1. Land accounts at the EEA
Jean-Louis Weber & Ferràn Paramo
3 February 2004

2. LEAC project(s) at the EEA
1.2 Focusing and integrating the system
1.2.1 Land accounts
3.2 Landscape and spatial change assessments
3.2.1 Environmental accounting of land use and ecosystems
3.2.2 Sustainable spatial development of regions of Europe (focus: coastal zones)

3. Land & Ecosystems Accounts (LEAC)
Pilot project run by EEA & ETCTE (UAB & GISAT) with the support of Eurostat;
UN methodology (SEEA)
Applications for European coast and 4 CEE Countries
Implementation for Europe with CLC2000
Land & Ecosystems Accounts (LEAC) is a methodology of the System of Environmental and Economic Accounts (SEEA) published this year by the UN, the European Commission, the IMF, the World Bank and OECD. The ETCTE and the EEA have carried out a test for the implementation of LEAC in Europe on the basis of Corine Land Cover. Two test areas have been chosen, where CLC data at two dates were available:
the European coast (with LaCoast 1975 produce by the JRC)
4 Central & Eastern Europe Countries (Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia and Romania, covered by CLC1975 produced by PHARE/EEA)
Land cover accounts have been produced successfully and will be generalized. Oppositely, the land use accounts which were intended to be tested on the coast (tourism) and the Czech Republic (Forestry) faced some difficulties due to the lack (tourism) or insufficiency (forestry) of data at the local level. The problem with forestry is more a matter of organisation of the database and can be probably solved. The issue of tourism, instead, requests the production (or collection) of new (local) data with new statistical methodologies.

4. Why accounting for Land?
Produce synthetic assessments, keeping track of the geographic differences
Analyse the relation between the changes of land cover and land use, in physical and monetary terms
Land accounts as a starting point for ecosystems accounts
Land and natural resource accounting
Disseminate information at the appropriate scale (for users…)

5. First, avoiding this… Net intensification of land use by Country
Net intensification of land use by Sea Catchments
Net intensification of land use by Biogeographic regions
Net intensification of land use by Watershed

6. and this…
Changes in Tourism intensity, to , by NUTS2

7. Stratification of the territory into accounting units:
LEAC present outcome
Stratification of the territory into accounting units:
Administrative units
Physical, ecological zones
Dominant landscape types
Definition and test of accounting methodology:
Land cover stocks
Land cover changes (from CLCy to CLCz)
Land cover flows (which group changes into processes)
2 Reports and 2 Posters available at the Library of:

8. Integration of data & indicators within accounts
E.g. IRENA 12 & 24 indicators
E.g. Urban sprawl indicator
E.g. Coastal zones assessment
Accounts pre-process (assimilate) and classify (model) data for facilitating further use
Assimilation rules are fully documented and transparent

9. The concept of stock & flow accounts
Gains
Losses

10. From many land cover changes to flows of consumption of cover and formation of cover

11. Nomenclature of Land Cover Flows (Level 1)
LCF1 Urban land management
LCF2 Urban sprawl
LCF3 Extension of economic sites and infrastructures
LCF4 Agricultural rotation and intensification
LCF5 Conversion of land to agriculture
LCF6 Forests creation and management
LCF7 Water body creation and management
LCF8 Changes of land cover due to natural and multiple causes

12. From many land cover units to regions & to landscape types

13. Bio-geographical regions Coastal units Dominant Landscape Types 
Land accounting units
Grids
Administrative Units
River basins
Sea catchments
Bio-geographical regions
Coastal units
Dominant Landscape Types 
The accounts are produced by land accounting units which can be the cells of a grid, administrative units (e.g. NUTS), river basins, sea catchments or bio-geographical regions. A particular attention has been paid to the definition of coastal units and Dominant Landscape Types. It combines:
an analysis of dominant land cover carried out with a smoothing algorithm so-called CORILIS (derived from Lacaze, Grasland et al.) and
- classes of relief based on general definitions (e.g. mountains means > >500 when the average slope is > 2%) and the constraints of the available DTM at GISCO. The distinction is between : low coast, high coast and low inland, which make lowlands (<200m), uplands and mountians.
Dominant Landscape Types Nomenclature
A1 Urban dense areas
A2 Dispersed urban areas
B1 Broad pattern intensive agriculture
B11 Lowland broad pattern intensive agriculture
B111 Low coastal broad pattern intensive agriculture
B112 High coastal broad pattern intensive agriculture
B113 Low inland broad pattern intensive agriculture
B12 Upland broad pattern intensive agriculture
B13 Mountain broad pattern intensive agriculture
B2 Composite rural landscape
B21 Lowland composite rural landscape
B211 Low coastal composite rural landscape
B212 High coastal composite rural landscape
B213 Low inland composite rural landscape
B22 Upland composite rural landscape
B23 Mountain composite rural landscape
C1 Forested landscape
C11 Lowland forested landscape
C111 Low coastal forested landscape
C112 High coastal forested landscape
C113 Low inland coastal forested landscape
C12 Upland forested landscape
C13 Mountain forested landscape
C2 Open semi-natural or natural landscape
C21 Lowland open semi-natural or natural landscape
C211 Low open semi-natural or natural landscape
C212 High open semi-natural or natural landscape
C213 Low inland open semi-natural or natural landscape
C22 Upland open semi-natural or natural landscape
C23 Mountain open semi-natural or natural landscape
C3 Landscape with no dominant land cover character
C31 Lowland with no dominant land cover character
C311 Low landscape with no dominant land cover character
C312 High landscape with no dominant land cover character
C313 Low inland landscape with no dominant land cover character
C32 Upland with no dominant land cover character
C33 Mountain with no dominant land cover character

14. CORINE Land Cover Standard Classification

15. CORILIS intensity themes – 4 CEEC

16. CORILIS Intensity « semi-natural »

17. Coastal strip

18. Relief classes used in LEAC

19. Dominant Landscape Types level 1

20. Dominant Landscape Types level 2

21. Dominant Rural Landscape

22. Classification of Dominant Landscape Types
A1 Urban dense areas
A2 Dispersed urban areas
B1 Broad pattern intensive agriculture
B11 Lowland broad pattern intensive agriculture
B111 Low coastal broad pattern intensive agriculture
B112 High coastal broad pattern intensive agriculture
B113 Low inland broad pattern intensive agriculture
B12 Upland broad pattern intensive agriculture
B13 Mountain broad pattern intensive agriculture
B2 Composite rural landscape
B21 Lowland composite rural landscape
B211 Low coastal composite rural landscape
B212 High coastal composite rural landscape
B213 Low inland composite rural landscape
B22 Upland composite rural landscape
B23 Mountain composite rural landscape
C1 Forested landscape
C11 Lowland forested landscape
C111 Low coastal forested landscape
C112 High coastal forested landscape
C113 Low inland coastal forested landscape
C12 Upland forested landscape
C13 Mountain forested landscape
C2 Open semi-natural or natural landscape
C21 Lowland open semi-natural or natural landscape
C211 Low open semi-natural or natural landscape
C212 High open semi-natural or natural landscape
C213 Low inland open semi-natural or natural landscape
C22 Upland open semi-natural or natural landscape
C23 Mountain open semi-natural or natural landscape
C3 Landscape with no dominant land cover character
C31 Lowland with no dominant land cover character
C311 Low landscape with no dominant land cover character
C312 High landscape with no dominant land cover character
C313 Low inland landscape with no dominant land cover character
C32 Upland with no dominant land cover character
C33 Mountain with no dominant land cover character

23. Account of Land Cover Flows of the European Coast
This table is an extremely simplified account established for the whole European coast (as covered by CLC & LaCoast). Consumption of land cover and Formation of land cover are computed separately from CLC data. Even though simplified, the picture is quite interesting and shows a loss of ecosystems potentials generated by the use of land: 26 types of land cover (green) are used for the formation of 10 types of new land cover (orange). At this level of aggregation, the only reverse flow is farmland abandonment.
This type of account can be detailed by any geographical breakdown (e.g. countries, NUTS3, sea catchments or river basins, dominant landscape types. The land cover types can be detailled as far as CLC level 3 (44 types) and the nomenclature of land cover flows can as well be detailed in 37 individual flows..
Detailed Nomenclature of Land Cover Flows
LCF1 Urban land management
LCF11 Urban development/ infilling
LCF12 Developed land recycling
LCF13 Development of green urban areas
LCF2 Urban sprawl
LCF21 Urban continuous sprawl
LCF22 Urban diffuse sprawl
LCF3 Extension of economic sites and infrastructures
LCF31 Extension of industrial & commercial sites
LCF32 Extension of transport networks
LCF33 Extension of harbours
LCF34 Extension of airports
LCF35 Extension of mines and quarrying areas
LCF36 Extension of dumpsites
LCF37 Construction
LCF38 Extension of sport and leisure facilities
LCF4 Agricultural rotation and intensification
LCF41 Recent extension of pasture, fallow land, set aside
LCF42 Planting of vineyards, fruit and olive trees over arable & pasture
LCF43 Rotation of annual crops
LCF44 Rotation of permanent crops
LCF45 Intensification of agriculture
LCF5 Conversion of land to agriculture
LCF51 Intensive conversion of forest to agriculture
LCF52 Intensive conversion of marginal land to agriculture
LCF53 Diffuse conversion of forest to agriculture
LCF54 Diffuse conversion of marginal land to agriculture
LCF55 Conversion of wetlands to agriculture
LCF56 Conversion of developed areas to agriculture
LCF6 Forests creation and management
LCF61 Forests creation
LCF62 Forests rotation
LCF63 Recent felling and transition
LCF7 Water body creation and management
LCF71 Water body creation
LCF72 Water body management
LCF8 Changes of land cover due to natural and multiple causes
LCF81 Semi-natural rotation
LCF82 Farmland abandonment without significant woodland creation
LCF83 Farmland abandonment with woodland creation
LCF84 Other land abandonment (other than farmland)
LCF85 Forests and shrubs fires
LCF86 Coastal erosion
LCF87 Impacts of storms, floods…
LCF89 Other changes and unknown
COMMENT: Loss of ecosystems potentials generated by the use of land
26 types of land cover (green) are used for the formation of 10 types of new land cover (orange). At this level of aggregation, the only reverse flow is farmland abandonment.
(NB: only changes > 1000 ha are considered)

24. Main land cover flows on European coast, 1975-1990
The major trends on European coasts as a whole are urban sprawl, agriculture intensification and extension and, oppositely, farmland abandonment and extension of pasture, fallow land and set aside. A regional analysis shows contrast between regions where one or the other process is dominant. However, the 3 may co-exist when urban sprawl pushes farmers to cultivate marginal land. These lands are generally not those which are abandoned at the same time (as shown on next slide). An additional effect of CAP subsidies could be investigated in this respect.

25. Land Accounting Units/ Coastal Units

26. Trends in marginal land on European coast, 1975-90, ha
The 2 processes of farmland abandonment and conversion of marginal land to agriculture take place on the coast. When analysed by landscape types, the phenomenon is observed mainly in the less intensive types. We can note that conversion to agriculture is important in composite areas (C3 and B2) as it could be expected but, as well, in open natural landscapes, which is more surprising.
(The colours that overlay the legend correspond to the landscape types of the coastal units on the map)

27. Urban extension compared to Farmland (Net Change), European coast, 1975-1990, hectares

28. (a) Urban sprawl + Extension of infrastructures, European coast, 1975-1990, NUTS3

29. (b) Intensification of Agriculture + Conversion of land to Agriculture, European coast, , NUTS3

30. (c) Farmland abandonment, European coast, 1975-1990, NUTS3

31. Objectives for 2004
Production of LEAC with new data for validating the model
Development of a protocol for producing accounts with CLC2000 on a continuous basis
Development of the first applications required
Development of a query tool for extracting accounts tables, indicators and maps

32. Production of LEAC with new data for validating the model
CLC2000
Km² grid
Validated set of land units
Updated nomenclatures
Solve methodological issues such as the inconsistency of dates

33. Use of CLC2000 data as soon as they are available
Development of a protocol for producing accounts with CLC2000 on a continuous basis
Use of CLC2000 data as soon as they are available
Tackle the issue of successive versions
Return results to countries (e.g. such as regional profiles)
Supply accounts for other projects (EEA, ETCTE, ETCNBP…)

34. Development of the first applications required
ETCTE technical annex products (incl. IRENA 12 & 24…)
SOER 2005 sub-reports 1 (Households) and 5 (Biodiversity)
Input to ecosystem accounts
EEA anniversary ?

35. Development of a query tool for extracting accounts tables, indicators and maps
Let the users choose between the millions of possible indicators at their relevant scale (incl. the surroundings of their backyards…) – on the web
Introduce more flexibility in EEA’s assessments and indicators when they relate to land