On the GeoServer you can find the Ecosytem Basemap, a collection of map layers that describe environmental characteristics of an area. We retrieve the layers within the Area of Interest (AoI) that your organisation has provided. Please be aware that the Ecosystem Basemap requires authorisation.
In Table 1 you can find the data sources from which we have collected the currently available map layers in the Ecosystem Basemap. For each data source we included the spatial and temporal resolution and the coverage. Note that though new Sentinel 2 imagery is available every five days, we update the Ecosystem Basemap on a monthly basis to mitigate the effects of cloud cover.
Data type | Source | Spatial Resolution | Temporal Resolution | Coverage |
DEM | Copernicus | 30 m | Static | Global |
Sentinel 2 | Copernicus | 10,20 and 60 m | Every 5 days | Global |
LIDAR | GEDI | 1 km | Yearly | Global |
European Reference Grid | EEA | 1, 10 and 100 km | Static | Europe |
TABLE 1: Characteristics of the data sources in the Ecosystem Basemap, currently available
In table 2 you can find all the individual map layers that we have created from each data source and a detailed description of its contents. For a quick visualisation of the map layers you can visit GeoServer and have a look at the layer preview. There you can also download the data or get the URL for retrieving the layers in a geospatial software such as QGIS. As a standard, all layers are stored in WGS84 coordinate reference system (CRS).
Data type | Layer | Description |
DEM | DEM | Elevation of the terrain in metres |
Slope | Rate of change in elevation of the terrain in degrees |
Aspect | The compass direction that a topographic slope faces |
Sentinel 2 | Band 1 | Visible spectrum for aerosol detection |
Band 2 | Visible spectrum blue |
Band 3 | Visible spectrum green |
Band 4 | Visible spectrum red |
Band 5 | Vegetation red edge |
Band 6 | Vegetation red edge |
Band 7 | Vegetation red edge |
Band 8 | Near Infrared (NIR) |
Band 8A | Vegetation red edge |
Band 9 | For water vapour detection |
Band 10 | Shortwave Infrared (SWIR) for cirrus cloud detection |
Band 11 | Shortwave Infrared (SWIR) |
Band 12 | Shortwave Infrared (SWIR) |
NDVI | A vegetation index measuring the density of green vegetation within a pixel, calculated by (Band 8 - Band 4)(Band 8 + Band 4) |
NDMI | A vegetation index measuring the water content of vegetation, calculated by (Band 8A - Band 11)(Band 8A + Band 11) |
OSAVI | A vegetation index adjusted for soil characteristics, calculated by (Band 8 - Band 4)(Band 8 + Band 4 + 0.16) |
LIDAR | DEM | Elevation of the terrain in metres |
Canopy Height | Height of the vegetation in metres |
Canopy Cover | Percentage of the pixel covered by vegetation |
Foliage Height Diversity (FHD) | Reflects the number of canopy layers and the evenness of the distribution of plant material among them in the vertical profile of the vegetation |
Plant Area Index (PAI) | The plant area per unit ground surface area |
Canopy Gap Probability | The probability of a ray of light passing unobstructed through the canopy, value range between 0 and 1 |
TABLE 2: Description of the layers in the Ecosystem Basemap, currently available
