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Landscape Change Monitoring System (LCMS)

Access the Landscape Change Monitoring System Data Explorer

Abstract

The Landscape Change Monitoring System (LCMS) is a remote sensing-based system for mapping and monitoring landscape change across the United States. The Landscape Change Monitoring System produces annual maps depicting change (vegetation loss and vegetation gain), land cover, and land use from 1985 to present that can be used to assist with a wide range of land management applications.

Purpose

With the help of regional and national forest staffs we have identified many applications of Landscape Change Monitoring System data, including forest planning and revision, updating existing vegetation maps, assessing landscape conditions, supporting post-fire recovery, and meeting some broad-scale monitoring requirements.

Overview and Accountability 

Colorful, five column workflow diagram
Photo Credit
Landscape Change Monitoring System Production Staff

Landscape Change Monitoring System production workflow diagram.

The Landscape Change Monitoring System uses an ensemble modeling approach to generate a “best available” map covering multiple disturbance processes and diverse cover types. Vegetation fast loss, slow loss, and gain; land cover; and land use are modeled using predictor layers derived from two change-detection algorithms (LandTrendr and CCDC) and terrain variables. Training data points are identified using a stratified random sample and are photo-interpreted using the TimeSync visualization software and other relevant geospatial layers. Because no algorithm is expected to perform best in all situations, this approach provides a framework for intelligently assimilating the varied strengths of existing change-detection algorithms into one comprehensive change map that leverages advances in time series-based change detection techniques, Landsat and Sentinel-2 data availability, cloud-based computing power, and big data analysis methods.

Production Status 

Landscape Change Monitoring System annual data span from 1985 to the most recent growing season and new versions are released annually for four study areas: the conterminous United States, Alaska, Puerto Rico & U.S. Virgin Islands, and Hawaii. Annual updates for the conterminous United States and Alaska are typically in late spring each year, and Puerto Rico & U.S. Virgin Islands and Hawaii are typically in late summer. 

Data Access

Landscape Change Monitoring System data are available for viewing, analysis, and download through the Landscape Change Monitoring System Data Explorer and the FSGeodata Clearinghouse. More information and links to other Landscape Change Monitoring System-based data viewers can be found at the Landscape Change Monitoring System Home page. Landscape Change Monitoring System data are also available in Google Earth Engine. 

The Landscape Change Monitoring System Data Explorer is a web-based application that provides users the ability to view, analyze, summarize, and download Landscape Change Monitoring System data. A friendly set of tools allows users to upload an area of interest and perform pixel- and area-based summaries with a charting feature displaying the results of all Landscape Change Monitoring System outputs. A tutorial is available in the Viewer Support menu. 

For questions or more information on Landscape Change Monitoring System please contact the Landscape Change Monitoring System helpdesk: sm.fs.lcms@usda.gov. 

Key Uses
Inventory, Monitoring and Assessments
Scale
Landscape
User Experience Level
Beginner
What do you need to get started?
For one of the simplest ways to familiarize with LCMS data, the LCMS Dashboard provides users the ability to easily and quickly view summaries and generate reports for States/Counties or Forest Service Regions/Forests/Ranger Districts.
Outputs
Maps of land use, land cover, and vegetation change class from 1985 to the most recent growing season for four study areas: the conterminous United States, Alaska, Puerto Rico & US Virgin Islands, and Hawaii.
Strengths
Allows visualization and querying using different geographies of interest (National Forest boundaries, states, counties, etc.)
Limitations
Data are downloadable by product, study area, and year, but file size is large.

Staff

Landscape Change Monitoring System Publications

Landscape Change Monitoring System Foundational Research

  • Breiman, L. 2001, Random forests. Machine Learning, 45, pp.5–32. 
    Cohen, W.B., Yang, Z., Healey, S.P., Kennedy, R.E., Gorelick, N. 2018, A LandTrendr multispectral ensemble for forest disturbance detection, Remote Sensing of Environment, 205, pp. 131-140.
  • Cohen, W.B., Yang, Z., Kennedy, R.E. 2010, Detecting trends in forest disturbance and recovery using yearly Landsat time series: 2. TimeSync — Tools for calibration and validation, Remote Sensing of Environment, 114, pp. 2911-2924.
  • Gorelick, N., Hancher, M., Dixon, M., Ilyushchenko, S., Thau, D., Moore, R. 2017, Google Earth Engine: Planetary-scale geospatial analysis for everyone, Remote Sensing of Environment, 202, pp. 18–27.
  • Hughes, M., Kaylor, S., Hayes, D. 2017, Patch-based forest change detection from Landsat time series, Forests, 8, p. 166.
    Kennedy, R.E., Yang, Z., Gorelick, N., Braaten, J., Cavalcante, L., Cohen, W.B., Healey, S. 2018, Implementation of the LandTrendr Algorithm on Google Earth Engine, Remote Sensing, 10, p. 691.
  • Zhu, Z., Woodcock, C.E. 2012, Object-based cloud and cloud shadow detection in Landsat imagery, Remote Sensing of Environment, 118, pp. 83–94. 

Learn more about the Landscape Change Monitoring System team

land cover land use disturbance
Last updated June 5, 2026
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