Riparian buffer land cover classification in the U.S. Midwest under corn–soybean rotation

This dataset includes a land use/land cover (LULC) classification at 10 m spatial resolution, specifically developed for corn–soybean agricultural systems in the U.S. Midwest. The classification is constrained to areas within 110 m of cropland (corn–soybean rotations), in order to characterize land cover surrounding agricultural fields and capture edge-of-field conditions. The LULC scheme consists of five primary classes (water, non-photosynthetic surfaces, cropland, high vegetation, and short non-crop vegetation), with an additional class used to identify areas outside the study domain.

Hydrographic features derived from the National Hydrography Dataset (NHD) were used to delineate riparian buffers at 10 m and 60 m distances from streams, rivers, and waterbodies. Stream order (Strahler) was incorporated to characterize the hierarchical structure of the hydrographic network. The dataset enables analysis of land cover distribution within riparian zones across intensively managed corn–soybean landscapes in Midwestern states including Michigan, Missouri, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Minnesota, and Wisconsin.