Data Dictionary

Data dictionary for Land Use/Land Cover [Maryland] {1973}

The land use\land cover classification scheme described below was used to identify the predominant usage of land that could be interpreted from high altitude, uncorrected aerial photography circa 1973. The LU_CODE field, in each county land use shape file, contains the 2 or 3 digit integer numbers identified below. Only land uses greater than 10 acres in size were identified when this map dataset was developed in the mid 1970s. Transportation features such as roads, highways, rail lines and utility lines were not included.

Field Name Field Type Value(s) Definition Definition Source
AREA real
PERIMETER real
LU_CODE integer
LU_CODE 10 Urban Built-Up
LU_CODE 11 Low-density residential - Detached single-family/duplex dwelling units, yards and associated areas. Areas of more than 90 percent single-family/duplex dwelling units, with lot sizes of less than five acres but at least one-half acre (.2 dwelling units/acre to 2 dwelling units/acre).
LU_CODE 12 Medium-density residential - Detached single-family/duplex, attached single-unit row housing, yards, and associated areas. Areas of more than 90 percent single-family/duplex units and attached single-unit row housing, with lot sizes of less than one-half acre but at least one-eighth acre (2 dwelling units/acre to 8 dwelling units/acre).
LU_CODE 13 High-density residential - Attached single-unit row housing, garden apartments, high-rise apartments/condominiums, mobile home and trailer parks. Areas of more than 90 percent high-density residential units, with more than 8 dwelling units per acre.
LU_CODE 14 Commercial - Retail and wholesale services. Areas used primarily for the sale of products and services, including associated yards and parking areas.
LU_CODE 15 Industrial - Manufacturing and industrial parks, including associated warehouses, storage yards, research laboratories, and parking areas.
LU_CODE 16 Institutional - Elementary and secondary schools, middle schools, junior and senior high schools, public and private colleges and universities, military installations (built-up areas only, including buildings and storage, training, and similar areas), churches, medical and health facilities, correctional facilities, and government offices and facilities that are clearly separable from the surrounding land cover.
LU_CODE 17 Extractive - Surface mining operations, including sand and gravel pits, quarries, coal surface mines, and deep coal mines. Status of activity (active vs. abandoned) is not distinguished.
LU_CODE 18 Open urban land - Urban areas whose use does not require structures, or urban areas where non-conforming uses characterized by open land have become isolated. Included are golf courses, parks, recreation areas (except areas associated with schools or other institutions), cemeteries, and entrapped agricultural and undeveloped land within urban areas.
LU_CODE 20 Agriculture
LU_CODE 21 Cropland - Field crops and forage crops.
LU_CODE 22 Pasture - Land used for pasture, both permanent and rotated; grass.
LU_CODE 23 Orchards/vineyards/horticulture - Areas of intensively managed commercial bush and tree crops, including areas used for fruit production, vineyards, sod and seed farms, nurseries, and green houses.
LU_CODE 24 Feeding operations - Cattle feed lots, holding lots for animals, hog feeding lots, poultry houses, and commercial fishing areas (including oyster beds).
LU_CODE 241 Feeding operations - Cattle feed lots, holding lots for animals, hog feeding lots, poultry houses.
LU_CODE 242 Agricultural building breeding and training facilities, storage facilities, built-up areas associated with a farmstead, small farm ponds, commercial fishing areas.
LU_CODE 25 Row and garden crops - Intensively managed truck and vegetable farms and associated areas.
LU_CODE 40 Forest
LU_CODE 41 Deciduous forest - Forested areas in which the trees characteristically lose their leaves at the end of the growing season. Included are such species as oak, hickory, aspen, sycamore, birch, yellow poplar, elm, maple, and cypress.
LU_CODE 42 Evergreen forest - Forested areas in which the trees are characterized by persistent foliage throughout the year. Included are such species as white pine, pond pine, hemlock, southern white cedar, and red pine.
LU_CODE 43 Mixed forest - Forested areas in which neither deciduous nor evergreen species dominate, but in which there is a combination of both types.
LU_CODE 44 Brush - Areas which do not produce timber or other wood products but may have cut-over timber stands, abandoned agriculture fields, or pasture. These areas are characterized by vegetation types such as sumac, vines, rose, brambles, and tree seedlings.
LU_CODE 50 Water - Rivers, waterways, reservoirs, ponds, bays, estuaries, and ocean.
LU_CODE 60 Wetlands - Forested or non-forested wetlands, including tidal flats, tidal and non-tidal marshes, and upland swamps and wet areas.
LU_CODE 70 Barren land
LU_CODE 71 Beaches - Extensive shoreline areas of sand and gravel accumulation, with no vegetative cover or other land use.
LU_CODE 72 Bare exposed rock - Areas of bedrock exposure, scarps, and other natural accumulations of rock without vegetative cover.
LU_CODE 73 Bare ground - Areas of exposed ground caused naturally, by construction, or by other cultural processes.