Land Use, 2016 vs 2011 in New York State

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I have been experimenting with the National Land Cover Dataset to get a better idea of how much land is developed in New York and changes in land use patterns in New York. Over the past five years, there has been a notable up-tick in mixed forest, replacing shrub and scrub from abandoned farmland. Woody wetlands are alos increasing – this might be some of shrub and scrub that has grown up from abandoned farms.

2016 Sq Mi 2016 Acres % of NY state   2011 Sq Mi 2011 Acres % of NY state   Chg Sq Mi Chg Acres % Change
Barren Land 137 87,670 0.3% 121 77,706 0.2% 16 9,965 0.0%
Developed, High Intensity 337 215,865 0.6% 333 213,123 0.6% 4 2,741 0.0%
Herbaceuous 355 227,180 0.6% 440 281,667 0.8% -85 -54,486 -0.2%
Emergent Herbaceuous Wetlands 416 266,550 0.8% 483 309,090 0.9% -66 -42,540 -0.1%
Shrub/Scrub 417 266,874 0.8% 1,506 964,081 2.8% -1,089 -697,207 -2.0%
Developed, Medium Intensity 710 454,218 1.3% 689 440,979 1.3% 21 13,239 0.0%
Developed, Low Intensity 1,226 784,919 2.2% 1,168 747,255 2.1% 59 37,664 0.1%
Developed, Open Space 2,601 1,664,794 4.8% 2,357 1,508,726 4.3% 244 156,068 0.4%
Woody Wetlands 3,670 2,348,698 6.7% 3,015 1,929,762 5.5% 655 418,936 1.2%
Cultivated Crops 3,879 2,482,645 7.1% 3,977 2,545,311 7.3% -98 -62,667 -0.2%
Evergreen Forest 3,986 2,550,989 7.3% 4,498 2,878,713 8.2% -512 -327,724 -0.9%
Mixed Forest 5,293 3,387,748 9.7% 3,576 2,288,606 6.5% 1,717 1,099,142 3.1%
Hay/Pasture 6,343 4,059,320 11.6% 6,676 4,272,694 12.2% -333 -213,374 -0.6%
Open Water 7,445 4,765,120 13.6% 7,509 4,805,808 13.7% -64 -40,689 -0.1%
Deciduous Forest 17,827 11,409,298 32.6% 18,297 11,709,980 33.5% -470 -300,682 -0.9%
New York State 54,644 34,971,887 100.0%   54,646 34,971,887 100.0%   -3 -1,613