Period: 1990, 2000, 2006, 2012

Sensor: 1990 – Landsat 5 (MSS/TM) single date

2000 – Landsat 7 ETM (single date)

2006 – SPOT 4/5, IRS P6 LISS III (dual date)

2012 – IRS P6 LISS III, RapidEye (dual date)

Resolutions: 100 and 250m

Extent: Pan-European

Data can be accessed here.

Algorithm description: The product development is joint initiative by European countries. National level maps are produced by individual countries using satellite images as well as national level survey database. Either visual or automated image interpretation is done for classification. CORINE classification system is used. National level maps are then integrated at European level.

Accuracy: Very limited information is available for entire Europe level accuracy assessment. National level statistics is available for some countries. For example, Caetano et al (2006) report overall good accuracy (~82%) for 2000 map in Portugal. Hagner et al (2005) report 80% overall accuracy for four forest classes in Sweden for CLC2000.

Limitations:

  • Coarser system of classification than FAO LCCS.
  • Evaluation has not been done for entire Europe.

Reference:

Caetano, M., Mata, F. & Freire, S. Accuracy assessment of the Portuguese CORINE Land Cover map. in Global Developments in Environmental Earth Observation from Space 10 (Millipress, 2006).

Hagner, O., Nilsson, M., Reese, H., Egberth, M. & Olsson, H. Procedure for classification of forests for CORINE land cover in Sweden. in New Strategies for European Remote Sensing 8 (Millipress, 2005)