KLS Overview and Forest Type Map Creation

A. J. Brenner

Space Imaging, LLC

The Kentucky Governor's Office for Technology was recently awarded a $1.3 million NASA grant to gain a clearer picture of forest, urban and rural landscape in Kentucky. The aim of the project is to develop a digital snapshot of the Commonwealth's natural and manmade landscape (including a Level III and IV classification forest type map) as it is now, and compare it to how it was used or will be used in another time period. A historical change detection map will be created on both imperviousness and canopy from 92 - 2002. Knowing how the landscape is changing is an important factor when deciding how to make sound land management decisions. As part of the project, tools have been developed to assist local, state, and federal decision makers in making future land use decisions.

Project Deliverables
- Baseline landcover Level II Classification
- Forest cover type map Level III and IV Classification
- Urban landcover map (High Resolution 1 meter and .25 meter)
- Imperviousness & Canopy Closure maps
- A Forest Plan GeoBook ®s for KY forest managers
- A Web-Based Urban Decision Support System

The project has accomplished through the use of multiple dates of Landsat 7 data http://landsat7.usgs.gov and many ancillary data sets, and high resolution multi-spectral data for the county and urban areas. Information about how the Level II landcover map is available at http://kls.ky.gov/klsdata.htm This presentation will give an overview of the KLS project methods and deliverables with particular emphasis on the creation of the Level III and IV Forest type map.

Keywords: Remote Sensing, National Landcover Dataset, Kentucky Landscape Snapshot

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