High-Resolution Tidal Marsh Vegetation Maps for Six US Estuaries

Maps detail tidal marsh green vegetation, non-vegetation, and open water for six estuarine regions of the conterminous United States. The dataset was derived from National Agriculture Imagery Program data (2013-2015) using object-based classification on a modified NOAA C-CAP map base. It is provided by ORNL_CLOUD and is available on multiple platforms, with conflicting last-updated dates noted.

Use Cases

• Analyzing spatial distribution of green vegetation within tidal marshes for carbon stock assessments.
• Monitoring changes in marsh composition (vegetation vs. open water) over time using the 1m resolution base maps.
• Calibrating or validating coarser-resolution satellite data (e.g., 30m Landsat) with the provided vegetation fraction data.
• Supporting habitat suitability modeling for species dependent on specific marsh cover types.
• Informing coastal management and restoration planning by identifying areas of vegetation loss or water intrusion.

Strengths

• Provides high-resolution (1m) land cover classification for ecologically critical tidal marshes.
• Covers six major and geographically diverse U.S. estuarine systems, enabling regional comparison.
• Uses a consistent, object-based classification method applied to current NAIP imagery (2013-2015).
• Cross-platform presence (nasa_earthdata, datagov) indicates recognized utility and importance.

Limitations

• Specific column names and dataset size/row counts are not provided by any source.
• Conflicting last-updated dates exist between platforms (2015-08-27 vs. 2026-03-12), creating uncertainty about metadata freshness.
• The license is ambiguously listed as 'other-license-specified' or 'None', requiring further investigation for reuse.

Provenance

Source

ORNL_CLOUD

Collection Method

Derived from National Agriculture Imagery Program (NAIP) data using object-based classification, based on a modified NOAA Coastal Change Analysis Program (C-CAP) map.

Time Range

2013-2015

Freshness

2026-03-12 20:36:18.771046

Geography

Six estuarine regions of the conterminous United States: Cape Cod, MA; Chesapeake Bay, MD; Everglades, FL; Mississippi Delta, LA; San Francisco Bay, CA; and Puget Sound, WA.