The Minnesota Land Cover Classification System (MLCCS) is a tool that fills an important informational niche for natural resource managers and planners: it categorizes urban and built-up areas in terms of land cover rather than land use.
Level 4 – NPC Floristic Region
Level 5 – NPC Class
Level 6 – NPC Type
Level 7 – NPC Subtype
Level 2 - Dominant vegetation (e.g., trees, shrubs, herbaceous)
Level 3 - Plant type (e.g., deciduous, coniferous)
Level 4 - Percent of impervious surface or soil hydrology
Level 5 - Specific plant speciesThis cultural classification is unique in that it emphasizes vegetation land cover instead of land use, thus creating a land cover inventory especially useful for resource managers and planners.
MLCCS system
MLCCS consists of five hierarchical levels. At the highest level, land cover is divided into either "natural/semi-natural" or "cultural" cover types.Natural/semi-natural
The natural/semi-natural classification system is based on the DNR’s Native Plant Community (NPC) classification system, with additional altered/non-native communities. The original MLCCS system was a hybrid of the National Vegetation Classification System (NVCS) and the Minnesota Natural Heritage plant communities.Level 1 - Major vegetation patterns:- forests and woodlands
- grasslands and shrublands
- sparse vegetation
- uplands
- wetlands
Level 4 – NPC Floristic Region
Level 5 – NPC Class
Level 6 – NPC Type
Level 7 – NPC Subtype
Cultural
The cultural classification system is designed to identify built-up/vegetation patterns and an area's imperviousness to water infiltration. Most other land inventory classification systems, such as the USGS Anderson system, employ land use terminology (e.g., urban, commercial, residential). This system distinguishes among land cover types at five levels.Level 1 - Presence of built-up elements (i.e., built-up vs. cultivated land)Level 2 - Dominant vegetation (e.g., trees, shrubs, herbaceous)
Level 3 - Plant type (e.g., deciduous, coniferous)
Level 4 - Percent of impervious surface or soil hydrology
Level 5 - Specific plant speciesThis cultural classification is unique in that it emphasizes vegetation land cover instead of land use, thus creating a land cover inventory especially useful for resource managers and planners.
MLCCS documents
- MLCCS manual with original natural codes
- MLCCS metro status map
- MLCCS statewide status map
- MLCCS fact sheet with original natural codes
- MLCCS Artificial and Cultural Codes
- MLCCS Natural Codes
- MLCCS data via the MN GeoSpatial Commons