Forest CoverType

Data Type

multivariate

Abstract

The forest cover type for 30 x 30 meter cells obtained from US Forest Service (USFS) Region 2 Resource Information System (RIS) data.

Sources

Original Owner

  Remote Sensing and GIS Program
  Department of Forest Sciences
  College of Natural Resources
  Colorado State University
  Fort Collins, CO  80523
  (contact Jock A. Blackard, jblackard/wo_ftcol@fs.fed.us
  or Dr. Denis J. Dean, denis@cnr.colostate.edu)

Donor

  Jock A. Blackard 
  USDA Forest Service
  3825 E. Mulberry
  Fort Collins, CO  80524  USA
  jblackard/wo_ftcol@fs.fed.us

  Dr. Denis J. Dean 
  Associate Professor
  Department of Forest Sciences
  Colorado State University
  Fort Collins, CO  80523  USA
  denis@cnr.colostate.edu

  Dr. Charles W. Anderson 
  Associate Professor
  Department of Computer Science
  Colorado State University
  Fort Collins, CO  80523  USA
  anderson@cs.colostate.edu
Date Donated: August 28, 1998

Data Characteristics

The actual forest cover type for a given observation (30 x 30 meter cell) was determined from US Forest Service (USFS) Region 2 Resource Information System (RIS) data. Independent variables were derived from data originally obtained from US Geological Survey (USGS) and USFS data. Data is in raw form (not scaled) and contains binary (0 or 1) columns of data for qualitative independent variables (wilderness areas and soil types).

Summary Statistics

Number of instances (observations) 581012
Number of Attributes 54
Attribute breakdown 12 measures, but 54 columns of data (10 quantitative variables, 4 binary wilderness areas and 40 binary soil type variables)
Missing Attribute Values None

Variable Information

Given is the variable name, variable type, the measurement unit and a brief description. The forest cover type is the classification problem. The order of this listing corresponds to the order of numerals along the rows of the database.
Name					Data Type	Measurement			Description

Elevation				quantitative	meters				Elevation in meters
Aspect					quantitative	azimuth				Aspect in degrees azimuth
Slope					quantitative	degrees				Slope in degrees
Horizontal_Distance_To_Hydrology	quantitative	meters				Horz Dist to nearest surface water features
Vertical_Distance_To_Hydrology		quantitative	meters				Vert Dist to nearest surface water features
Horizontal_Distance_To_Roadways		quantitative	meters				Horz Dist to nearest roadway
Hillshade_9am 				quantitative	0 to 255 index			Hillshade index at 9am, summer solstice
Hillshade_Noon				quantitative	0 to 255 index			Hillshade index at noon, summer soltice
Hillshade_3pm				quantitative	0 to 255 index			Hillshade index at 3pm, summer solstice
Horizontal_Distance_To_Fire_Points	quantitative	meters				Horz Dist to nearest wildfire ignition points
Wilderness_Area (4 binary columns)	qualitative	0 (absence) or 1 (presence)	Wilderness area designation
Soil_Type (40 binary columns)		qualitative	0 (absence) or 1 (presence)	Soil Type designation
Cover_Type (7 types)			integer		1 to 7				Forest Cover Type designation

Code Designations

Wilderness Areas:  	
    1 -- Rawah Wilderness Area
    2 -- Neota Wilderness Area
    3 -- Comanche Peak Wilderness Area
    4 -- Cache la Poudre Wilderness Area

Soil Types:		
    1 to 40 : based on the USFS Ecological Landtype Units for this study area.

Forest Cover Types:	
    1 -- Spruce/Fir
    2 -- Lodgepole Pine
    3 -- Ponderosa Pine
    4 -- Cottonwood/Willow
    5 -- Aspen
    6 -- Douglas-fir
    7 -- Krummholz

Class Distribution

Number of records of Spruce-Fir: 	211840 
Number of records of Lodgepole Pine: 	283301 
Number of records of Ponderosa Pine: 	 35754 
Number of records of Cottonwood/Willow:   2747 
Number of records of Aspen: 		  9493 
Number of records of Douglas-fir: 	 17367 
Number of records of Krummholz: 	 20510 	
Number of records of other: 		     0 	
		
Total records:				581012

Past Usage

Blackard, Jock A. 1998. "Comparison of Neural Networks and Discriminant Analysis in Predicting Forest Cover Types." Ph.D. dissertation. Department of Forest Sciences. Colorado State University. Fort Collins, Colorado.

Acknowledgements, Copyright Information, and Availability

NOTE: Reuse of this database is unlimited with retention of copyright notice for Jock A. Blackard and Colorado State University.


The UCI KDD Archive
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Last modified: June 30, 1999