European Forest Cover Map from 1995 AVHRR Imagery

Europe's forest cover is classified into five categories: closed forest, open or fragmented forest, other wooded land, other land cover, and water. The map was produced by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) EROS Data Center using monthly AVHRR composite images from circa 1995. The dataset was last updated in December 1996.

Use Cases

• Analyze the spatial distribution of 'Closed Forest' versus 'Open or Fragmented Forest' classes across Europe.
• Model historical land cover change by comparing the 'Other Land Cover' class from this 1995 baseline with newer datasets.
• Assess proximity of 'Water' bodies to different forest density classes ('Closed Forest', 'Other Wooded Land').
• Validate contemporary forest cover models using this historical 'Closed Forest' classification as a reference.

Strengths

• Provides a continent-wide classification for Europe.
• Data delineates five distinct land cover classes based on a defined grid legend.

Limitations

• Temporally stale, representing a snapshot from circa 1995.
• Classification granularity is limited to five broad classes.

Provenance

Source

U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) EROS Data Center (EDC).

Collection Method

Hybrid maximum-NDVI and minimum-red compositing technique applied to monthly AVHRR composite images.

Time Range

circa 1995

Freshness

Static dataset last updated in 1996.

Geography

Europe