This is a cropped DTM version (with Frame2c) for providing topographic backgrouds on EEA maps. This is a hillshade of global digital elevation model (DEM) with a horizontal grid spacing of 30 arc seconds (approximately 1 kilometer).

Soil erosion is a natural process, occurring over geological time, and indeed it is a process that is essential for soil formation in the first place. With respect to soil degradation, most concerns about erosion are related to accelerated erosion, where the natural rate has been significantly increased mostly by human activity. Soil erosion by water is a widespread problem throughout Europe. PESERA (Pan European Soil Erosion Risk Assessment) has been created in order to design a model and to handle spatial and temporal data of variable quality and detail and to enable the impacts of agricultural policy, land use and climate changes to be assessed and monitored across Europe. The Pan-European Soil Erosion Risk Assessment - PESERA - uses a process-based and spatially distributed model to quantify soil erosion by water and assess its risk across Europe. This metadata record is adapted from the orginal one received from JRC.