Access to data is based on a principle of full, open and free access as established by the Copernicus data and information policy Regulation (EU) No 1159/2013 of 12 July 2013. This regulation establishes registration and licensing conditions for GMES/Copernicus users.

Free, full and open access to this data set is made on the conditions that:

1. When distributing or communicating Copernicus dedicated data and Copernicus service information to the public, users shall inform the public of the source of that data and information.

2. Users shall make sure not to convey the impression to the public that the user's activities are officially endorsed by the Union.

3. Where that data or information has been adapted or modified, the user shall clearly state this.

4. The data remain the sole property of the European Union. Any information and data produced in the framework of the action shall be the sole property of the European Union. Any communication and publication by the beneficiary shall acknowledge that the data were produced “with funding by the European Union”.

The production of the Herbaceous cover (HER) is primarily based on the probability estimates obtained from the Base Vegetation Layer (BVL) which also serves to harmonize the different HRL vegetated products, including Grasslands, Tree Cover and Forest and Croplands. The BVL is created annually (2017-2021) and using probability estimates of various land cover types. To derive HER, various operations are performed on the probability estimates to either locally increase or decrease the herbaceous probabilities. The Corine Land Cover (CLC) layer is applied to weight the probabilities for some classes such as peat bogs, sclerophyllous vegetation and others to eliminate false positives from the reference year classification. To determine the final herbaceous cover, a suitable threshold must be established for each region. Probabilities above this threshold are considered to be herbaceous.

The Herbaceous cover is a new dataset in the CLMS portfolio, starting its timeseries with annual updates from reference year 2017.

Quality assurance follows the ISO9000 standards for Quality Management and comprises of dedicated procedures of ongoing quality checks (QA breakpoints) during implementation of the production chain, in order to keep persistent control over the various stages of production, assure fitness-for-purpose of the end-products and that all quality requirements are fulfilled. Priority has been given to the target thematic accuracies to be achieved by each product, as well as to the issues of product consistency (spatial, thematic, temporal) and homogeneity. Quality Assessment: The quality assessment has been performed according to INSPIRE Data Specifications. The data quality elements considered are:

(i) Completeness,

(ii) Logical Consistency,

(iii) Thematic Accuracy,

(iv) Temporal quality and

(v) Usability.

Each of them (excl. the Thematic Accuracy hereafter) forms a section in the QA/QC Procedures.