Land Use/Cover Information for Minnesota

Use this site to find GIS data, maps and statistics that show Minnesota's land use and land cover characteristics from presettlement to recent times. The information available here varies widely, representing a range of time periods and geographic regions. Both "land use" and "land cover" data are described since the concepts are closely related and are often used interchangeably (see Anderson et al., p. 7-9, for a discussion of these terms). The data is primarily regional rather than global or site-specific.

• Quick-start comparison table
  An overview of Minnesota land use/cover data sources comparing:
  • geographic area
  • time period
  • scale/resolution
  • classification
  • data type
• Recent data (1969-present): National, state, regional and county inventories
• Historic data
  • 1847-1907 from Public Land Survey system records
  • Up to 1,000 years ago from reconstructions based on fossil pollen records
  • Potential natural vegetation in the absence of disturbance
• Land use/cover classification systems: Commonly used national and regional systems
   

Contact and update information

The information on these web pages represents MnGeo's most up-to-date understanding of land use/cover data for Minnesota. If you know of other publicly available land use/cover information sources, please contact the Minnesota Geospatial Information Office at:  clearing.house@state.mn.us, (651) 201-2489 or 658 Cedar Street, Room 300, St. Paul, MN 55155.

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