Data Products ›› LANDFIRE Vegetation Product Descriptions

Existing Vegetation Type

The Existing Vegetation Type (EVT) layer represents the vegetation currently present at a given site. LANDFIRE vegetation map units are derived from NatureServe’s Ecological Systems classification, which is a nationally consistent set of mid-scale ecological units (Comer and others 2003).

LF_1.1.0 (Refresh 2008) – LF_1.1.0 used LF_1.0.5 (Refresh 2001) data as a launching point to incorporate disturbance and its severity, both managed and natural, which occurred on the landscape after 2001. Specific examples of disturbance are: fire, vegetation management, weather, and insect and disease. The final disturbance data used in LF_1.1.0 are the result of several efforts that include data derived in part from remotely sensed land change methods, Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity (MTBS), and the LANDFIRE Refresh events data call. Vegetation growth was modeled where both disturbance and non-disturbance occurred.

LF_1.0.5 (Refresh 2001) – Imagery used in LF_1.0.0 (LANDFIRE National) covered a span of years, and because of this, several large wildland fires are not represented in the data. LF_1.0.5 data ensure wildland fires through 2001 are represented.

Additional improvements found in LF_1.0.5 include resolving inconsistencies along the international borders and updating aspects of the following: riparian and wetlands areas, agricultural and urban vegetation types as burnable, and adjusting the extent of barren and water land cover types.

LF_1.0.2 (Improvements) – With the release of LF_1.0.0 (LANDFIRE National) data products, several areas of improvements were identified. In 2009, leadership direction and funding were provided to implement these improvements for the conterminous states. Improvements included resolving inconsistencies along the international borders and updating aspects of the following: riparian and wetlands areas, agricultural and urban vegetation types as burnable, and adjusting the extent of barren and water land cover types. Change to the LANDFIRE data products occurred only in areas affected by the improvements listed above. Final vegetation layers were created using a hierarchical merge process, which imbedded updated pixels over the existing values.

LF_1.0.1 (Rapid Refresh) – The EVT layer was updated for western zones based upon the burn severity of recent (1999 to 2007) wildland fires. (Obtain LF_1.0.1 Fire Perimeter Data.) In general, it was assumed that existing vegetation types would potentially change only when influenced by moderate or high-severity fires. Furthermore, LF_1.0.1 fuel layers incorporated additional areas classified as barren and water that were not incorporated into the vegetation layers. In the LF_1.0.1 process, these areas of barren and water were added to the existing vegetation layers to better reflect what is on the ground and to ensure that the vegetation and fuel layers are logically consistent.

LF_1.0.0 (National) – Existing vegetation is mapped through a predictive modeling approach using a combination of field reference information, Landsat imagery, and spatially explicit biophysical gradient data. Field data keyed to dominant vegetation type at the plot level were used as "training data" to drive the modeling process. Attribute information is provided that links the LANDFIRE EVT map units to existing classifications such as the National Vegetation Classification System and those of the Society of American Foresters and Society of Range Management.

Please refer to the instructions on how to link to Ecological Systems descriptions to LANDFIRE vegetation map product legends.

Metadata:
LF_1.1.0 (Refresh 2008)
LF_1.0.5 (Refresh 2001)
LF_1.0.2 (Improvements)
LF_1.0.1 (Rapid Refresh)
LF_1.0.0 (National)
LF_1.0.0 (National Alaska)
LF_1.0.0 (National Hawaii)


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Comer, P., D. Faber-Langendoen, R. Evans, S. Gawler, C. Josse, G. Kittel, S. Menard, M. Pyne, M. Reid, K. Schulz, K. Snow, and J. Teague. 2003. Ecological Systems of the United States: A Working Classification of U.S. Terrestrial Systems. NatureServe, Arlington, VA. 75 p.