[Talk-us] Tagging National Forests

Wolfgang Zenker wolfgang at lyxys.ka.sub.org
Mon May 9 19:36:02 UTC 2016


* OSM Volunteer stevea <steveaOSM at softworkers.com> [160509 20:23]:
> This might sound glib, but I believe that setting landuse=forest on a (multi)polygon which is land use forest is correct. [..]

I guess everyone would agree with that. The problem is that we (as in
"the mappers of OpenStreetMap") don't agree on what landuse=forest
actually means. As far as I remember we have one group that thinks
its an area set aside for growing and harvesting timber, so it can
be recognized by the presence of (planted) trees or the remains of
trees that have been recently harvested and will be replaced by newly
planted trees soon(-ish); and another group defining it as an area
where timber or small wood can be legally harvested or collected,
regardless of trees being actually or at least possibly present.
For forests using the second definition you would have to follow
official boundaries, which might be difficult to verify on the ground.

My personal preference would be to take up mapping areas covered by
trees as landcover=trees and rendering these areas the way that
landuse=forest is currently rendered, to map National Forests with
an administrative boundary and just rendering the boundary line and
deprecate landuse=forest altogether.

Wolfgang



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