Look for complete geospatial metadata in this layer's associated xml document available from the download link

* Metric Name: Tree Cover *  

* Tier: 1  

* Data Vintage: 12/2021  

* Unit Of Measure: Fractional non-overlapping absolute cover  

* Represent element and pillar: Yes  

* Type and distribution of data: Right-skewed distribution representing proportion values. Raw data values range from 0 to 0.944.  

* Translation: Where is tree cover high?  

* Translation method and outcome: Raw data values translated to range from +1 to -1 representing more favorable to less favorable conditions, respectively. **** The proposition of more favorable is based on the objective of canopy layers being higher (positive linear slope). More favorable (translated to +1) and less favorable (translated to -1) are based on climate and vegetation regions (Table 4).

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Figure . Histogram and scoring of tree cover in Southern California

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Figure . Histogram of translated tree cover in Southern California

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Figure . Maps displaying raw metric and translated metric tree cover in
Southern California

  

* Metric Definition and Relevance: Total tree cover as measured by the fractional non-overlapping absolute tree cover, viewed vertically. Provides a first order measure of vegetation type when combined with parallel observations of shrub and herbaceous cover. Data from the National Land Cover Database (NLCD) are used for training, and NLCD definitions for cover (for example, the distinction between tree vs shrub) are expected to be similar in the CECS data sets.  

* Credits: CECS;