[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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