The Ecosystem Basemap, available on the GeoServer, is a collection of map layers that describe the environmental characteristics of a given area. We extract the layers within the Area of Interest (AoI) provided by your organisation. Please note that access to the Ecosystem Basemap requires authorisation.
Table 1 summarises the data sources used to compile the currently available map layers in the Ecosystem Basemap. For each source, we provide information on spatial and temporal resolution, as well as coverage. Although new Sentinel-2 imagery is available every five days, the Ecosystem Basemap is updated on a monthly basis to reduce the impact 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. Key characteristics of data sources in the currently available Ecosystem Basemap
Table 2 lists all individual map layers derived from each data source, along with detailed descriptions of their contents. For a quick visualisation, you can preview the layers directly on GeoServer. From there, you can also download the data or obtain URLs to access the layers in geospatial software such as QGIS. All layers are standardised in the 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 currently available layers in the Ecosystem Basemap
