Land cover refers to the physical surface of the Earth, including various combinations of vegetation types, soils, exposed rocks, and water bodies. Land cover and land use are different terms. Land cover lacks the emphasis on the economic function of the land, which is essential to land use.
In the United States, there are several different land cover classification systems used. Many are based on a hierarchical system where there are groups, classes, and super classes.
Examples of some of the classification systems commonly used are:
- USGS Landcover - the USGS Anderson-based land cover classifications
- Omernik Level III - the EPA Omernik ecoregions
- Nature Serve - Nature Conservancy
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