Green Diary

Land Conservation Strategies.

Land Covers

Land cover is the physical material at the surface of the earth. There are two primary methods for capturing information on land covers, they are

ü Field survey

ü Analysis of remotely sensed imagery

Classification of land covers

According to the classification system that used in NLCD 92 following are the classes of land covers.

· Water

· Shrub land

· Barren

· Developed

· Forest upland

· Non- natural woody

· Semi-natural vegetation

Water

-All areas of open water or permanent ice/snow cover.

Developed

-Areas characterized by a high percentage (30% or greater) of constructed materials.

Ex: asphalt, concrete

Barren

-Areas characterized by bare rock, gravel, sand, silt, clay or other earthen material, with little or no green vegetation percentage regardless of its inherent ability to support life.

Forest upland

-Areas characterized by tree cover (natural or semi-natural woody vegetation, generally greater than 6m tall)

Shrubland

-Areas characterized by natural or semi natural woody vegetation with aerial stems, generally less than 6m tall, with individuals or clumps not touching to interlocking.

Non-natural woody

-Areas dominated by non- natural woody vegetation.

Importance of land covering

Land coverings are important to protect the natural and agricultural lands. The protection of natural and agricultural lands is linked to sustainable economy and healthy communities. Also, they are important to protect the water bodies, clean air recreation etc. In addition, developed land covers provide just as important to our economy and wellbeing as our roads, residential and others.

Examples for land covers in our university.

ü Water