HLANDATA: Land Cover and Land Use data for real users

The HLANDATA project ("Creation of value-added services based on Harmonized Land Use and Land Cover Datasets") aims to demonstrate the feasible European level harmonization of the Land Use and Land Cover datasets for all possible uses and users, through the development of user oriented value-added services.
Main objectives of the projects are:
- Assessment of the relevant information related to the harmonization of the Land Use and Land Cover (Previous harmonization initiatives and related results; Types of users and users’ real needs)
- Harmonization proposal of the Land Use and Land Cover datasets.
- Development and optimization of common data sharing infrastructure based on web services.
- Implementation of 3 different pilot projects providing value-added service to end users
- Validation of the project results by the target users.
- Creation of an experts’ network composed of producers and users of this information.

Three pilot projects have been developed:
Pilot 1: LC/LU Data Analysis System for intermediate-level users.
It's main objective is to develop a system allowing advanced analysis and exploitation of the harmonized Land Use and Land Cover data
Pilot 2: National Land information systems
Pilot 2.1. This Pilot project in the Czech Republic aims to implement a national land information system based on integration of harmonized European, national and regional sources of data relevant to land cover and land use ‘Themes’.
Pilot 2.2. Prototype of Statistical Land Accounting System (Lithuanian/Latvian).
This pilot is using mostly the standard CORINE LC 2000 and 2006 databases. However, to fully satisfy the requirements of target users, project team have developed and produced a “new generation” very high resolution land cover database for the selected pilot area on the basis of RapidEye satellite images. Compared to the CORINE LC specification, it has a limited number of land cover classes which were specifically requested based on the requirements of institutional users.
Pilot 3: Stratification of waste dumps
The main aim of this Pilot is the development and implementation of interactive web map application focused on stratification of waste dumps in Slovakia, allowing visualization, overlay and integration of different information from different sources based on harmonized data sets related to land cover and land use themes.

In the frame of HLANDATA project value-added services for the spatial and temporal analysis in the different pilots have been created, integrating open source developments and own developed software. Services are freely accessible through the web and providing assess the different existing solutions but also guaranteeing the use of standard services (Web Map Services – WMS, Web Processing Services – WPS, Web Features Services – WFS).
Also HLANDATA provides access to the services of the developed pilots in the context of the project through a common Geo-gateway which put together the project information with the access to its all achieved results.
HLANDATA is strongly user-oriented project, which integrates deep analysis of user requirements; collection of existing LC and LU datasets of local, national and European levels, produces at different scales, by different methods and from various sources of information; development of classification and semi-automatic workflow to produce very high resolution LC data for a pilot area from RapidEye satellite images; harmonization of all the datasets, following the INSPIRE European Directive (Land Use and Land Cover themes are included in its annexes II and III); development of high-technological value-added GIS services through the web-pages and Geoportal.
Project is co-funded by EU in the frame of ICT Policy Support Programme (ICT PSP).