Share of area occupied by hardwoods (< 3 m)

Land use is defined as the “physical and biological coverage of the land surface, including artificial areas, agricultural areas, forests, (semi-)natural areas, wetlands and water bodies” (European Directive INSPIRE 2007/2/EC, 2007). The land cover therefore corresponds to what covers the soil, to what is found on it: a wood, a culture, a building, a public building. These are the biophysical characteristics of the soil. It must be distinguished from its use which specifies the function or use of a type of occupation. Thus, a land occupation that would be “herbaceous covered” could correspond to several uses such as a residential garden or pasture. More information about this distinction [\2](\1) This sheet concerns indicators that inform land cover based on airborne data for the year 2018, namely: — Share of area occupied by artificial buildings above ground — Share of area occupied by artificial flooring — Share of area occupied by the rail network — Share of area occupied by bare soils — Share of area occupied by surface waters — Share of area covered by rotating herbaceous cover in the year — Share of area covered by herbaceous cover year-round — Share of area occupied by Feuillus (> 3 m) — Share of area occupied by hardwood (≤ 3m) — Share of area occupied by Softwoods (> 3 m) — Share of area occupied by Softwoods (≤ 3m) These indicators were produced on the basis of the land use mapping carried out as part of the Wallonia Occupation and Soil Use Research Grant (WALOUS) awarded by the Walloon Region to a consortium of two universities (UCLouvain, ULB) and a public research centre of the type UAP (ISSeP). More info about the project “[\2](\1)”