UNITED STATES LAND USE INVENTORY FOR ESTIMATING BIOGENIC OZONE PRECURSOR EMISSIONS

Abstract

The U.S. Geological Survey’s (USGS) EROS (Earth Resources Observation System) Data Center’s (EDC) 1-km classified land cover data are combined with other land use data using a Geographic Information System (GIS) to create the Biogenic Emissions Landcover Database (BELD). The land cover data are being used to estimate biogenic emissions in the contiguous United States. These emissions include volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions from vegetation and nitric oxide (NO) from soils. The EDC data are used predominately in the western United States, while other sources, such as the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Census of Agriculture and the U.S. Forest Service Eastwide Forest Inventory and Analysis Database (EWDB), are used in the eastern United States. The EROS Data Center land cover classifications must be used with caution in heterogenous areas. Emission factors vary drastically by specific crop and tree genera, and mixed classes in the EDC scheme may not always accurately reflect the actual crop/genus mix. However, future use of satellite-derived vegetation indices and other land cover characteristics may prove useful in understanding geographic distributions of foliar mass and seasonal variation in Leaf Area Index (LAI), which are important drivers in biogenic emission models.