This dataset is the coastal zone land surface region from Europe, derived from the coastline towards inland, as a series of 10 consecutive buffers of 1km width each. The coastline is defined by the extent of the Corine Land Cover 2018 (raster 100m) version 20 accounting layer. In this version all Corine Land Cover pixels with a value of 523, corresponding to sea and oceans, were considered as non-land surface and thus were excluded from the buffer zone.

CORINE Land Cover (CLC) data are produced from 1986 for European countries. Altogether four mapping inventories were implemented in this period, producing four status layers (CLC1990, CLC2000, CLC2006, CLC2012) and three CLC-change (CLCC) layers for three periods (1990-2000, 2000-2006, 2006-2012). To eliminate several inconsistencies from the usage of 100m raster version of original CLC data in the accounting systems at EEA, like Land and Ecosystem Accounting (LEAC), which uses a 1km grid (CUBE) base for calculation, a harmonization method were elaborated for the CLC and CLCC data. The applied solution for the harmonization combines CLC status and change layers in the 100m raster form in order to create homogeneous quality time series of CLC / CLC-change layers for accounting purposes. The so called "CLC accounting layers" fulfilling the relation: CLC-change = Modified CLC_ new status – Modified CLC old status. The modification method maximizes compatibility of “backdated” CLC status layers with CLC2012 and each other. However this simple solution causes several issues to be solved: (1) Modified CLC layers loose statistical comparability with original CLC layers, because of increased geometry; smaller than 25ha MMU features will appear locally where changes appear. In case of some CLC classes this causes significant differences. (2) “Fake features” are appearing in the backdated CLC status layers due to inconsistencies between CLC-change datasets. CLC2000 was the second CORINE Land Cover inventory and lasted for four years. Results of CLC1990 were improved and mapping CLC-Changes were tested. Computer Assisted Photo-Interpretation (CAPI) has become a commonplace. Number of participants has increased. CLC2000 was replaced by CLC2000_revised, if the country has produced this during the implementation of CLC2006 and delivered to EEA. If the CLC2000_revised layer did not exist for the country, the original CLC2000 was used in the final European mosaic.

CORINE Land Cover (CLC) data are produced from 1986 for European countries. Altogether four mapping inventories were implemented in this period, producing four status layers (CLC1990, CLC2000, CLC2006, CLC2012) and three CLC-change (CLCC) layers for three periods (1990-2000, 2000-2006, 2006-2012). To eliminate several inconsistencies from the usage of 100m raster version of original CLC data in the accounting systems at EEA, like Land and Ecosystem Accounting (LEAC), which uses a 1km grid (CUBE) base for calculation, a harmonization method were elaborated for the CLC and CLCC data. The applied solution for the harmonization combines CLC status and change layers in the 100m raster form in order to create homogeneous quality time series of CLC / CLC-change layers for accounting purposes. The so called "CLC accounting layers" fulfilling the relation: CLC-change = Modified CLC_ new status – Modified CLC old status. The modification method maximizes compatibility of “backdated” CLC status layers with CLC2012 and each other. However this simple solution causes several issues to be solved: (1) Modified CLC layers loose statistical comparability with original CLC layers, because of increased geometry; smaller than 25ha MMU features will appear locally where changes appear. In case of some CLC classes this causes significant differences. (2) “Fake features” are appearing in the backdated CLC status layers due to inconsistencies between CLC-change datasets. CLC2012 is the fourth CORINE Land Cover inventory and took three years to finalize. A dual coverage of satellite images were used. Computer Assisted Photo-Interpretation (CAPI) was the dominating mapping technology. The number of countries using advanced (bottom-up) solutions has slightly increased. All of the EEA39 countries have participated within the official lifetime of the project.

CORINE Land Cover (CLC) data are produced from 1986 for European countries. Altogether four mapping inventories were implemented in this period, producing four status layers (CLC1990, CLC2000, CLC2006, CLC2012) and three CLC-change (CLCC) layers for three periods (1990-2000, 2000-2006, 2006-2012). To eliminate several inconsistencies from the usage of 100m raster version of original CLC data in the accounting systems at EEA, like Land and Ecosystem Accounting (LEAC), which uses a 1km grid (CUBE) base for calculation, a harmonization method were elaborated for the CLC and CLCC data. The applied solution for the harmonization combines CLC status and change layers in the 100m raster form in order to create homogeneous quality time series of CLC / CLC-change layers for accounting purposes. The so called "CLC accounting layers" fulfilling the relation: CLC-change = Modified CLC_ new status – Modified CLC old status. The modification method maximizes compatibility of “backdated” CLC status layers with CLC2012 and each other. However this simple solution causes several issues to be solved: (1) Modified CLC layers loose statistical comparability with original CLC layers, because of increased geometry; smaller than 25ha MMU features will appear locally where changes appear. In case of some CLC classes this causes significant differences. (2) “Fake features” are appearing in the backdated CLC status layers due to inconsistencies between CLC-change datasets. CLC2006 was the third CORINE Land Cover inventory and needed three years to be accomplished. Instead of a single imagery, a dual coverage of satellite images were used. The methodology of mapping changes was consolidated. Dominating mapping technology was the Computer Assisted Photo-Interpretation (CAPI). Advanced (less human work intensive) solutions appeared in some countries. All but one of the EEA39 countries have participated within the official lifetime of the project. Greece accomplished CLC2006 later, at the time of the CLC2012. CLC2006 was replaced by CLC2006_revised, if the country has produced this during the implementation of CLC2012 and delivered to EEA. If the CLC2006_revised layer did not exist for the country, the original CLC2006 was used in the final European mosaic.

The main high resolution grassland product is the Grassland layer, a grassland/non-grassland mask for the EEA39 area. This grassy and non-woody vegetation baseline product includes all kinds of grasslands: managed grassland, semi-natural grassland and natural grassy vegetation. It is a binary status layer mapping grassland and all non-grassland areas in 20m and (aggregated) 100m pixel size. Two additional (expert) products complete the high resolution grassland product: the Ploughing Indicator (PLOUGH) and the Grassland Vegetation Probability Index (GRAVPI). While the PLOUGH concentrates on historic land cover features with the aim to indicate ploughing activities in preceding years, the GRAVPI provides a measure of classification reliability. GRAVPI is a 20m pixel size product, mapping on a range of 1-100 the class probability. PLOUGH is a 20m pixel size additional product, mapping from 1-6 the number of years since the last indication of ploughing. The production of the high resolution grassland layers was coordinated by the European Environment Agency (EEA) in the frame of the EU Copernicus programme.

The main high resolution grassland product is the Grassland layer, a grassland/non-grassland mask for the EEA39. This grassy and non-woody vegetation baseline product includes all kinds of grasslands: managed grassland, semi-natural grassland and natural grassy vegetation. It is a binary status layer for the 2015 reference year mapping grassland and all non-grassland areas in 20m and (aggregated) 100m pixel size and for the 2018 reference year - in 10m and (aggregated) 100m pixel size. The production of the high resolution grassland layers was coordinated by the European Environment Agency (EEA) in the frame of the EU Copernicus programme.

This raster dataset presents the ecosystem wetlands extent in 2012 in Europe. It includes 20 wetland classes which, besides inland and coastal wetlands, includes transitional ecosystems corresponding to wetlands such as riparian forests, wet grasslands, estuaries, or rice fields. A great diversity of wetlands exists making the definition of a wetland ecosystem both challenging and controversial. The development of an extended wetland ecosystem layer is an explicit policy request in Europe which builds on an ecosystem-based justification of an inclusive definition, delimitation and delineation of wetlands, looking at the “hydro-ecological” boundaries of this ecosystem (including their wetness and flow characteristics).

The main high resolution grassland product is the Grassland layer, a grassland/non-grassland mask for the EEA39. This grassy and non-woody vegetation baseline product includes all kinds of grasslands: managed grassland, semi-natural grassland and natural grassy vegetation. It is a binary status layer for the 2015 reference year mapping grassland and all non-grassland areas in 20m and (aggregated) 100m pixel size and for the 2018 reference year - in 10m and (aggregated) 100m pixel size. The production of the high resolution grassland layers was coordinated by the European Environment Agency (EEA) in the frame of the EU Copernicus programme.

The high resolution imperviousness products capture the percentage and change of soil sealing. Built-up areas are characterized by the substitution of the original (semi-) natural land cover or water surface with an artificial, often impervious cover. These artificial surfaces are usually maintained over long periods of time. A series of high resolution imperviousness datasets (for the 2006, 2009, 2012, 2015 and 2018 reference years) with all artificially sealed areas was produced using automatic derivation based on calibrated Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI). This series of imperviousness layers constitutes the main status layers. They are per-pixel estimates of impermeable cover of soil (soil sealing) and are mapped as the degree of imperviousness (0-100%). Imperviousness change layers were produced as a difference between the reference years (2006-2009, 2009-2012, 2012-2015, 2015-2018 and additionally 2006-2012, to fully match the CORINE Land Cover production cycle) and are presented 1) as degree of imperviousness change (-100% -- +100%), in 20m and 100m pixel size, and 2) a classified (categorical) 20m change product.

The High Resolution Layer (HRL) Grassland 2018 raster product provides a basic land cover classification with 2 thematic classes (grassland / non-grassland) at 10m spatial resolution, covering the EEA38 area and the United Kingdom. The production of the High Resolution grassland layers was coordinated by the European Environment Agency (EEA) in the frame of the EU Copernicus programme. This is the main High Resolution grassland product. This grassy and non-woody vegetation baseline product includes all kinds of grasslands: managed grassland, semi-natural grassland and natural grassy vegetation. It is a binary status layer for the 2015 reference year mapping grassland and all non-grassland areas in 20m and (aggregated) 100m pixel size and, for the 2018 reference year, in 10m and (aggregated) 100m pixel size. The dataset for this product is provided as 10 meter rasters in 100 x 100 km tiles (fully conformant with EEA reference grid) grouped according to the EEA38 countries and the United Kingdom.