GAP_LULC2000 GRID:

This grid is a preliminary result of the WV Gap Analysis Project, which is an ongoing effort of the Natural Resource Analysis Center at WVU and the WV Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit.  The work has been funded by the USGS Biological Resources Division.  For more information on the WV GAP project, please see our web page at:

http://www.nrac.wvu.edu/gap/   

This grid was created from 30m satellite imagery obtained between 1992-1994.  More information on the classification methods will be available soon as part of the WV GAP final report.  The results have not yet been subjected to accuracy assessment or testing.

The table below lists grid code values and associated land use labels.

Grid Code	Label
1		Shrubland
2		Woodland
3		Surface water
4		Major highways
5		Major powerlines
6		Populated area - mixed land cover
7		Low intensity urban
8		Moderate intensity urban
9		Intensive urban
10		Row crop agriculture
11		Pasture/grassland
12		Barren land - mining, construction
13		Planted grassland
14		Conifer plantation
15		Floodplain forest
16		Forested wetland
17		Shrub wetland
18		Herbaceous wetland
19		Surface water (combine with class #3)
20		Cove hardwood forest
21		Diverse/mesohytic hardwood forest
22		Hardwood/conifer forest
23		Oak dominant forest
24		Mountain hardwood forest
25		Mountain hardwood/conifer forest
26		Mountain conifer forest



WEST VIRGINIA GAP LAND USE / LAND COVER  DESCRIPTIONS

MAJOR ROADS. Includes only interstate highways from secondary data sources. Other roads are not mapped or are classified as one of the developed / urban classes.

MAJOR POWERLINES. Powerline right-of-ways from secondary data sources and not 
satellite data classification.

POPULATED AREAS - MIXED LAND COVER. Rural or lightly developed areas with 
highly diverse and patchy land cover patterns and population densities greater than 500 persons per square mile.

LIGHT INTENSITY URBAN. Rural developed areas including small towns and hamlets, 
roadway strip development, suburban areas, and other areas that are primarily residential in character.

MODERATE INTENSITY URBAN. Concentrated residential, commercial, industrial, 
and institutional areas with mixed land use town centers in which a significant portion of the land area may be undeveloped.

INTENSIVE URBAN. Dense residential, commercial, industrial, and city core areas in which the majority of the land is developed.


Agricultural Land

PLANTED GRASSLAND. Includes large grass areas such as parks, lawns, golf courses, cemeteries, and similar areas.

CONIFER PLANTATION. Single-species planted conifer stands. Can also potentially 
include Christmas tree farms.

ROW CROP AGRICULTURE. Includes row crops such as corn and soybeans. May also 
include sparsely vegetated pasture/grassland areas that are misclassified as row crops.

PASTURE / GRASSLAND. Includes pastureland, hay fields, old fields, abandoned 
farms, and other herbaceous land cover areas (excluding wetlands).

Shrubland/Woodland

SHRUBLAND. Natural highland scrubland or reverting agricultural fields with woody vegetation.

WOODLAND. Wooded areas, but not with mature closed canopy forest cover. Found on 
ridge tops, knobs, rocky areas, and other previously disturbed areas such as forest harvest areas, reclaimed coalmines, and the sites of forest fires.


Forested Land

FLOODPLAIN FOREST. Bottomland forest occurring in major river valley/riparian 
areas. Typical species include sycamore, red maple, silver maple, willow, and pin oak.

COVE HARDWOOD FOREST. Found in ravines, coves and along north-facing slopes. 
Species composition is generally very diverse with yellow poplar, red oak, pin and black cherry, paper and yellow birch, aspen, sugar and red maple, and Eastern hemlock. Local species dominance patterns are often small scale with significant species changes over relatively short distances.

DIVERSE MESOPHYTIC HARDWOOD FOREST. Predominant forest cover 
throughout much of the Allegheny Plateau region of West Virginia. The forests are characterized by high species diversity or species dominance patterns that are localized in very small areas. Typical species include: basswood, buckeye, beech, yellow poplar, black cherry, sugar maple, red maple, red oak, white oak, and Eastern hemlock.

HARDWOOD / CONIFER FOREST. Includes non high-elevation forest types such as 
oak-pine forest. Typically occur as dry forests along ridges and south-facing slopes in the less mountainous areas of the state.

OAK DOMINANT FOREST. Oak dominant forests occur throughout much of West 
Virginia. These areas generally occur on poorer/well-drained soils, ridges, or south and west facing slopes. Dominant species include white oak, black oak, chestnut oak, and red oak mixed with red maple, yellow poplar, beech, and sugar maple.

MOUNTAIN HARDWOOD FOREST. Northern hardwood forests that dominate the 
mountainous higher elevation areas in the state. Typical dominant species include sugar maple, beech, yellow birch, white ash, and basswood.

MOUNTAIN HARDWOOD / CONIFER FOREST. Found in the higher elevation areas 
of the state with red spruce, balsam fir, Eastern hemlock, Eastern white pine, sugar maple, beech, and yellow and paper birch. 

MOUNTAIN CONIFER FOREST. Occurs in the highest elevations of the state. May 
include small pure stands of red spruce and red spruce with balsam fir with secondary amounts of yellow and paper birch.


Water

SURFACE WATER. Open water including lakes, large ponds, and rivers.


Wetland

FORESTED WETLAND. Palustrine forested land cover derived from National Wetlands 
Inventory (NWI) data. Data combined into classification to facilitate updating of NWI classifications from other data sources.

SHRUB WETLAND. Palustrine scrub / shrub wetland type derived similar to above.

HERBACEOUS WETLAND. Palustrine emergent wetland type derived and updated 
similar to above. 

Barren Land

BARREN LAND - MINING, CONSTRUCTION.  Barren, unvegetated lands resulting 
from construction, timbering, mining, or other activities.



