FVA Foreststocking

The forest cover was developed together with the tree and forest cover, therefore all three topics are described below. The tree cover identifies individual trees inside and outside the forest. Single trees are detected using the combination of aerial or satellite images and the normalised surface model (NDSM). The minimum height of tree cover is 3 m. The data set has been classified in elevation classes 3-5 m, 5-8 m and > 8 m. Outside the forest, the data set shows guidelines and structures for the movement and migration of species. Based on the identified individual trees, the forest stocking is created according to parameters of the German forest definition (Bundeswaldinventur III): — Crown closing degree > 50 % — Minimum width: 10 m — Minimum size: 0.1 ha The forest cover serves to identify covered areas.The minimum height for covered areas of the forest cover is 5 m. The forest cover was developed as an ecological forest mask and closes individual gaps within forest areas. The forest cover was calculated from the forest stocking, with all gaps within the lands designated as forest holdings of the Land Forest Administration closed. The result is a generalised, ecological forest mask that includes as far as possible all forest areas — including storm surfaces and gaps. Through time series of tree cover, forest stocking and forest cover, forest dynamics as well as the shift of land use classes can be observed. The forest stocking is calculated from aerial images of flyers over the last 3 years and updated annually.