The High Resolution Layer on Imperviousness Density 2018 is a thematic product showing the sealing density in the range from 0-100% for the period 2018 (including data from 2017-2019) for the EEA-38 area and the United Kingdom. The production of the high resolution imperviousness layers is coordinated by EEA in the frame of the EU Copernicus programme. The high resolution imperviousness products capture the percentage and change of soil sealing. Built-up areas are characterized by the substitution of the original (semi-) natural land cover or water surface with an artificial, often impervious cover. These artificial surfaces are usually maintained over long periods of time. A series of high resolution imperviousness datasets (for the 2006, 2009, 2012, 2015 and 2018 reference years) with all artificially sealed areas was produced using automatic derivation based on calibrated Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI). This series of imperviousness layers constitutes the main status layers. They are per-pixel estimates of impermeable cover of soil (soil sealing) and are mapped as the degree of imperviousness (0-100%). Imperviousness change layers were produced as a difference between the reference years (2006-2009, 2009-2012, 2012-2015, 2015-2018 and additionally 2006-2012, to fully match the CORINE Land Cover production cycle) and are presented 1) as degree of imperviousness change (-100% -- +100%), in 20m and 100m pixel size, and 2) a classified (categorical) 20m change product. Data is provided as 10 meter rasters (fully conformant with the EEA reference grid) in 100 x 100 km tiles grouped according to the EEA38 countries and the United Kingdom.

The Impervious Built-Up (IBU) 2021 layer is part of the High Resolution Layer (HRL) Imperviousness and provides binary information of built-up areas (class 1) and non built-up areas (class 0) for the reference year 2021 as derived from Sentinel-2 image time series. The production of the HRL Imperviousness is coordinated by EEA in the frame of Copernicus, the Earth observation component of the European Union’s Space programme. The product is a raster dataset with 10-meter grid spacing (spatial resolution) that covers the 38 Eionet member and cooperating countries as well as the United Kingdom (i.e. EEA38+UK). It is distributed as 100 x 100 km tiles that are fully conformant with the EEA reference grid.

The European Urban Atlas provides reliable, inter-comparable, high-resolution land use and land cover data for 785 Functional Urban Area (FUA) for the 2012 reference year in EEA38 countries (EU, EFTA and Western Balkan countries as well as Türkiye) and United Kingdom. The spatial data can be downloaded together with a map for each FUA covered and a report with the metadata for the respective area. Urban Atlas is a joint initiative of the Commission Directorate-General for Regional and Urban Policy and the Directorate-General for Defence Industry and Space (DEFIS) in the frame of the EU Copernicus programme, with the support of the European Space Agency and the European Environment Agency.

The High Resolution Layer Forest Type (FTY) provides a forest classification with 3 thematic classes (all non-forest areas / broadleaved forest / coniferous forest) at 10m spatial resolution and with a Minimum Mapping Unit (MMU) of 0.5 ha. This raster layer is largely following the FAO (Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations) forest definition with tree covered areas in agricultural and urban context excluded using the respective Forest Additional Support Layer (FADSL). This dataset is provided on a 3-yearly frequency in 10 meter rasters (fully conformant with the EEA reference grid) in 100 x 100 km tiles covering the EEA38 countries. High Resolution Layer Tree Cover and Forest product is part of the European Union’s Copernicus Land Monitoring Service. This dataset includes data from the French Overseas Territories (DOMs)

Riparian zones represent transitional areas occurring between land and freshwater ecosystems, characterised by distinctive hydrology, soil and biotic conditions and strongly influenced by the stream water. They provide a wide range of riparian functions (e.g. chemical filtration, flood control, bank stabilization, aquatic life and riparian wildlife support, etc.) and ecosystem services. The Riparian Zones products support the objectives of several European legal acts and policy initiatives, such as the EU Biodiversity Strategy to 2020, the Habitats and Birds Directives and the Water Framework Directive. This metadata refers to the Riparian Zones Land Cover/Land Use (LC/LU) change for 2012-2018. The LC/LU classification is tailored to the needs of biodiversity monitoring in a variable buffer zone of selected rivers (Strahler levels 2-9 derived from EU-Hydro) for the change layer 2012-2018. LC/LU is extracted from Very High Resolution (VHR) satellite data and other available data in a buffer zone of selected rivers for supporting biodiversity monitoring and mapping and assessment of ecosystems and their services. The class definitions follow the pre-defined nomenclature on the basis of Mapping and Assessment of Ecosystems and their Services (MAES) typology of ecosystems (Level 1 to Level 4) and CORINE Land Cover. The classification provides 55 distinct thematic classes with a Minimum Mapping Unit (MMU) of 0.5 ha and a Minimum Mapping Width (MMW) of 10 m. The production of the Riparian Zones products was coordinated by the European Environment Agency in the frame of the EU Copernicus programme.

The Season Amplitude (AMPL), one of the Vegetation Phenology and Productivity (VPP) parameters, is a product of the pan-European High Resolution Vegetation Phenology and Productivity (HR-VPP) component of the Copernicus Land Monitoring Service (CLMS). The Season Amplitude (AMPL) is the difference between the maximum and minimum Plant Phenology Index (PPI) values reached during the season. The Plant Phenology Index (PPI) is a physically based vegetation index, developed for improving the monitoring of the vegetation growth cycle. The PPI index values, with 5-day satellite revisit cycle, are first used in a function fitting to derive the PPI Seasonal Trajectories, which is a filtered time series with regular 10-day time step. From these Seasonal Trajectories, a suite of 13 Vegetation Phenology and Productivity (VPP) parameters are then computed and provided, for up to two seasons each year. The Amplitude is one of the 13 parameters. A complementary quality indicator (QFLAG) provides a confidence level, that is described in table 4 of the same manual. The AMPL dataset is made available as raster files with 10 x 10m resolution, in UTM/WGS84 projection corresponding to the Sentinel-2 tiling grid, for those tiles that cover the EEA38 countries and the United Kingdom and for two seasons in each year from 2017 onwards. It is updated in the first quarter of each year.

This metadata refers to the Quality Flag (QFLAG2) dataset, one of the near real-time (NRT) Vegetation Index products of the pan-European High Resolution Vegetation Phenology and Productivity (HR-VPP), component of the Copernicus Land Monitoring Service (CLMS). The Quality Flag (QFLAG2) is a quality indicator that assists users with the screening of clouds, shadows from clouds and topography, other dark areas, snow and water surfaces in their analysis of the four related Vegetation Indices datasets: the Plant Phenology Index (PPI), the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), the Leaf Area Index (LAI) and the Fraction of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (FAPAR). The QFLAG2 dataset is made available as raster files with 10 x 10m resolution, in UTM/WGS84 projection corresponding to the Sentinel-2 tiling grid, for those tiles that cover the EEA38 countries and the United Kingdom and for the period from October 2016 until today, with daily updates.

Riparian zones represent transitional areas occurring between land and freshwater ecosystems, characterised by distinctive hydrology, soil and biotic conditions and strongly influenced by the stream water. They provide a wide range of riparian functions (e.g. chemical filtration, flood control, bank stabilization, aquatic life and riparian wildlife support, etc.) and ecosystem services. The Riparian Zones products support the objectives of several European legal acts and policy initiatives, such as the EU Biodiversity Strategy to 2020, the Habitats and Birds Directives and the Water Framework Directive. This metadata refers to the Riparian Zones 2012 Land Cover/Land Use (LC/LU), which LC/LU classification is tailored to the needs of biodiversity monitoring in a variable buffer zone of selected rivers (Strahler levels 2-9 derived from EU-Hydro) for the reference year 2012. LC/LU is extracted from Very High Resolution (VHR) satellite data and other available data in a buffer zone of selected rivers for supporting biodiversity monitoring and mapping and assessment of ecosystems and their services. The class definitions follow the pre-defined nomenclature on the basis of Mapping and Assessment of Ecosystems and their Services (MAES) typology of ecosystems (Level 1 to Level 4) and CORINE Land Cover. The classification provides 55 distinct thematic classes with a Minimum Mapping Unit (MMU) of 0.5 ha and a Minimum Mapping Width (MMW) of 10 m. The nomenclature has been revised in 2020 with the aim to harmonize the products of the local components (mainly Riparian Zones and NATURA 2000 products) while maintaining user requirements for both products. A revised version of the Riparian Zones 2012 has been subsequently released in December 2021, together with the reference year 2018. The production of the Riparian Zones products was coordinated by the European Environment Agency in the frame of the EU Copernicus programme.

The Imperviousness Density (IMD) 2024 layer is part of the High Resolution Layer (HRL) Imperviousness and contains the approximate density of artificial sealing per pixel (range: 0-100%) for the reference year 2024 as derived from Sentinel-2 image time series. The production of the HRL Imperviousness is coordinated by EEA in the frame of Copernicus, the Earth observation component of the European Union’s Space programme. The product is a raster dataset with 10-meter grid spacing (spatial resolution) that covers the 38 Eionet member and cooperating countries as well as the United Kingdom (i.e. EEA38+UK). It is distributed as 100 x 100 km tiles that are fully conformant with the EEA reference grid.

This metadata refers to the Corine Land Cover plus Backbone (CLCplus Backbone), a spatially detailed, large-scale, Earth Observation-based land cover inventory which is produced by the Copernicus Land Monitoring Service (CLMS). The CLCplus Backbone is a high-resolution raster land cover map based on Sentinel-2 satellite time series. Each 10m-pixel contains the dominant land cover among the 11 basic land cover classes. See pixel class codes in the 'Additional Information' section below. The product is available from the 2018 reference year, with a first update produced for the 2021 reference year and moved to an update cycle of 2 years from 2021 onwards.