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:

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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”.

Generation of a Land Cover/Land Use (LC/LU) dataset by applying a semiautomatic workflow based on the use of temporal series of SuperResolved Sentinel-2 imagery, CLMS curated data (mainly N2K18, CZ18, RZ18, CLC+ and HRLs) Deep Learning models, Active Learning, advanced post-processing techniques and manual enhancement through Very High Resolution (VHR) satellite data from 2021 ±1 year. The classification provides 59 distinct thematic classes. The class definitions follow a pre-defined nomenclature based on the Mapping and Assessment of Ecosystems and their Services (MAES) typology of ecosystems (at level 1) and are further harmonised with Corine Land Cover and adapted to the specific characteristics of the different habitats included in N2000 network (levels 2 to 4). The Minimum Mapping Unit (MMU) is 0.5 ha and the Minimum Mapping Width (MMW) is 10 m.

Protected Areas 2021 is an evolution of the previous N2K dataset that only addressed 4790 grassland-rich Natura 2000 sites including a 2 km buffer zone with a six-year update cycle from 2006 onwards.

Additional information:

Typology:

1110 Urban Fabric (predominantly public and private units)

1120 Industrial, commercial and military units

1210 Road networks and associated land

1220 Railways and associated land

1230 Port areas and associated land

1240 Airports and associated land

1310 Mineral extraction sites, dump and construction sites

1320 Land without current use

1400 Green urban, sports and leisure facilities

2110 Arable irrigated and non-irrigated land

2120 Greenhouses

2210 Vineyards, fruit trees and berry plantations

2220 Olive groves

2310 Annual crops associated with permanent crops

2320 Complex cultivation patterns

2330 Land principally occupied by agriculture with significant areas of natural vegetation

2340 Agro-forestry

3110 Natural & semi-natural broadleaved forest

3120 Highly artificial broadleaved plantations

3210 Natural & semi-natural coniferous forest

3220 Highly artificial coniferous plantations

3310 Natural & semi-natural mixed forest

3320 Highly artificial mixed plantations

3400 Transitional woodland and scrub

3500 Lines of trees and scrub

3600 Damaged forest

4100 Managed grassland

4211 Semi-natural grassland with woody plants (C.C.D. ≥30%)

4212 Semi-natural grassland without woody plants (C.C.D. < 30%)

4220 Alpine and sub-alpine natural grassland

5100 Heathland and moorland

5200 Alpine scrub land

5300 Sclerophyllous scrubs

6100 Sparsely vegetated areas

6210 Beaches and dunes

6220 River banks

6311 Bare rocks, outcrops, cliffs

6312 Scree

6320 Burnt areas (except burnt forest)

6331 Glaciers

6332 Perpetual snow

7110 Inland marshes

7121 Exploited peat bogs

7122 Unexploited peat bogs

7210 Salt marshes

7220 Salines

7230 Intertidal flats

8110 Natural & Semi-natural water courses

8120 Highly modified water courses and canals

8130 Seasonally connected water courses (oxbows)

8210 Natural lakes

8220 Reservoirs

8230 Aquaculture ponds

8240 Standing water bodies of extractive industrial sites

8310 Lagoons

8320 Estuaries

8330 Marine inlets and fjords

8410 Open sea

8420 Coastal waters