Data release for the Understanding recurrent land use processes and long-term transitions in the dynamic south-central US, c. 1800 to 2006

The dataset was generated for the South Central Plains EPA level III ecoregion which extends through eastern Texas, northwestern Louisiana, southwest Arkansas, and a small portion of southeastern Oklahoma covering approximately 15.2 ha. Contained in the data set are land change causes that occurred between 2001 to 2006 such as forest harvest, surficial mining, and cropland expansion. Only those pixels (30-meter resolution) that have changed during the time period have their cause classified, otherwise no change is indicated between 2001 and 2006. In general, the process to create the data combined an automated and manual interpretation approach of spatial data to correctly identify land change causes. In the approach, available spatial data were analyzed using an algorithm-based process of aggregation, validation, and attribution (AVA). Data that could not be validated as to their land change cause in the algorithm, were manually interpreted using historical imagery provided by Google Earth, Landsat satellite data, or high-resolution orthoimagery from National Agricultural Imagery Program (NAIP).