Earth Observation data are regarded as a cost-efficient mens for locating different types of vegetation cover at the ground level. Initiatives for mapping forests are implemented at different levels of detail, scale, using different sources of information and addressing a variety of target groups. Statistical data on forest area and its distribution for different forest classes are traditionally available through the national forest inventory statistics and other national and international forest statistical sources. When comparing satellitederived data for forest area and inventory statistics, discrepancies are in the order of tens of perpent at the country level. Often the accuracy of satellite-based maps varies considerably and in many cases, is not even assessed by the map providers. This study aimed at combining information from both remote sensing and forest inventory statistics in order to improve the knowledge on the distribution of forests in Europe. For each of the EU-15 countries the target was to produce a NOAA-AVHRR-based forest map which corresponds to the official statistics reported for the regional or province level.
585 (Lufterkundung und -vermessung im allgemeinen. Fernerkundung) 587.5 (Anwendung in der Holzmassenermittlung. [Kreuzverweise zu geeigneten Titeln]) 587.6 (Verwendung zu anderen forstlichen Zwecken) 524.6 (Allgemeine Aufnahmen von Wäldern und Waldgebieten. Stichprobenerhebungen. Schätzung) [4] (Europa)
