Northern Ireland Land Cover Map 2007 Vector Polygons

LCM2007 is a parcel-based thematic land cover classification derived from satellite imagery for the entire United Kingdom, with this version containing vector polygon data for Northern Ireland. The map updates previous 1990 and 2000 products using a classification based on the Joint Nature Conservation Committee Broad Habitats framework. It incorporates information from Landsat, IRS, and SPOT sensors along with ancillary datasets.

Use Cases

• Analyze land cover change by comparing LCM2007 vector polygons with earlier LCMGB 1990 or LCM2000 products for Northern Ireland.
• Train a model to classify satellite imagery into JNCC Broad Habitats using the thematic labels from this map as ground truth.
• Integrate parcel-based land cover polygons with other geographic datasets for environmental planning and habitat assessment in Northern Ireland.
• Study the distribution of specific land cover classes recorded in the detailed nomenclature across the Northern Ireland region.

Strengths

• Provides an update and upgrade to the foundational Land Cover Map of Great Britain 1990 and LCM2000 products.
• Covers the entire United Kingdom, with this specific version focusing on Northern Ireland.
• Classified using the standardized JNCC Broad Habitats nomenclature encompassing the full range of UK habitats.
• Derived from a computer classification of multiple satellite sensor sources including Landsat, IRS, and SPOT.

Limitations

• Data is from 2007 and may not reflect recent land cover changes.
• The vector format consists of classified polygons, but the specific scale, resolution, or minimum mapping unit is not detailed in the input.
• Ancillary datasets used are not specified, which could affect reproducibility or understanding of classification inputs.

Provenance

Source

Environmental Information Data Centre

Collection Method

Computer classification of satellite scenes (mainly Landsat, IRS, SPOT) incorporating ancillary datasets.

Time Range

2007

Freshness

null

Geography

Northern Ireland, United Kingdom