Where can I find the 2001 NLCD tree canopy cover data? A: The 2001 data were produced by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) for the National Land Cover Database (NLCD). You can find the 2001 NLCD TCC data here: https://www.sciencebase.gov/catalog/item/5dfbcddfe4b0ff479b8c45a8.
Q: Are the TCC datasets available as public assets on Google Earth Engine (GEE)? A: The NLCD version of the TCC data is available within the “USGS/NLCD_RELEASES/2016_REL” public asset on GEE. Please note that the official source of NLCD data remains the MRLC website (www.mrlc.gov, then click “Data” in the menu at the top of the website). The Science data are not available as public assets in GEE. Users will need to upload those versions of the data to their own GEE asset space if they want to use them.
Q: I've found what looks like a hard line in the data. What is that? A: The line may be due to seamlines that are rooted in Landsat path/rows used in the FS TCC production workflows for the 2016 product suite. Read more here.
Q: Are height thresholds used in the production of NLCD TCC datasets? A: No height thresholds were applied in the production of 2011, 2016 and 2021.4 NLCD TCC datasets.
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