To fully understand and apply LCCS 2, the knowledge of some definitions
used by the system is required.
Land Cover and Land Use
Land cover is the observed (bio)physical cover on the earth’s surface.
In the strict sense, land cover is confined to vegetation and man-made
features; bare rock or bare soils are describing land itself rather
than land cover and it is also disputable whether water surfaces can
be considered real land cover. However, in practice, the scientific
community usually describes those aspects within the term land cover.
Land use is characterized by the arrangements, activities and
inputs people undertake in a certain land cover type to produce,
change or maintain it.
The definition of land use establishes a direct link between land cover
and the actions of people in their environment.
The definition of land cover is fundamental, because in many existing
classifications and legends it is confused with land use. The following
examples are a further illustration of the above definitions: “grassland”
is a cover term, while “rangeland” or “tennis court” refer to the use of
a grass cover; “recreation area” is a land use term that may be
applicable to different land cover types: for instance a beach; a built-up
area like a pleasure park; woodlands; grassland, etc.
