Wigger Tims
Expert Nature & Landscape
Landscape Element Data. Every hedge. Every ditch. In sight.
A complete, uniform national register of green and blue landscape elements. Ready for biodiversity monitoring, policy compliance and ecological network analysis.
What we monitor
We detect, classify and monitor every individual green and blue landscape element across the Netherlands. From solitary trees, hedgerows and woodland banks to ditches, reed zones and marshland. Using a combination of aerial photography, satellite imagery, AHN elevation data and open public sources, we map both the presence and the characteristics of each element at five levels of detail: category, main group, shape, class and type. Change monitoring runs continuously, enabling us to track gain and loss of landscape elements over time against a historical baseline dating back to 2014.
Methodology & Technology
We combine AHN elevation data, high-resolution aerial photography, Sentinel satellite imagery, BGT topographic data, provincial nature management plans and regional open datasets as input sources, processed through automated remote sensing algorithms and AI-driven object detection. Every entry is timestamped and linked to its source, with deviations automatically flagged and manually validated by domain experts before delivery. The open data layer is updated at minimum once per year; Hoedster members receive two to four updates per year, with the option to enrich the national dataset with their own locally verified data. Historical data is available from 2014, enabling more than ten years of trend analysis.
Examples of what we detect
The top-level classification distinguishes between green elements. Woody and herbaceous vegetation and blue elements, water-related features. This division determines which monitoring frameworks, subsidy schemes and ecological scoring methodologies apply to each element.
The main group classifies each element within its category: woody vegetation such as hedges, tree rows and woodland edges; herbaceous vegetation such as herb-rich verges and field margins; unpaved roads such as hollow ways; or water features such as ditches and reed zones. Each main group carries distinct ecological value weighting and management implications.
Shape describes the geometric form of an element. Whether it is a linear structure such as a ditch or hedgerow, an area feature such as a woodland patch or reed bed, or a point feature such as a solitary tree. Shape is the spatial foundation for all length, area and density calculations used in policy reporting.
Class provides a specific description of the element within its main group. For example, distinguishing between a waterway and a pond, or between a tree line and a woodland edge. Class is the level at which most ecological assessments, subsidy eligibility checks and monitoring targets are defined.
Type is the most detailed classification level, distinguishing for example between a stream and a drainage ditch, or between a coppice woodland and a managed hedgerow. It is used where precise ecological characterisation is required, such as in species habitat modelling or conservation management planning.
Geometry records the spatial footprint of each element, enabling calculation of total length, surface area or point count per spatial unit. Size is the primary metric for reporting under the Forest Strategy, Common Agricultural Policy and Green-Blue Network obligations.
Each element carries metadata recording which source it was derived from and its associated confidence level. This transparency allows users to assess fitness for purpose per element. Essential for policy-graded reporting where data provenance must be auditable.
The change signal indicates whether a landscape element has appeared, disappeared or changed in extent since the previous measurement cycle. It is the core metric for tracking biodiversity targets, no-net-loss obligations and the effectiveness of landscape restoration programmes over time.
Output & integration
Landscape element data is available as open data via download, through an online interactive viewer for map-based exploration and analysis, and via a full-access data layer that includes enriched classifications and higher update frequencies. The dataset is compatible with GIS environments including QGIS and ArcGIS, and with BI tools for reporting workflows. It combines directly with tree data for woodland and canopy analysis, with water data for blue network connectivity and water balance modelling, with impervious surface data for ecological potential scoring, and with parcel data for ownership and subsidy administration contexts. Organisations can contribute their own locally verified data to be integrated into the national enriched layer.
Connected Intelligence
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We work with organisations that have specific, complex or non-standard data needs and we like it that way. Tell us what you’re looking for.
Explore our landscape elements data and it’s possibilities.
Wigger Tims
Expert Nature & Landscape
