[OSM-talk] keep right! and landuse=wood
David Earl
david at frankieandshadow.com
Mon Jul 20 14:16:58 BST 2009
Ed Loach wrote:
>> landuse=forest -> actively managed trees,
>> natural=wood -> natural woodland
>
> Surely logically the options are
>
>> landuse=forest -> large area of actively managed trees,
>> landuse=wood -> small area of actively managed trees,
>> natural=wood -> small area containing naturally occurring trees
>> natural=forest -> large area containing naturally occurring trees
>
> The day to day state of the wiki and Xybot seem to dictate which two
> are the most common of these four.
I think the problem is that natural=wood has already been widely used
for trees which aren't actually naturally occurring. Indeed, in most
developed countries, I would suggest that it is very rare for trees to
be naturally occurring or not managed in some way.
I think the actual usage has mostly been small areas of trees
natural=wood, and larger areas landuse=forest, not least because that
corresponds with the natural understanding of the words wood and forest.
The wiki (and "error" checkers) reflect certain people's prejuduces
about how they think tags should be used, not necessarily the way in
which they *have actually* been used. Most people don't consult the wiki
pages: if they think it is a wood they tag ot as a wood. And I'd contend
that most people think something is a wood because it is not big enough
to be a forest, though I have no real evidence other than common sense
and the widespread use of it for that assertion.
David
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