Forest Growth Classes for Saxony Derived from Remote Sensing Data (2011-2023)

Spatial data visualizing forest growth classes across the Free State of Saxony. The data was created on behalf of Staatsbetrieb Sachsenforst between 2011 and 2023 using automated derivations from Digital Surface and Terrain Models provided by the State Office for Geo-Based Information (GeoSN). It differentiates growth classes such as young growth, pole wood, and tree wood based on normalized vegetation height models.

Use Cases

• Mapping forest age structure and development stages based on the defined growth classes.
• Analyzing vegetation height and canopy structure using the derived normalized surface models (nDOM).
• Monitoring forest changes over a multi-year period based on the 2011-2023 data collection.
• Supporting regional forestry planning and resource management for the state of Saxony.

Strengths

• Data collection spans a 12-year period from 2011 to 2023, providing a multi-temporal perspective.
• Covers the entire forest area of the Free State of Saxony, suggesting area-wide completeness.
• Derived from authoritative geodata sources including Digital Surface Models (DOM) and Digital Terrain Models (DGM) from GeoSN.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment for specific analytical tasks.
• The description metadata is limited; actual data quality and spatial resolution require manual inspection.

Provenance

Source

Bundesamt für Kartographie und Geodäsie

Collection Method

Automated derivations from Digital Surface Models (DOM) and Digital Terrain Models (DGM), with additional aerial image-based surface models for some areas, followed by complex filter operations.

Time Range

2011 to 2023

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-19 00:00:00; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Free State of Saxony, Germany (total forest area)