The nlcdCoverBySite.csv describes the cover classes and associated area at each NEON site as described by the National Land Cover Database (NLCD). Site Characterization Reports found in the NEON Document Library contain the same information in portal document format (pdf). The NLCD area by site are integral to the allocation (target cover types greater than 5% of the area are sampled) and stratification (plots are proportional to area for most sample designs) of the Terrestrial Observation System (TOS) spatial sampling design, and can facilitate design-based inference of the data. For more information, see the TOS Science Design for Spatial Sampling (NEON.DOC.000913) and site-specific Site Characterization Reports.

The fields in the .csv:

domainID - Unique identifier of the NEON domain
siteID - Four letter site code
nlcdYear – Year of the NLCD applied to the spatial sampling design
nlcdClass - National Land Cover Database classification from the initial year of sampling
area_km2 – the area of the NLCD class within the NEON site



