WMS Land Cover Model for Germany 2012

A digital land cover model for Germany as of 2012, based on the CORINE Land Cover nomenclature. The dataset is produced by the Bundesamt für Kartographie und Geodäsie and has a minimum mapping area of 1 hectare. It integrates satellite imagery with topographic data to separately record land cover and land use.

Use Cases

• Monitor land cover change over time based on the three-year update rhythm.
• Analyze land use patterns based on integration with the ATKIS® base DLM.
• Train models for land cover classification based on multi-temporal satellite image data.
• Assess environmental and urban planning metrics based on the 1-hectare minimum mapping unit.

Strengths

• Minimum mapping area is 1 hectare, providing a defined spatial resolution.
• Updated on a three-year rhythm since the first version in 2009.
• Separately records land cover and land use, offering two distinct data aspects.

Limitations

• Description metadata is limited; actual data quality requires manual inspection after download.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• The service is provided exclusively to federal authorities, limiting public access.

Provenance

Source

Bundesamt für Kartographie und Geodäsie

Collection Method

Combines selected spatial object types from the ATKIS® basic DLM with multi-temporal satellite image data (primarily RapidEye).

Time Range

Reference year 2012, with updates every three years since 2009.

Freshness

Updated every three years; reference year is 2012.

Geography

Federal Republic of Germany