Water coverage is an indicator of the presence of water bodies and their extent within the study area. It measures the percentage of surface occupied by inland waters (lakes, rivers, ponds, wetlands) and marine waters relative to the total polygon area. This indicator is fundamental for assessing water availability, aquatic habitat diversity, and the overall ecological quality of the area.
Water bodies represent ecosystems of primary importance for biodiversity: they host approximately 10% of known species while covering less than 1% of the Earth's surface (Dudgeon et al., 2006). Monitoring their distribution and extent is essential for conservation planning and assessing hydrological ecosystem services.
Water coverage represents the percentage of water bodies relative to the total polygon area. The calculation follows these steps:
-2005): lakes, rivers, canals, wetlands and continental water bodies-2006): sea surfaces, estuaries and coastal watersnaa_water) contributing to the water componentwater_coverage) and NAA water percentage (naa_water)Unit: percentage (%)
| Code | Name | Provider | Resolution | Availability |
|---|---|---|---|---|
WRD_ESWCV_99 | ESA World Cover | ESA / Vito | 10 m | 2020 — present |
WRD_IMPBS_99 | Impact Observatory | Impact Observatory | 10 m | 2017 — present |
WRD_S2SCL_99 | Sentinel-2 SCL | ESA/Copernicus | 20 m | 2017 — present |
WRD_GDYXX_99 | Google Dynamic World | 10 m | continuous | |
WRD_OSMRD_99 | OSM Roads | OpenStreetMap Foundation | vector | continuous |
WRD_CLCBK_99 | CLC Backbone | EEA | 100 m | 2018 |
WRD_CRINE_99 | Corine Land Cover | EEA | 100 m | 1990 — 2018 |
WRD_DOMLT_99 | Dominant Leaf Type | Copernicus Land | 100 m | 2015 — present |
WRD_EUCRP_99 | European Crop Map | JRC | 10 m | 2018 — present |
| Indicator | Unit | Range | Inverted |
|---|---|---|---|
water_coverage | % | [0, 20, 40, 60, 80, 100] | No |
naa_water | % | [0, 10, 20, 40, 60, 100] | No |
Inverted = No: a higher value indicates a greater presence of water bodies, considered positive for biodiversity and ecosystem services.
| Level | water_coverage | naa_water | Interpretation |
|---|---|---|---|
| E | 0 – 20 % | 0 – 10 % | Negligible water presence |
| D | 20 – 40 % | 10 – 20 % | Low water presence |
| C | 40 – 60 % | 20 – 40 % | Moderate water presence |
| B | 60 – 80 % | 40 – 60 % | High water presence |
| A | 80 – 100 % | 60 – 100 % | Excellent water presence |
-2005) and "Marine Water" (-2006) are consideredwater_coverage
(%)naa_water
(%)Water coverage represents the percentage of water bodies relative to the total polygon area. Considers "Inland Water" (taxa -2005: lakes, rivers, canals, wetlands) and "Marine Water" (taxa -2006) classes from the composite CLC layer. Requires prior computation of Land Cover and NAA layer. The value is expressed as a percentage for both indicators: water_coverage (all waters) and naa_water (NAA component).