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<br />modeling environmental change. Many land use/cover classification systems and <br />innumerable maps have been created, most of which blur the difference between <br />land use and land cover. With the escalating concern of land conversion by <br />population growth, there is an urgent need for better matching of land cover and <br />its uses. With the rapid increase of available spatial data, along with wider use of <br />remote sensing, it is increasingly possible to map, evaluate and monitor land cover <br />and land use over large areas. The distinction between land cover and land use is <br />fundamentaL In previous classifications and legends, the two have often been <br />confused. They should strictly be defined as follows: <br /> <br />· Land Cover is the observed physical cover as seen from the ground or through <br />remote sensing, including the vegetation (natural or planted) and human <br />constructions (buildings, roads etc.) that cover the earths surface. Water, ice, bare <br />rock or sand surfaces count as land cover. <br /> <br />· Land Use is base upon function, the purpose for which the land is being used. <br />Thus, a land use can be defined as a series of activities undertaken to produce one <br />or more goods or services. A given land use may take place on one or more than <br />one piece of land, and several land uses may occur on the same piece of land. <br />Definition of land use in this way provides a basis for precise and quantitative <br />economic and environmental impact analysis, and permits precise distinctions <br />between land uses if required. <br /> <br />(Source: Minnesota Department of Natural Resources) <br /> <br />Roseville Comprehensive Plan - 2002 Update <br /> <br />The Land and its People - Page 7 of 30 <br />