California Land Cover

Imports and automated edits should only be carried out by those with experience and understanding of the way the OpenStreetMap community creates maps, and only with careful planning and consultation with the local community.
See Import/Guidelines and Automated Edits code of conduct for more information. Imports/automated edits which do not follow these guidelines might be reverted!

The state of California has some good landcover shapefiles on the Caltrans site and the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection site.

FRAP data

They are sorted by county. The smallest are under a meg while the largest - Fresno - is more than 400 megs. The average size is around 30 to 40 megs.

These would be a great addition to OSM since they contain valuable metadata. Or maybe the layers could be added individually. I.E. adding the FMMP farming data (see California_Farms) that is updated regularly.

Once the areas have been added, the state will take on a similar look to states like Georgia (Georgia (U.S. state)) and Massachusetts (MassGIS) that have had statewide imports done. Another good example of what California can be is the Corine Land Cover (WikiProject Corine Land Cover).

Challenges

• It is a huge dataset and will need some optimization. The straight lines have points every five meters, creating jagged edges that aren't visually attractive. Josm has a plugin but that's probably not the best way. A spline interpolation would really improve it dramatically. It will increase data size, but it's worth it. Maybe there is a batch mode program available to do that. Mapshaper has a tool to optimize a shapefile by reducing the details in the file. It may not be working though. Here is a rough idea of what the areas look like without being simplified. Openjump http://www.openjump.org has plugins for DP filter and a plugin for spline interpolation.Spline interpolation works nicely but each lines is processed individually and this leaves gaps/overlaps between areas. Needs some investigations. other options for reducing points is GPSBabel which supports DP filter and osm format, or to process the whole data in postgis.
• Only vegetation data should be used. The urban/residential/water/unknown should be skipped since the quality isn't good enough for this purpose and would just create tons of conflicts with existing data. Also there is/will be better data available.
• We can use some filters to split the shapefiles into different features. This is also great to prepare the OSM files for each type instead having it mixed all together.
• All these polygons have overlapping ways. This should be avoided because it creates tones of duplicate nodes/ways. Each polygon should be split in single ways and the area defined with a relation. According to the description, mapshaper will do that to. There may be a way to do this with postgis or through a Perl script. Validator will just merge duplicate nodes, but can't fix duplicate lines. This is really a tricky thing that many other updates lack. Efficiency should be considered here. Also editing is easier then. This data shouldn't need much editing after import. This approach works only if uploads are done in large chunks because the uploader needs to keep track of server node/way/ id and map to local id in osm file.

possible tools for conversion supporting line sharing ogr2osm Also Ian Dees is working to support this in shp-to-osm

Upload

technically conversion and upload can be done by a small group but OSM is a community project and a large community is required to verify the data, filter broken data and fix data to make it really worth to import. different scenarios could be.

• all data is converted and uploaded. no existing tags will be used instead a namespace prefix added. individual mappers can edit these tags and remove the prefix to get it rendered on the map.

Pro: only verified data will appear on the map, upload can make use of relations more easy, no need for individual mappers to run conversion and upload scripts. any editor can be used to work on the data. data can be worked on shape by shape.

Con: each area needs inspection and edit. this will increase the version number in the DB for each edit. It will clutter editors without being useful before tags are changed.

• only scripts or converted files are provided and mappers decide which areas they work on and will upload.

Pro: only verified data is uploaded. osm is not polluted with data never used and fixed

Con: needs more planning to coordinate work and conflicts. data needs to be broken into smaller chunks to allow editing in JOSM or Merkatoor before upload. No support of Potlatch possible.

Rules

Here are some of the categories in the shapefiles and how they can be mapped in OSM. Here is the complete metadata. Shape file attributes need to be mapped to established OSM tags where applicable. If no OSM tag exists a new one can be proposed. established and rendered tags shouldn't be overloaded with new features. this will make the rendering ugly. instead rendering needs to be extended. Some features in the original shape files are too unspecific to include. Examples are the water/urban/unknown attributes. also barren/rock/snow is very vague and maybe excluded. farm land should be imported but needs to be carefully verified against existing data. county/state/tiger/trace from Yahoo landuse data is most likely better in quality. existing data for landuse=forest is widely wrong and this data should replace it. examples are national forests which are not forests but land managed by one agency and range from desert to managed forests to protected natural areas. Feel free to add additional ones if you know of any that would fit.

VEGTYPE         DESCRIPTION                COVERTYPE
-------         -------------------        ---------

                        NON-FOREST TYPES
                        ----------------
SN              Snow/Ice (natural=glacier)   	BAR
AG              Agriculture (landuse=farm)      AGR
DU              Dune (natural=beach)  		BAR

These are based on whether the area is forested or not. So they would be landuse=forest or natural=wood. These could also have wood=*.

                        CONIFER FOREST/WOODLAND
                        ----------------------

AA              Noble Fir                       CON
AB              Santa Lucia Fir                 CON
BP              Bristlecone Pine                CON
BT              Big Tree                        CON
DF              Pacific Douglas-Fir             CON
DG              Douglas-Fir - Grand Fir         CON
DM              Bigcone Douglas-Fir             CON
DP              Douglas-Fir - Pine              CON
DW              Douglas-Fir - White Fir         CON
EA              Engelmann Spruce                CON
EP              Eastside Pine                   CON
FP              Foxtail Pine                    CON
GF              Grand Fir                       CON
JC              California Juniper              CON
JU              Utah Juniper                    CON
JP              Jeffrey Pine                    CON
KP              Knobcone Pine                   CON
LP              Lodgepole Pine                  CON
MA              Alaska Yellow-Cedar             CON
MB              Mixed Conifer - Giant Sequoia   CON
MC              Cuyamaca Cypress                CON
MD              Incense-Cedar                   CON
MF              Mixed Conifer - Fir             CON
MG              Gowen Cypress                   CON
MH              Mountain Hemlock                CON
MI              Piute Cypress                   CON
MK              Klamath Mixed Conifer           CON
MM              Monterey Cypress                CON
MN              McNab Cypress                   CON
MO              Baker Cypress                   CON
MP              Mixed Conifer - Pine            CON
MS              Sargent Cypress                 CON
MT              Tecate Cypress                  CON
MU              Ultramafic Mixed Conifer        CON
MY              Pygmy Cypress                   CON
MZ              Santa Cruz Cypress              CON
PB              Brewer Spruce                   CON
PC              Coulter Pine                    CON
PD              Gray Pine                       CON
PJ              Singleleaf Pinyon Pine          CON
PL              Limber Pine                     CON
PM              Bishop Pine                     CON
PO              Port Orford Cedar               CON
PP              Ponderosa Pine                  CON
PQ              Fourneedle Pinyon Pine          CON
PR              Monterey Pine                   CON
PS              Shore Pine                      CON
PT              Torrey Pine                     CON
PW              Ponderosa Pine - White Fir      CON
RD              Redwood - Douglas-Fir           CON
RF              Red Fir                         CON
RW              Redwood                         CON
SA              Subalpine Conifers              CON
SG              Sitka Spruce - Grand Fir        CON
SK              Sitka Spruce                    CON
SR              Sitka Spruce - Redwood          CON
WB              Whitebark Pine                  CON
WF              Whte Fir                        CON
WH              Western Hemlock                 CON
WJ              Western Juniper                 CON
WP              Washoe Pine                     CON
WW              Western White Pine            	CON
XC              Unknown Conifer                 CON
IC              Non-native/Ornamental Conifer   CON

                        HARDWOOD FOREST/WOODLAND
                        ------------------------
ET              Elephant Tree                   HDW
FM              Curlleaf Mountain Mahogany      HDW
FO		Water Birch Alliance		HDW
NR              Mixed Riparian Hardwoods        HDW
NX              Mixed Hardwoods                 HDW
Q1              Live Oak - Madrone              HDW
QA              Coast Live Oak                  HDW
QB              California Bay                  HDW
QC              Canyon Live Oak                 HDW
QD              Blue Oak                        HDW
QE              White Alder                     HDW
QF              Fremont Cottonwood              HDW
QG              Oregon White Oak                HDW
QH              Madrone (Black Oak)             HDW
QI              California Buckeye              HDW
QJ              Cottonwood - Alder              HDW
QK              California Black Oak            HDW
QL              Valley Oak                      HDW
QM              Bigleaf Maple (Dogwood)         HDW
QN              Engelmann Oak                   HDW
QO              Willow                          HDW
QP              California Sycamore             HDW
QQ              Quaking Aspen                   HDW
QR              Red Alder                       HDW
QS              Willow - Aspen                  HDW
QT              Tanoak (Madrone)                HDW
QV              Black Walnut                    HDW
QW              Interior Live Oak               HDW
QX              Black Cottonwood                HDW
QY              Willow - Alder                  HDW
QZ              Eucalyptus                      HDW
TC              Tree Chinquapin                 HDW
TX              Montane Mixed Hardwood          HDW
UD              Desert Willow                   HDW
UI              Desert Ironwood                 HDW
UJ              Joshua Tree                     HDW
UL              Catclaw Acacia                  HDW
UM              Mesquite                        HDW
UP              Palo Verde                      HDW
UT              Tamarisk                        HDW
UW              Fan Palm                        HDW
UX              Smoke Tree - Desert Willow      HDW
WD              Dogwood                         HDW
EX              Coastal Mixed Hardwood          HDW
XH              Unknown Hardwood                HDW
IH              Non-native Hardwood             HDW
IM              Non-native/Ornamental CON/HDW   MIX

			SHRUB TYPES
                        -----------
natural=scrub for these

AD              White Bursage                   SHB
AC              Cushion Plant                   SHB
AX              Mixed Alpine Scrub              SHB
AN              Mendocino Manzanita             SHB
BB              Bitterbrush                     SHB
BC              Saltbush                        SHB
BG              Black Greasewood                SHB
BI		Littleleaf Mountain Mahogany	SHB
BL              Low Sagebrush                   SHB
BM              Curlleaf Mountain Mahogany      SHB
BR              Rabbitbrush                     SHB
BS              Basin Sagebrush                 SHB
BX              High Desert Mixed Shrub         SHB
BQ              Basin Mixed Scrub               SHB
BZ              Basin Transition (Desert) Scrub SHB
C1              Ultramafic Mixed Shrub          SHB
CA              Chamise                         SHB
CB              Salal-Calif. Huckleberry Shrub  SHB
CC              Foothill Mixed Chaparral        SHB
CD              Southern Mixed Chaparral        SHB
CG              Greenleaf Manzanita             SHB
CH              Huckleberry                     SHB
CI              Deerbrush                       SHB
CJ              Brewer Oak                      SHB
CK              Coyote Brush                    SHB
CL              Wedgeleaf Ceanothus             SHB
CM              Upper Montane Mixed Shrub       SHB
CN              Pinemat Manzanita               SHB
CP		Bush Chinquapin Alliance	SHB
CQ              Northern Mixed Chaparral        SHB
CR              Red Shanks Charparral           SHB
CS              Scrub Oak                       SHB
CT              Tucker Scrub Oak                SHB
CV              Snowbrush                       SHB
CW              Whiteleaf Manzanita             SHB
CX              Montane Mixed Chaparral         SHB
CY		Mountain Whitethorn Alliance	SHB
CZ              Semi Desert Chaparral           SHB
DA              Blackbush                       SHB
DB              Desert Buckwheat                SHB
DC              Cholla                          SHB
DD              Croton                          SHB
DE              Arrowweed                       SHB
DI              Indigo Bush                     SHB
DO              Ocotillo                        SHB
DL              Creosote                        SHB
DS              Shadscale                       SHB
DV              Mixed Desert Succulent          SHB
DX              Mixed Desert Shrub              SHB
FD              Ephedra (Mormon/Desert Tea)     SHB
HS              Cheesebush                      SHB
JC              California Juniper              SHB
LS              Scalebroom                      SHB
ML              Baccharis (riparian)            SHB
NA              Mixed Alkaline Scrub            SHB
NB              Mixed Desert Wash Scrub         SHB
NC              North Coastal Mixed Shrub       SHB
NQ              Mixed High Desert Scrub         SHB
RS              Alluvial Fan Sage Scrub         SHB
SB              Buckwheat (White Sage)          SHB
SC              Blueblossom Ceanothus           SHB
SD              Manzanita Chaparral             SHB
SE              Encelia Scrub                   SHB
SH              Coastal Bluff Scrub             SHB
SI              Bladderpod                      SHB
SL              Coastal Lupine                  SHB
SM              Sumac Shrub                     SHB
SO              Coastal Cactus                  SHB
SP              Sage                            SHB
SQ              Soft Scrub-Chaparral            SHB
SS              California Sagebrush            SHB
SY              Chaparral Yucca                 SHB
TA              Mountain Alder                  SHB
TB		Bitterbrush-Sagebrush Alliance	SHB
TM              Cotton-thorn                    SHB
TN		Black Sagebrush Alliance	SHB
TS		Snowberry Alliance		SHB
TT		Big Basin Sagebrush Alliance	SHB
TV		Mountain Sagebrush Alliance	SHB
WL              Willow (riparian scrub)         SHB
WM              Birchleaf Mountain Mahogany     SHB
XS              Unknown Shrub                   SHB
IS              Non-native Shrub                SHB
X1              Unknown Urban/Non-native Veg.   NNA

                        WET HERBACEOUS TYPES
                        --------------------      
landuse=grassland or landuse=meadow for these
HC              Pickleweed - Cord Grass         HEB
HJ              Wet Meadows (Grass/Sedge/Rush)  HEB
HT              Tule - Cattail - Sedge          HEB
XJ              Unknown Grass/Herbs             HEB

                        DRY HERBACEOUS TYPES
                        --------------------
landuse=grassland or landuse=meadow for these, possibly natural=heath
AC		Alpine Grass/Forbs		HEB
HG              Annual Grass/Forbs            	HEB
HM              Perennial Grass               	HEB
XG              Unknown Grass/Herbs             HEB
IA              Giant Reed/Pampas Grass         HEB
IG              Non-native/Ornamental Grass     HEB

In addition to the COVERTYPE field, there is also a WHRTYPE field which is an additional modifier. Sometimes it will be similar, but sometimes it will be different. They will probably be the same as the main land type so they probably wouldn't need to have tags when converted unless they provide addition information.

WHRTYPE	         DESCRIPTION               
-------     ----------------------------------
ADS   	ALPINE DWARF SHRUB (natural,scrub)
AGR   	AGRICULTURE (landuse=farm)
AGS   	ANNUAL GRASS (landuse,grassland)
ASC   	ALKALI SCRUB (natural,scrub)
ASP   	ASPEN
BAR   	BARREN
BBR   	BITTERBRUSH (natural,scrub)
BOP  	BLUE OAK FOOTHILL PINE 
BOW   	BLUE OAK WOODLAND
CHP   	UNKNOWN SHRUB TYPE (natural,scrub)
CON   	UNKNOWN CONIFER TYPE
COW   	COASTAL OAK WOODLAND
CPC   	CLOSED CONE PINE-CYPRESS
CRC   	CHAMISE-REDSHANK CHAPARRAL
CRP   	AGRICULTURE-CROPS (landuse=farm)
CSC   	COASTAL SCRUB (natural,scrub)                  
DFR   	DOUGLAS FIR
DRI   	DESERT RIPARIAN 
DRY   	DRY LAKE BED
DSC   	DESERT SCRUB (natural,scrub)
DSS   	DESERT SUCCULENT SCRUB (natural,scrub)
DSW   	DESERT WASH
EPN   	EASTSIDE PINE
EUC	EUCALYPTUS
EST   	ESTUARINE
FEW   	FRESHWATER EMERGENT WETLAND (wetland=marsh,natural,wetland)
FWT   	FORESTED WETLAND (wetland=marsh,natural,wetland)
GRS   	UNKNOWN GRASS TYPE (landuse,grassland)
JPN   	JEFFREY PINE
JST   	JOSHUA TREE
JUN   	JUNIPER
KMC   	KLAMATH MIXED CONIFER
LAC   	LACUSTRINE
LPN   	LODGEPOLE PINE
LSG   	LOW SAGEBRUSH (natural,scrub)
MAR   	MARINE
MCH   	MIXED CHAPARRAL (natural,scrub)
MCN   	MIXED CONIFER
MCP   	MONTANE CHAPARRAL (natural,scrub)
MHC   	MONTANE HARDWOODS CONIFER 
MHW   	MONTANE HARDWOOD
MRI   	MONTANE RIPARIAN
NWT   	NONFORESTED WETLAND (wetland=marsh,natural,wetland)
OVN   	AGRICULTURE-ORCHARD-VINYARD (landuse=farm)
PGS   	PERENNIAL GRASS (landuse,grassland)
PJN   	PINYON-JUNIPER
POS   	PALM OASIS
PPN   	PONDEROSA PINE
RDW   	REDWOOD
RFR   	RED FIR
RIV   	RIVERINE
ROG   	REDWOOD OLDGROWTH
RYG   	REDWOOD SECONDGROWTH
SCN   	SUBALPINE CONIFER
SEW   	SALINE EMERGENT WETLAND (landuse,salt_pond)
SGB   	SAGEBRUSH (natural,scrub) 
SMC   	SIERRAN MIXED CONIFER
UAG   	URBAN-AGRICULTURE (landuse=farm)
VFH   	VALLEY FOOTHILL HARDWOOD
VOW   	VALLEY OAK WOODLAND
VRI   	VALLEY FOOTHIL RIPARIAN                        
WFR   	WHITE FIR
WTM   	WET MEADOW
XXX   	BARREN/ROCK/OTHER

Caltrans landcover

The main advantage of this data over FRAP's is that this one is smoother and doesn't have the jagged edges.

Rules

Here is a possible set of rules to be used with shp-to-osm to convert it.

outer,WHR1,,source,caltrans
outer,LANDCOV_ID,,landcover_ID,-

outer,REGION,CAS,region,Cascade Ranges
outer,REGION,CW,region,Central Western California  
outer,REGION,ESN,region,East of the Sierra Nevada 
outer,REGION,GV,region,Great Central Valley 
outer,REGION,MOD,region,Modoc Plateau 
outer,REGION,MOJ,region,Mojave Desert 
outer,REGION,NW,region,Northwestern California 
outer,REGION,SN,region,Sierra Nevada 
outer,REGION,SON,region,Sonoran Desert 
outer,REGION,SW,region,Southwestern California 

#description for these,dominant species
outer,SP1A,22105,landuse,farm
outer,SP1A,22105,crop,rice
outer,SP1A,22106,landuse,meadow
outer,SP1A,22200,landuse,farm
outer,SP1A,22200,description,orchards, vineyards, nurseries
outer,SP1A,22200,note,what agricultural use is this?
outer,SP1A,22201,landuse,orchard
outer,SP1A,22201,description,evergreen orchard
outer,SP1A,22202,landuse,orchard
outer,SP1A,22202,description,deciduous orchard
outer,SP1A,22203,landuse,vineyard
outer,SP1A,22700,landuse,nature_reserve
outer,SP1A,22600,description,reclaimed lakebed/waterfowl mgmt/ag.
outer,SP1A,42915,natural,wood
outer,SP1A,42915,description,mid-elevation plantations (most likely Ponderosa pine)
outer,SP1A,42951,natural,wood
outer,SP1A,42951,description,upper-elevation plantations (most likely Red fir)
outer,SP1A,77100,natural,salt_flat
outer,SP1A,77200,natural,sand
outer,SP1A,77300,natural,sand
outer,SP1A,77400,natural,rock
outer,SP1A,77400,description,bare exposed rock
outer,SP1A,77401,natural,lava
outer,SP1A,77401,description,bare exposed lava
outer,SP1A,77401,natural,lava
outer,SP1A,77500,landuse,quarry
outer,SP1A,77600,natural,fell
outer,SP1A,77600,description,transitional bare areas
outer,SP1A,77700,natural,fell
outer,SP1A,77700,description,mixed barren land
outer,SP1A,77701,natural,rock
outer,SP1A,77701,description,Badlands
outer,SP1A,78000,natural,mud
outer,SP1A,99100,natural,glacier
outer,SP1A,99100,description,perennial snowfields
outer,SP1A,99200,natural,glacier

#whr1 uses notes, these ones not defined in SP1A
outer,WHR1,ADS,natural,scrub
outer,WHR1,AGS,landuse,meadow
outer,WHR1,ASC,natural,heath
outer,WHR1,ASC,note,alkali desert scrub
outer,WHR1,ASP,natural,wood
outer,WHR1,ASP,wood,aspen
outer,WHR1,BAR,natural,fell
outer,WHR1,BBR,natural,scrub
outer,WHR1,BBR,natural,scrub
outer,WHR1,BOP,natural,wood
outer,WHR1,BOP,wood,pine
outer,WHR1,BOW,natural,wood
outer,WHR1,BOW,wood,oak
outer,WHR1,COW,natural,wood
outer,WHR1,COW,wood,oak
outer,WHR1,CPC,natural,wood
outer,WHR1,CPC,wood,pine,cypress
outer,WHR1,CRC,natural,scrub
outer,WHR1,CRC,note,chamise-redshank chaparral
outer,WHR1,CSC,natural,scrub
outer,WHR1,DFR,natural,wood
outer,WHR1,DRF,wood,fir
outer,WHR1,DRI,natural,heath
outer,WHR1,DRI,note,desert riparian
outer,WHR1,DGR,landuse,farm
outer,WHR1,DOR,landuse,orchard
outer,WHR1,DSC,natural,heath
outer,WHR1,DSC,note,desert scrub
outer,WHR1,DSS,natural,scrub
outer,WHR1,DSW,natural,heath
outer,WHR1,DSW,note,desert wash
outer,WHR1,EOR,landuse,orchard
outer,WHR1,EPN,natural,wood
outer,WHR1,EPN,wood,pine
outer,WHR1,EUC,natural,wood
outer,WHR1,EUC,wood,eucalyptus
outer,WHR1,IGR,landuse,farm
outer,WHR1,IRF,landuse,farm
outer,WHR1,IRH,landuse,farm
outer,WHR1,JPN,natural,wood
outer,WHR1,JPN,wood,pine
outer,WHR1,JST,natural,heath
outer,WHR1,JUN,natural,wood
outer,WHR1,JUN,wood,juniper
outer,WHR1,KMC,natural,wood
outer,WHR1,KMC,wood,conifer
outer,WHR1,LPN,natural,wood
outer,WHR1,LPN,wood,pine
outer,WHR1,LSG,natural,scrub
outer,WHR1,MCH,natural,scrub
outer,WHR1,MCH,note,mixed chaparral
outer,WHR1,MCP,natural,scrub
outer,WHR1,MHC,natural,wood
outer,WHR1,MHC,wood,chaparral
outer,WHR1,MHW,natural,wood
outer,WHR1,MRI,natural,wood
outer,WHR1,OVN,landuse,orchard
outer,WHR1,PAS,landuse,meadow
outer,WHR1,PGS,landuse,meadow
outer,WHR1,PJN,natural,wood
outer,WHR1,PJN,note,pinyon-juniper
outer,WHR1,PJN,wood,pinyon-juniper
outer,WHR1,POS,natural,wood
outer,WHR1,POS,wood,palm
outer,WHR1,PPN,natural,wood
outer,WHR1,PPN,wood,pine
outer,WHR1,RDW,natural,wood
outer,WHR1,RDW,wood,redwood
outer,WHR1,RFR,natural,wood
outer,WHR1,RFR,wood,fir
outer,WHR1,SCN,natural,wood
outer,WHR1,SCN,note,subalpine conifer
outer,WHR1,SGB,natural,scrub
outer,WHR1,SGB,note,sagebrush
outer,WHR1,SMC,natural,wood
outer,WHR1,SMC,wood,conifer
outer,WHR1,VIN,landuse,vineyard
outer,WHR1,VOW,natural,wood
outer,WHR1,VOW,wood,oak
outer,WHR1,VRI,natural,wood
outer,WHR1,WFR,natural,wood
outer,WHR1,WTM,natural,wetland


outer,WHR1,ADS,habitat_primary,alpine-dwarf shrub
outer,WHR1,AGS,habitat_primary,grassland
outer,WHR1,ASC,habitat_primary,alkali desert scrub
outer,WHR1,ASP,habitat_primary,aspen
outer,WHR1,BAR,habitat_primary,barren
outer,WHR1,BBR,habitat_primary,bitterbrush
outer,WHR1,BOP,habitat_primary,blue oak-foothill pine
outer,WHR1,BOW,habitat_primary,blue oak woodland
outer,WHR1,COW,habitat_primary,coastal oak woodland
outer,WHR1,CPC,habitat_primary,closed-cone pine-cypress
outer,WHR1,CRC,habitat_primary,chamise-redshank chaparral
outer,WHR1,CSC,habitat_primary,coastal scrub
outer,WHR1,DFR,habitat_primary,douglas-fir
outer,WHR1,DGR,habitat_primary,dryland grain crops
outer,WHR1,DOR,habitat_pri