Ontario Land Cover Classification Derived from 1990s Satellite Data

Ontario provincial land cover 1996 - 28 classes is a raster dataset categorizing the land surface of Ontario into 28 distinct types. It was produced in 1999 by the Government of Ontario from Landsat Thematic Mapper satellite imagery recorded primarily in the early 1990s. The data includes vegetation types like forests and wetlands, as well as non-vegetated surfaces such as water bodies and bedrock.

Use Cases

• Analyze the distribution of forest classes across Ontario's geography.
• Compare wetland coverage against other land cover types like bedrock or settlements.
• Use the 28-class classification as a baseline for historical land surface change detection.
• Map water bodies using the dedicated waterbodies category for hydrological studies.

Strengths

• Derived from multispectral Landsat Thematic Mapper satellite data, providing a standardized source.
• Rationalized from a 48-class system into 28 distinct classes for consistency.

Limitations

• Satellite source data is dated, with most frames recorded in the early 1990s, limiting contemporary analysis.
• The data reflects land surface nature, not land use, which may not align with some application needs.

Provenance

Source

Government of Ontario

Collection Method

Derived from digital, multispectral Landsat Thematic Mapper satellite data.

Time Range

Satellite data recorded between 1986 and 1997, with most frames from the early 1990s. Dataset produced in 1999.

Freshness

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Geography

Ontario, Canada