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CT Changing Landscape with NLCD Charts and Numbers

The Numbers and Charts below summarize the Annual National Land Cover Database (NLCD) by CT towns. The status numbers and charts are from 2023 and the change cover a 38-year time period from 1985 to 2023.  The numbers and charts complement the Changing Landscape with NLCD Town Map Viewers and Data Dashboards.

For additional information and help, see the Help & Tips section below.

2023 Land Cover (left)
1985-2023 Overall Change (center)
1985-2023 Incremental Change (right)
Charts and table of 2023 NLCD land cover area by town. Chart and tables of 1985-2023 change by town for eight major land cover categories. Includes charts for four major categories for all time periods.

Help & Tips

How do I select town(s)?

There are multiple ways to select a town or towns. If multiple town are selected, the table and charts are summaries of the entire selection.

  1. Click on a town on the map to select it.
  2. Use the select tool (select) in the upper corner and click the town of interest on the map. Left-mouse click and hold to drag over the map and select multiple towns.
  3. Use the selection list located in the sidebar (sidebar) to the left of the map. Click on a town or multiple towns and collapse the sidebar (click thesidebar again) to see the data summaries. To unselect a town or towns, reverse the steps and click on the list to unselect.

Image showing location of selection tools on the tool.

"No Data Available to Display" Error

Sometimes when a town is first selected, the tool shows that there is "No data available to display." This is a glitch within the software that we hope will be fixed in the future. For now, to fix this error, click on the town twice.

Image showing "No data available to display" error.

Filter data by Council of Government (COG) or county?

The towns can be filtered by COG or county through the list selection feature in the sidebar (). Once the sidebar is open

  1. Click the Actions icon in the upper right of the sidebar
  2. Click Set Filter
  3. Click + Add
  4. In the filter pop-up, click on the attribute drop down and select the attribute of interest (COG or County)
  5. Change the Select Source Type to Unique
  6. Choose the COG or County of interest
  7. Click the toggle to turn on the filter
  8. Close the filter

Image showing steps to take to filter for COGs or counties.

Once the filter is closed, the list in the sidebar will only include towns that are within the COG or county of interest. Click on the towns to add them to the data summary. We understand it can be tedious to select each town to add them to the data summary. Unfortunately, the software does not allow for a select all feature within the list selection. If this feature is added in the future, we will update the tool. The bleow example shows towns selected within the Northwest Hills COG. Image showing what the tool looks like after you have selected the towns within a COG.

To remove the filter, select Click the Actions icon in the upper right of the sidebar, select Set Filter, and toggle off the filter like in step 7 above.

 

Connecticut Statewide Land Cover Statistics

Area is in square miles. See below for class descriptions.

Class

1985

1990

1995

2000

2005

2010

2015

2020

2023

Change
1985-2023
Developed
 		 532.0 552.0 563.9 587.0 619.3 638.2 647.7 658.5 655.0 +133.0
10.8% 11.2% 11.4% 11.9% 12.5% 12.8% 13.1% 13.3% 13.5% +2.7%
Developed Open Space
 		 733.0 734.7 747.1 752.5 754.6 760.7 767.7 775.0 779.2 +46.2
14.8% 14.9% 15.1% 15.2% 15.3% 15.4% 15.5% 15.7% 15.8% +0.9%
Grasses
 		 16.3 14.8 14.5 15.0 15.8 16.8 18.6 22.5 23.1 +6.7
0.3% 0.3% 0.3% 0.3% 0.3% 0.3% 0.4% 0.5% 0.5% +0.1%
Agriculture
 		 368.3 355.8 347.4 340.4 334.0 324.6 318.8 313.2 309.5 -58.8
14.8% 7.2% 7.0% 6.9% 6.8% 6.6% 6.5% 6.3% 6.3% -1.2%
Forest
 		 3124.8 3115.4 3100.6 3077.9 3048.6 3033.1 3021.4 3005.4 2998.1 -126.7
63.2% 63.0% 62.7% 62.3% 61.7% 61.4% 61.1% 60.8% 60.6% -2.6%
Water
 		 118.1 120.1 119.0 120.2 119.4 116.8 115.6 115.4 114.3 -3.8
2.4% 2.4% 2.4% 2.4% 2.4% 2.4% 2.3% 2.3% 2.3% -0.1%
Wetland
 		 35.0 34.5 24.7 34.0 34.3 35.4 35.7 35.6 36.1 +1.1
0.7% 0.7% 0.7% 0.7% 0.7% 0.7% 0.7% 0.7% 0.7% 0.0%
Barren
 		 16.2 16.4 16.5 16.8 17.8 18.0 18.2 18.2 18.4 +2.2
0.3% 0.3% 0.3% 0.3% 0.4% 0.4% 0.4% 0.4% 0.4% 0.0%

 

NCLD Land Cover Class Descriptions

NLCD Aggregated Land Cover Classes

The aggregated classes combine original NLCD land cover classes as described in the NLCD Class(es) column. The aggregated classes are used in the Numbers and Charts above as well as in the Map Viewer and Data Dashboard.

Aggregated Class

NLCD Class(es)

Description
Water Open Water Water
Developed High Intensity Developed, Medium Intensity Developed, Low Intensity Developed Developed areas with high amounts of impervious surface or impervious surface mixed with other land cover types. Typically found in cities and residential areas. Note that the Developed Class is not the same as the Impervious layer. See FAQs for more information.
Developed Open Space Developed Open Space Areas with a mixture of some constructed materials, but mostly vegetation in the form of lawn grasses. These areas most commonly include large-lot single-family housing units, parks, golf courses, and vegetation planted in developed settings for recreation, erosion control, or aesthetic purposes.
Forest Deciduous Forest, Evergreen Forest, Mixed Forest, Shrub/Scrub, Woody Wetlands Areas dominated by trees. This class includes shrub/scrub which are shorter trees or shrubs.
Agriculture Pasture/Hay, Cultivated Crops Fields of grass or other plants for livestock grazing or production of crops.
Barren Barren (Rock/Sand/Clay) Areas of bedrock, desert pavement, scarps, talus, slides, volcanic material, glacial debris, sand dunes, strip mines, gravel pits and other accumulations of earthen material. Generally, vegetation accounts for less than 15% of total cover.
Wetland Emergent Herbaceous Wetlands Vegetated areas where the soil or substrate is periodically saturated with or covered with water.
 Grass Grassland/Herbaceous Areas dominated by grasses and similar low vegetation and not subject to agricultural activities. 

 

Full NLCD Class Descriptions

Class Number

Class

Description
11 Open Water areas of open water, generally with less than 25% cover of vegetation or soil.
24 Developed, High Intensity highly developed areas where people reside or work in high numbers. Examples include apartment complexes, row houses and commercial/industrial. Impervious surfaces account for 80% to 100% of the total cover.
23 Developed, Medium Intensity areas with a mixture of constructed materials and vegetation. Impervious surfaces account for 50% to 79% of the total cover. These areas most commonly include single-family housing units.
22 Developed, Low Intensity areas with a mixture of constructed materials and vegetation. Impervious surfaces account for 20% to 49% percent of total cover. These areas most commonly include single family housing units.
21 Developed, Open Space areas with a mixture of some constructed materials, but mostly vegetation in the form of lawn grasses. Impervious surfaces account for less than 20% of total cover. These areas most commonly include large-lot single-family housing units, parks, golf courses, and vegetation planted in developed settings for recreation, erosion control, or aesthetic purposes.
41 Deciduous Forest areas dominated by trees generally greater than 5 meters tall, and greater than 20% of total vegetation cover. More than 75% of the tree species shed foliage simultaneously in response to seasonal change.
42 Evergreen Forest areas dominated by trees generally greater than 5 meters tall, and greater than 20% of total vegetation cover. More than 75% of the tree species maintain their leaves all year. Canopy is never without green foliage.
43 Mixed Forest areas dominated by trees generally greater than 5 meters tall, and greater than 20% of total vegetation cover. Neither deciduous nor evergreen species are greater than 75% of total tree cover.
52 Shrub/Scrub areas dominated by shrubs; less than 5 meters tall with shrub canopy typically greater than 20% of total vegetation. This class includes true shrubs, young trees in an early successional stage or trees stunted from environmental conditions.
71 Grassland/Herbaceous areas dominated by graminoid or herbaceous vegetation, generally greater than 80% of total vegetation. These areas are not subject to intensive management such as tilling but can be utilized for grazing.
81 Pasture/Hay areas of grasses, legumes, or grass-legume mixtures planted for livestock grazing or the production of seed or hay crops, typically on a perennial cycle. Pasture/hay vegetation accounts for greater than 20% of total vegetation.
82 Cultivated Crops areas used to produce annual crops, such as corn, soybeans, vegetables, tobacco, and cotton, and perennial woody crops such as orchards and vineyards. Crop vegetation accounts for greater than 20% of total vegetation. This class also includes all land being actively tilled.
90 Woody Wetlands areas where forest or shrubland vegetation accounts for greater than 20% of vegetative cover and the soil or substrate is periodically saturated with or covered with water.
95 Emergent Herbaceous Wetlands areas where perennial herbaceous vegetation accounts for greater than 80% of vegetative cover and the soil or substrate is periodically saturated with or covered with water.
31 Barren (Rock/Sand/Clay) areas of bedrock, desert pavement, scarps, talus, slides, volcanic material, glacial debris, sand dunes, strip mines, gravel pits and other accumulations of earthen material. Generally, vegetation accounts for less than 15% of total cover.

Full descriptions on the MRLC (Multi-Resolution Land Characteristics Consortium) National Land Cover Database Class Legend and Description page. Note that some class colors have been modified and that some NLCD classes do not occur in the study area including Perennial Ice/Snow, Dwarf Scrub, Lichens, and Moss.