The USGS Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center developed a Monarch Relevant Land Cover data set covering the area of Mexico. We used the 2010 land cover data set produced by the tri-national North American Land Change Monitoring System (NALCMS) and supported by the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) that depicts year 2010 land cover across North America at 30-meter spatial resolution, and incorporated additional spatially-explicit information to develop this land cover map. Additional sources of information included 2004 railroad data provided by Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Geografía and the CEC, 2011 roads data provided by Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Geografía, 2017 protected areas data provided by the CEC, and 2006 Mexico municipalities data provided by Sistemas de Información Geográfica.

The USGS Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center developed a Monarch Relevant Land Cover data set covering the area of Mexico. We used the 2010 land cover data set produced by the tri-national North American Land Change Monitoring System (NALCMS) and supported by the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) that depicts year 2010 land cover across North America at 30-meter spatial resolution, and incorporated additional spatially-explicit information to develop this land cover map. Additional sources of information included 2004 railroad data provided by Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Geografía and the CEC, 2011 roads data provided by Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Geografía, 2017 protected areas data provided by the CEC, and 2006 Mexico municipalities data provided by Sistemas de Información Geográfica.

The USGS Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center developed a Monarch Butterfly Relevant Land Cover data set covering the conterminous United States of America. This data set was used primarily to assist in forecasting the number of milkweed stems on the landscape. Milkweed are required by monarch butterflies for reproduction and one possible cause for the decline in monarch butterfly numbers is thought to be the loss of milkweed. We used the Cropland Data Layer 2015 as well as additional spatially explicit information to develop the monarch relevant land cover data set. Additional sources of information included 2014 United States Department of Agriculture Conservation Reserve Program enrollment locations; railroad, power line, and road rights of way; marginal versus productive farmland as determined by the 2012 United States Department of Agriculture National Commodity Cropland Productivity Index; and a characterization of urban versus outside urban environs. Due to the inherent sensitivity of the Conservation Reserve Program and Transmission line data sets, we created this non-sensitive version of the Monarch Butterfly Relevant Land Cover data set for distribution with those two data sets not used in the development.

Land cover information is necessary for a large range of environmental applications related to climate impacts and adaption, emergency response, wildlife habitat, etc. In Canada, a 2008 user survey indicated that the most practical land cover data is provided in a nationwide 30 m spatial resolution format, with an update frequency of five years. In response to this need, the Canada Centre for Remote Sensing (CCRS) has generated a 30 m land cover map of Canada for the years 2010, 2015 as well as this 2020 land cover map. This land cover dataset is also the Canadian contribution to the 30 m spatial resolution 2020 Land Cover Map of North America, which is produced by Mexican, American and Canadian government institutions under a collaboration called the North American Land Change Monitoring System (NALCMS). This land cover dataset for Canada is produced using observation from Operational Land Imager (OLI) Landsat sensor. An accuracy assessment based on 832 randomly distributed samples shows that land cover data produced with this new approach has achieved 86.9% accuracy with no marked spatial disparities. - [Land Cover of Canada - Cartographic Product Collection](https://open.canada.ca/data/en/dataset/11990a35-912e-4002-b197-d57dd88836d7)

Stabilizing the eastern, migratory population of monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus) is expected to require substantial habitat restoration on agricultural land in the core breeding area of the Upper Midwestern U.S. Previous research has considered the potential to utilize marginal land for this purpose because of its low productivity, erodible soils, and high nutrient input requirements. This strategy has strong potential for restoring milkweed (Asclepias spp.), but may be limited in terms of its ability to generate additional biophysical and socioeconomic benefits for local communities. Here we explore the possibility of restoring milkweed via the creation of continuous riparian buffer strips around perennial and intermittent streams throughout the region. We use a GIS-based analysis to consider the potential of several different buffer-width scenarios to meet milkweed restoration targets. We further estimate the ability of these habitat areas to provide additional functionality in the form of crop pollination and water quality regulation across the entire region. Finally, we estimate the conservative economic value of these ecosystem services and compare it with the lost value of crops associated with each scenario. Results suggest that riparian buffers could be used to meet 10-43% of the total milkweed restoration target of 1.3 billion new stems with moderate management. The value of water quality and pollination benefits provided by buffers is estimated to exceed costs only for our smallest buffer-width scenario, with a cost-benefit ratio of 1:2.05. Larger buffer widths provide more milkweed, but costs to farmers exceed the benefits we were able to quantify. The large-scale restoration of multifunctional riparian corridors thus has the potential to add milkweed stems while also providing a variety of other valuable benefits. This suggests the potential to leverage monarch habitat restoration efforts for the benefit of a wider variety of species and a broader coalition of beneficiaries.

Stabilizing the eastern, migratory population of monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus) is expected to require substantial habitat restoration on agricultural land in the core breeding area of the Upper Midwestern U.S. Previous research has considered the potential to utilize marginal land for this purpose because of its low productivity, erodible soils, and high nutrient input requirements. This strategy has strong potential for restoring milkweed (Asclepias spp.), but may be limited in terms of its ability to generate additional biophysical and socioeconomic benefits for local communities. Here we explore the possibility of restoring milkweed via the creation of continuous riparian buffer strips around perennial and intermittent streams throughout the region. We use a GIS-based analysis to consider the potential of several different buffer-width scenarios to meet milkweed restoration targets. We further estimate the ability of these habitat areas to provide additional functionality in the form of crop pollination and water quality regulation across the entire region. Finally, we estimate the conservative economic value of these ecosystem services and compare it with the lost value of crops associated with each scenario. Results suggest that riparian buffers could be used to meet 10-43% of the total milkweed restoration target of 1.3 billion new stems with moderate management. The value of water quality and pollination benefits provided by buffers is estimated to exceed costs only for our smallest buffer-width scenario, with a cost-benefit ratio of 1:2.05. Larger buffer widths provide more milkweed, but costs to farmers exceed the benefits we were able to quantify. The large-scale restoration of multifunctional riparian corridors thus has the potential to add milkweed stems while also providing a variety of other valuable benefits. This suggests the potential to leverage monarch habitat restoration efforts for the benefit of a wider variety of species and a broader coalition of beneficiaries.

This 30-meter resolution data set represents the tree canopy layer for the conterminous United States for the 2001 time period. The data have been arranged into four tiles to facilitate timely display and manipulation within a Geographic Information System, browse graphic: nlcd01-partition.jpg. The National Land Cover Data Set for 2001 was produced through a cooperative project conducted by the Multi-Resolution Land Characteristics (MRLC) Consortium. The MRLC Consortium is a partnership of Federal agencies (www.mrlc.gov), consisting of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the U.S. Forest Service (USFS), the National Park Service (NPS), the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), and the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). One of the primary goals of the project is to generate a current, consistent, seamless, and accurate National Land Cover Database (NLCD) circa 2001 for the United States at medium spatial resolution. For a detailed definition and discussion on MRLC and the NLCD 2001 products, refer to Homer and others (2004) and http://www.mrlc.gov/mrlc2k.asp. The NLCD 2001 was created by partitioning the United States into mapping-zones. A total of 68 mapping-zones browse graphic: nlcd01-mappingzones.jpg were delineated within the conterminous United States based on ecoregion and geographical characteristics, edge-matching features, and the size requirement of Landsat mosaics. Mapping-zones encompass the whole or parts of several states. Questions about the NLCD mapping zones can be directed to the NLCD 2001 Land Cover Mapping Team at the USGS/EROS, Sioux Falls, SD (605) 594-6151 or mrlc@usgs.gov.

This data set provides local LAI maps for the selected measured sites in Canada. These derived maps may also be useful for validating other LAI maps over these same sites given that the areas are protected from disturbance. The maps should be used for the given period of validity. The LAI data are suitable for use in modeling the carbon, water, energy, energy and trace gas exchange between the land surface and the atmosphere at regional scales. The data set may also be useful for monitoring changes in the land surface.The Leaf Area Index (LAI) maps are at 30-m resolution for the selected sites. LAI is defined here as half the total (all-sided) live foliage area per unit horizontal projected ground surface area. Overstory LAI corresponds to all tree foliage except for treeless areas where it corresponds to total foliage. The algorithms were developed from ground measurements and Landsat TM and ETM+ images (Fernandes et. al., 2003). A mask was developed using the Landsat ETM+/TM5 image and available land cover map to identify only those areas with land cover belonging to the sample land cover classes and with Landsat ETM+/TM5 spectral reflectance values that fell within the convex hull of the spectral reflectance values over the plots. LAI was mapped within the masked region using the Landsat ETM+/TM5 image and the developed transfer function. The final LAI map was scaled by a factor of 20 (offset 0). The LAI maps are in Tagged Image File Format (TIFF).

This 30-meter resolution data set represents the tree canopy layer for the conterminous United States for the 2001 time period. The data have been arranged into four tiles to facilitate timely display and manipulation within a Geographic Information System, browse graphic: nlcd01-partition.jpg The National Land Cover Data Set for 2001 was produced through a cooperative project conducted by the Multi-Resolution Land Characteristics (MRLC) Consortium. The MRLC Consortium is a partnership of Federal agencies (www.mrlc.gov), consisting of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the U.S. Forest Service (USFS), the National Park Service (NPS), the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), and the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). One of the primary goals of the project is to generate a current, consistent, seamless, and accurate National Land Cover Database (NLCD) circa 2001 for the United States at medium spatial resolution. For a detailed definition and discussion on MRLC and the NLCD 2001 products, refer to Homer and others (2004) and http://www.mrlc.gov/mrlc2k.asp. The NLCD 2001 was created by partitioning the United States into mapping-zones. A total of 68 mapping-zones browse graphic: nlcd01-mappingzones.jpg were delineated within the conterminous United States based on ecoregion and geographical characteristics, edge-matching features, and the size requirement of Landsat mosaics. Mapping-zones encompass the whole or parts of several states. Questions about the NLCD mapping zones can be directed to the NLCD 2001 Land Cover Mapping Team at the USGS/EROS, Sioux Falls, SD (605) 594-6151 or mrlc@usgs.gov.

This 30-meter resolution data set represents the tree canopy layer for the conterminous United States for the 2001 time period. The data have been arranged into four tiles to facilitate timely display and manipulation within a Geographic Information System, browse graphic: nlcd01-partition.jpg The National Land Cover Data Set for 2001 was produced through a cooperative project conducted by the Multi-Resolution Land Characteristics (MRLC) Consortium. The MRLC Consortium is a partnership of Federal agencies (www.mrlc.gov), consisting of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the U.S. Forest Service (USFS), the National Park Service (NPS), the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), and the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). One of the primary goals of the project is to generate a current, consistent, seamless, and accurate National Land Cover Database (NLCD) circa 2001 for the United States at medium spatial resolution. For a detailed definition and discussion on MRLC and the NLCD 2001 products, refer to Homer and others (2004) and http://www.mrlc.gov/mrlc2k.asp. The NLCD 2001 was created by partitioning the United States into mapping-zones. A total of 68 mapping-zones browse graphic: nlcd01-mappingzones.jpg were delineated within the conterminous United States based on ecoregion and geographical characteristics, edge-matching features, and the size requirement of Landsat mosaics. Mapping-zones encompass the whole or parts of several states. Questions about the NLCD mapping zones can be directed to the NLCD 2001 Land Cover Mapping Team at the USGS/EROS, Sioux Falls, SD (605) 594-6151 or mrlc@usgs.gov.