Forest and natural areas cover 64.7% of Catalonia, while agricultural and urban land gains ground, between 2009 and 2022 | icgc

Forest and natural areas cover 64.7% of Catalonia, while agricultural and urban land gains ground, between 2009 and 2022

25/02/2025 13:00
  • Forest and natural areas cover 64.7% of Catalonia, while agricultural and urban land gains ground, between 2009 and 2022.
  • The Land Cover Map, a key tool for analyzing territorial changes and human impact in Catalonia.

The ICGC has updated the Land Cover Map of Catalonia (MCSC) in which it is seen that nearly 9% of Catalonia's land has changed its type of cover between 2009 and 2022.

The MCSC identifies 41 thematic categories with a spatial resolution of one meter and provides a detailed representation of urbanized, agricultural, forest and water bodies. Its preparation has combined the photointerpretation of the ICGC orthophotos with several additional sources, such as satellite images, the SIGPAC viewer of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, the 1:5,000 Topographic Base and data on forest fires, among others.

According to the latest update of the Land Cover Map (2022), forest and natural areas continue to be predominant in Catalonia, occupying 64.7% of the territory. This proportion has remained relatively stable compared to 2009, when it represented 64.9% of the Catalan territory. Agricultural areas have experienced a slight increase, going from 28.6% to 28.8% of the land. Urbanized areas and water bodies have remained at 5.8% and 0.7% respectively.

 

Distribution of the territory by use and years

Distribution of the territory by use and years

 

L’anàlisi de l’extensió en hectàrees de les 41 categories temàtiques del mapa evidencia un descens significatiu en els boscos densos d’aciculifolis, que inclouen espècies com pins, avets i cedres. També es registra una reducció en els conreus en transformació, en altres conreus llenyosos i en les zones de transformació dels nuclis urbans. En canvi, pels efectes del canvi climàtic, augmenten en superfície els conreus herbacis, els prats i herbassars i els boscos clars d’aciculifolis. També es detecta un increment en les zones destinades a activitats industrials, comercials i de serveis.

 

Bar chart of extension variations by category (2009-2022)

Extension variations by category (2009-2022).

 

Enllaç al visor: https://visors.icgc.cat/mapa-cobertes-catalunya/.

Més informació: https://govern.cat/salapremsa/notes-premsa/683783/prop-del-9-percent-del-sol-catalunya-ha-canviat-tipus-coberta-2009-2022.