GIS Map Application
13 Dec 2019
For visualisation purposes, the initial 100 m spatial resolution Corine Land Cover dataset was re-sampled to a 10 km2 grid. The observation periods can be visualised by activating the 'layers' icon and selecting the respective periods.
Indicator Assessment
13 Dec 2019
In 2015, on average, there were around 1.5 fragmented landscape elements per km 2 in the European Union [1] , a 3.7 % increase compared with 2009.
Approximately 1.13 million km 2 , around 28 % of the area of the EU [1] , was strongly fragmented i n 2015 , a 0.7 % increase compared with 2009.
There was less of an increase in fragmented landscape elements and in the area of strongly fragmented landscape between 2012 and 2015 than between 2009 and 2012 (1.4 and 0.18 percentage points, respectively).
Arable lands and permanent croplands (around 42 .6 %) and pastures and farmland mosaics (around 40.2 %) were most affected by strong fragmentation pressure in 2015 in the EU. Between 2009 and 2015, however, the largest increase in the area of strongly fragmented landscape was in grasslands/pastures and in farmland mosaics.
Luxembourg (91 %), Belgium (83 %) and Malta (70 %) had the largest proportions of strongly fragmented landscape in 2015 (as a proportion of their country area). The Baltic countries and Finland and Sweden were on average the least fragmented countries in the EU.
Between 2009 and 2015, the area of strongly fragmented landscape increased most in Croatia, as well as in Greece, Hungary and Poland.
[1] Romania is excluded because of the poor coverage of fragmentation geometry data in 2009.
GIS Map Application
13 Dec 2019
This web map application uses the new version of the Effective Mesh Density (seff) 2016 dataset with improved input data, for the years 2009, 2012 and 2015. This new dataset uses the Copernicus Imperviousness and the TomTom TeleAtlas data sets as fragmenting geometries. The application shows the change in effective mesh density (seff), i.e. the number of landscape elements between 2009 and 2012 and between 2012 and 2015.
Data Visualization
13 Dec 2019
Indicator Assessment
13 Dec 2019
Despite a reduction in the last decade (land take was over 1000km2/year between 2000-2006), land take in EU28 still amounted to 539km2/year between 2012-2018.
The net land take concept combines land take with land return to non-artificial land categories (re-cultivation). While some land was re-cultivated in the EU-28 in the period 2000-2018, 11 times more land was taken.
Between 2000 and 2018, 78 % of land take in the EU-28 affected agricultural areas, i.e. arable lands and pastures, and mosaic farmlands.
From 2000 to 2018, land take consumed 0.6 % of all arable lands and permanent crops, 0.5 % of all pastures and mosaic farmlands, and 0.3 % of all grasslands into urban areas.
In proportion to their area, Cyprus, the Netherlands and Albania saw the largest amount of land take between 2000 and 2018.
The re-cultivation of land increased from 2012 to 2018, led by Luxembourg, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and Belgium.
The main drivers of land take during 2000-2018 were industrial and commercial land use as well as extension of residential areas and construction sites.
The graph shows the development of the Gross Nitrogen Balance (GNB) (kg nutrient/ ha Utilised Agricultural Area (UAA)) for the EU 28 over the period from 2004 to 2015, together with the nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) and GVA of the agricultural industry (values at current prices). For displaying all thre parameters and the development of their trends, an index is used setting 2005-values = 1
The chart shows the periodical change of land cover classes, expressed in km2 and calculated as a yearly value.
The chart shows the area of land take and recultivation for the last Corine Land Cover observation period 2012-2018 for each EEA39 country. Both land take and recultivation are expressed in m2/km2 of the country area for the sake of comparability.
Data Visualization
30 Oct 2019
Soil contains significant amounts of carbon and nitrogen, which can be released into the atmosphere
depending on how we use the land. Clearing or planting forests, the melting of permafrost can tilt the
greenhouse gas emission balance one way or the other. Climate change can also substantially alter what
farmers can produce and where.
Europe’s land cover has remained relatively stable since 2000, with about 25 % covered by arable land
and permanent crops, 17 % by pastures and 34 % by forests. At the same time, cities and concrete
infrastructures continue to expand and the total area used for agriculture decreased.
Although artificial surfaces cover less than 5 % of the wider EEA territory, a sizeable area still became
sealed (covered by concrete or asphalt) between 2000 and 2018. The good news is that the rate of
increase in artificial surface areas has slowed down in recent years.
The present 100m raster datasets are the CORINE Land Cover status layers for 2000, 2006, 2012 and 2018, modified for the purpose of consistent statistical analysis in the land cover change accounting system at EEA.
CORINE Land Cover (CLC) data are produced from 1986 for European (EEA member or cooperating) countries. Altogether five mapping inventories were implemented in this period, producing five status layers (CLC1990, CLC2000, CLC2006, CLC2012, CLC2018) and four CLC-Change (CLCC) layers for the corresponding periods (1990-2000, 2000-2006, 2006-2012, 2012-2018). Pan-European CLC and CLCC data are available as vector and raster products.
Due to the technical characteristics of CLC and CLCC data, the evolution in CLC update methodology and in quality of input data, time-series statistics derived directly from historical CLC data includes several inconsistencies. In order to create a statistically solid basis for CLC-based time series analysis, a harmonization methodology was elaborated.
The European inventory of nationally designated protected areas holds information about designated areas and their designation types, which directly or indirectly create protected areas. This is version 17 and covers data reported until March 2019.
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