Va Natural Lands Assessment Cores

The Virginia Natural Landscape Assessment (VaNLA), a component of the Virginia Conservation Lands Needs Assessment (VCLNA), is a landscape-scale GIS analysis for identifying, prioritizing, and linking natural habitats in Virginia. Using land cover data derived from satellite imagery, the VaNLA identifies unfragmented natural habitats called Ecological Cores, large patches of natural land cover (mainly upland forests and forested wetlands statewide, but also marshes, beaches, and dunes in the coastal plain) with at least 100 acres of interior conditions. Large, medium, and small Ecological Cores have been identified, along with a smaller feature type called Habitat Fragments that may be important in the more urban localities. Ecological Cores provide habitat for a wide range of species, from those dependent upon inteior forests to habitat generalist, as well as species that utilize marsh, dune, and beach habitats. Ecological Cores also provide benefits in terms of open space, recreation, water quality (including drinking water protection), and carbon sequestration, along with the associated economic benefits of these functions.

The VaNLA generates fundamental ecological data layers for conservation of land and natural resources in Virginia