1. Update on GMES-Copernicus Land local service on riparian areas
Environment
Update on GMES-Copernicus Land local service on riparian areas
4th meeting MAES WG
10th January 2013

2. Update on GMES-Copernicus status
Reg. 911/2010: EU Earth Observation programme & GMES Initial Operations ( ) with a budget of EUR 107M
Land service: Global component + Pan-European and "local" Land Cover/Land Cover Change components
Emergency Management Service
Urban Atlas mapping ± 300 cities as part of Urban audit (DG REGIO funding) – 2011 product available (EEA website)
On-going GMES Preparatory Action – Reference Data Access
Development on EU-DEM (Digital Elevation Model) and EU-Hydro
Started 2009 – end 2012 (validation being completed)
FP7 Space projects
Geoland2: land service precursor (will end 2012)
Other FP7 projects - water and biodiversity (BIO-SOS, MS-MONINA, Freshmon, Glowasis, MyWater, Sirius..)

3. GMES Initial operations Land Monitoring service
Full Pan-EU coverage High Resolution satellite images (20m) and Very High Resolution layer available for EU public organisations (access procedures through EIONET NRC land cover)
Pan-European Land Cover services under development (€17 MIO identified, )
5 new High Resolution layers (1ha MMU) of dominant land-cover classes harmonised at EEA39 level (wall-to-wall coverage): „Imperviousness“, Forests, Small Waterbodies, Wetlands, Grasslands
Continuity of CORINE Land Cover/LCC
Will be available from mid-2013 onward (country by country)
Local Land component mapping areas of interest at (Pan)EU level using Very High Resolution data (2-2,5m resolution)
Urban Atlas (DG REGIO funding) – update
Proposal for mapping Riparian areas at EU level
€2.9 M proposed in GMES Work Programme 2013
DG ENV strongly engaged in collaboration with EEA, ETC-Biodiversity and JRC
Coordinated by the EEA, dissemination on their portal

4. Pan-EU land component: High Resolution layer Imperviousness (20m)
IMAGE2012
(IRS-LISS, 20m)
Zalaegerszeg, Hungary
Levels of sealed soil

5. Agricultural area characteristics: permanent grasslands

6. Wetland characteristics
Satellite IRS-6 summer image
Satellite IRS-6 spring image

7. Local component – Urban Atlas product
„Zooming on Urban hotspot areas“
Ca. 50x50 km
Based on multispectral VHR (2.5m) satellite data
MMU = 0.25ha (urban zones) and 0,5 ha (rural areas)
Positional Accurarcy: 5m
Available on EEA website

8. Precursor activities
Building on exiting initiatives and precursor activities:
JRC report on riparian zones (JRC report “Riparian zones: where green and blue networks meet”, EUR EN-2011)
River basin management plans of Member States
Corine LC and 5 Pan-European HRLs (imperviousness, forest, agriculture, wetlands and water bodies)
Precursor projects:
EBONE (e.g. European habitat data sources and common standards, phenology indicators, proposed observation framework, etc.)
MS.MONINA and BIO_SOS
EEA ECRINS (catchment and river network)
Hydrographic layer EU-Hydro from GMES RDA preparatory action
Urban Atlas
LTER/LTSER
LUCAS
BIOPRESS
Satchmo ……

9. GMES riparian areas mapping
Characteristics
Costs analysis carried out by EEA and ETC BD and scenarios proposal
Basic scenario (2,9 M EUR): full exercise characteristics
satellite images: based on Very High Resolution Pan-EU coverage acquired in (Formosat- 2m resolution and Spot m)
River hierarchy system: Strahler level 3 (500,000km of river segments)
Extent of riparian zones: the average buffer width first estimate is 1 km using the JRC modelling and refining the delineation
Area of Interest estimated to (2)*(3) = 500,000 km2 i.e. ± 10% EU territory
Overall accuracy 85%
MMU (Minimum Mapping Unit) 0.5ha
Nomenclature based on land cover classes relevant for riparian areas (e.g. EUNIS level 2 nomenclature or combination of EUNIS level 2 and other existing nomenclatures)
Green linear elements identifiable on VHR images (e.g. rows of trees, hedgerows, dikes and dams
Next steps
- Refining scenario based on available GMES WP 2013 budget (in discussion)
- Need for expert discussions (EEA, DG ENV, DG JRC, ETC/BD, MAES WG...)
- Final proposal will be presented to GMES Prog. Committee on 10th December
- EEA will draft technical specifications of the service and launch call for tenders

10. Local component: Biodiversity: riparian zones
Proposal mapping Riparian areas
(to be approved):
500,000 km (Strahler level 3) – buffer average 1km width
15-25 classes
Based on multispectral VHR (2-2.5m) satellite data
MMU = 0.5ha
Accuracy: 85%
Local component: Biodiversity: riparian zones

11. GMES-Copernicus riparian areas mapping
Added-value compared to precursor activities in particular the JRC work on riparian zones at EU level
Better resolution data: VHR satellite data and GMES Preparatory action's EU-DEM and EU-HYDRO. More accurate Digital Elevation Model will improve the identification of river network and riparian zone extent
Nomenclature can be improved (Corine LC used for JRC exercise)
Identification of linear elements (green elements, rows of trees, hedgerows, dikes and dams) can also improve information on fragmentation of habitats and river fragmentation

12. Policy relevance
Mapping Riparian areas at EU level relevant to a number of policy areas, e.g.:
POTENTIAL DIRECT INPUT TO MAES
EU Biodiversity strategy TARGET 2: 'Maintain and restore ecosystems and their services'
ACTION 5: "Improve knowledge of ecosystems and their services in the EU: Member States, with the assistance of the Commission, will map and assess the state of ecosystems and their services in their national territory by 2014 (…)"
New activity – little information available on ecosystems and their services
Important to have seamless, harmonised and comparable information accross EU
Also relevant to:
management of river systems (Water framework directive)
flood protection (flood directive)
coastal management
adaptation to climate change
Neighborhood Policy (e.g. Danube River Protection Convention)

13. Relevance of riparian areas for ecosystems mapping
Major eco-system category (level 1)
Ecosystem type for mapping and assessment (level 2)
Benefits of mapping
Problems of mapping
Terrestrial
Urban
Urban areas represent mainly human habitats but they usually include significant areas for synanthropic species
CLC’s coarse resolution that needs to be complemented e.g. by Urban atlas (ca 300 cities) and HRL Imperviousness
Cropland
Main food production areas, intensively managed ecosystems
Habitat classification (e.g. EUNIS) includes permanent crops into Heathland and scrub
Grassland
Areas dominated by grassy vegetation of two kinds – managed pastures and natural (extensively managed) grasslands
Distinction between intensively used and more natural grasslands requires additional datasets (Art. 17)
Woodland and forest
Climax ecosystem type on most of the area supporting many ecosystem services
Missing information on quality and management requires additional datasets (Art. 17, HRL forest)
Heathland and shrub
Mostly secondary ecosystems with unfavourable natural conditions
Mapping the condition of these areas requires combination with Art.17
Sparsely vegetated land
Ecosystems with extreme natural conditions that might support valuable species
Becomes a conglomerate of distinctive rarely occurring ecosystems, often defined by different geographical location
Wetlands
Specific plant and animal communities, water regulation, peat-related processes
Separation from grasslands (temporary inundation) and forests (tree canopy), HRL wetlands
Fresh water
Rivers and lakes
All permanent freshwater surface waters
Underestimation of water courses and small water bodies needs application of external datasets (ECRINS, (HRL Small lakes)
Marine
Estuaries
Transitional waters that are neither river nor sea
Water column and benthic ecosystem now considered together, but might need separate mapping[3].

14. Ecosystem services in riparian areas CICES v4 group
CICES v4 group
Provisioning services
Terrestrial plants and animal for food
Freshwater plants and animal for food
Marine algae and animal for food
Water for human consumption
Water for agricultural use
Water for industrial and energy uses
Biotic materials
Biotic materials (Genetic resources)
Biotic materials (Medicinal and cosmetic resources)
Biotic materials (Ornamental resources)
Biomass based energy
Regulating services (TEEB)
Dilution and sequestration
Bioremediation
Regulating and supporting services (MA)
Water quality regulation
Regulating and maintenance services (CICES)
Water flow regulation
Mass flow regulation (erosion protection)
Atmospheric regulation
Ecosystem services in
riparian areas
Air flow regulation
Pedogenesis and soil quality regulation
Lifecycle maintenance, habitat and gene pool protection (pollination)
Pest and disease control including alien species
Lifecycle maintenance, habitat and gene pool protection
Cultural services
Spiritual
Aesthetic, Heritage
Recreation and community activities
Information and knowledge

15. Source: NEA

16. Source: NEA

17. Involvement of MAES-WG in GMES-Copernicus
Which riparian mapping exercises on national or regional level or on supra-regional water basin level are you aware of and could you use for assessing and mapping riparian area-related ES and ESS? Could you please provide us with web addresses, contacts, methodologies?
Do you see this EU-layer as directly relevant for your work? If not, why not?
MS are normally directly involved in the production of GMES-Copernicus layers (such as CLC) via EIONET. The budget for this layer does not allow a de-centralized production in EU-27; the EC however wishes to guarantee an involvement of potential users (MAES group) who are invited to link themselves to the GMES-Copernicus national coordinator and through EIONET NFP and NRC (eg Land Use)
Do you want to critically contribute to the production of this layer? This could include the involvement in the steering committee for the contract which is currently prepared by the EEA, on the quality of the parts covering their territory, or feedback on usefulness of the proposed methodology and coverage

18. Thank you for your attention