Percent tree and impervious cover for 2020 and projected in 2070 for three RPA scenarios (average, maximum and minimum) for the 2020 RPA Assessment

Tree and impervious cover change alongside changes in land use. Tree cover is one of the simplest proxies for assessing the amount of forest and its associated benefits. Impervious surfaces (such as roads and buildings) change alongside land and tree cover change. Impervious surfaces provide essential services to society, but they can also negatively impact the environment through increased air temperatures and heat islands. This data publication includes estimates of tree cover and impervious cover for every county in the conterminous United States in 2020 as well as projections for tree cover and impervious cover for 2070. To simplify and provide clarity in the assessment, these land use changes were estimated using three out of twenty of the 2020 Resources Planning Act (RPA) Assessment scenario-climate futures which included: 1) average scenario (HM-wet: national average tree cover increase was closest to the average change among all RPA scenario-climate futures); 2) maximum scenario (HL-hot: scenario had the highest average increase in tree cover); and 3) minimum scenario (HH-middle: scenario had the lowest average increase in tree cover.)
These data were collected and analyzed to support the 2020 Resources Planning Act (RPA) Assessment (https://www.fs.usda.gov/research/inventory/rpaa).
These data were published on 02/24/2023. Metadata updated on 10/17/2023 to include reference to published RPA Assessment.