Abstract
A draft Standard International Classification (SIC) of land use has been proposed and adopted by the Conference of European Statisticians. The classification scheme has been critically assessed for its suitability for application to different forms of land use survey in the United Kingdom, and also for its compatibility with land cover categories derived from data acquired by remote sensing techniques. At the most general level there is a high degree of agreement with the categories proposed in the USGS classification for use with remote sensor data. In the context of British requirements, the most suitable portion of the SIC appears to be in the classification of ‘forest and other wooded land’. An alternative classification of ‘agricultural land’ is offered which is better suited to the needs of the UK agricultural census. The SIC treatment of ‘natural terrain’ is criticised for being out of step with current ecological practice, especially in the treatment of ‘wetlands’. It is suggested that the SIC should be open to modification in the light of its application in the next few years, especially with the likelihood of more widespread adoption for land cover mapping of high resolution satellite data.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.