A statewide, seamless, vector-formatted geospatial dataset depicting 2020 land use and land cover ground conditions. The product was developed by comparing high resolution 2020 and 2011 leaf-off aerial orthoimagery and employing both automated and manual processes to detect, delineate and photointerpret changes since 2011.

The project area encompasses the State of Rhode Island and also extends 1/2 mile into the neighboring states of Connecticut and Massachusetts, or to the limits of the source orthoimagery. The minimum mapping unit for this dataset is 0.5 acre.

The classification scheme is based on the same RI-modified Anderson Level III scheme used in previous classifications (1988, 1995, 2003/2004, and 2011) with the addition of two new classes (148) Ground-mounted Solar Energy Systems and (149) Wind Energy Systems. If data are used for change detection using the 2003/2004 edition be aware that marinas were coded from other transportation and developed recreation to commercial in the 2020 data to more accurately fit the classification system. The RI classification is based upon Anderson Level III coding described in the United States Geological Survey Publication: "A Land Use And Land Cover Classification System for Use With Remote Sensor Data, Geological Survey Professional Paper 964" Available Online at: http://landcover.usgs.gov/pdf/anderson.pdf

Please consider the source, spatial accuracy, attribute accuracy, and scale of these data before incorporating them into your project.

These data were derived from both automated and manual photointerpretation processes and should be used for planning purposes only. The wetland areas contained in this dataset do not include all wetlands previously identified in other RIGIS land use and land cover datasets or in other separate GIS wetland datasets and interpretation of wetland areas should lean toward the side of caution. Wetland areas previously classified as forested wetlands are shown as forested areas in this dataset. Statistical comparisons with RIGIS land use and land cover data prior to 2003 should be treated with caution since some differences in the methodologies used to delineate features were employed