The Transitional Areas category is intended for those areas which are in transition from one land use activity to another. They are characterized by the lack of any remote sensor information which would enable the land use interpreter to predict reliably the future use or discern the past use. All that actually can be determined in these situations is that a transition is in progress, and inference about past or future use should be avoided. This transitional phase occurs when for example, forest lands are cleared for agriculture, wetlands are drained for development, or when any type of land use ceases as areas become temporarily bare as construction is planned for such future uses as residences, shopping centers, industrial sites, or suburban and rural residential subdivisions. land being altered by filling, such as occurs in spoil dumps or sanitary landfills, also is indicative of this transitional phase.
DISTRIBUTION:
This type occurs throughout California, but it is only mapped where the land use cannot be determined.
Source: Modified by the California Gap Analysis Project from Anderson et al., 1976.