Towards a Map of the European Tree Cover based on Sentinel-2

Many areas of science and policy depend on knowledge of
the tree cover in Europe. Sentinel-2 is a new (launched in
2015) satellite with a higher spatial resolution compared to
previous satellites. In the present study a new algorithm for
mapping tree cover from Sentinel-2 is developed, an analysis
of which bands should be used for tree cover mapping is
made, the accuracy of the mapping is assessed, and the tree
cover from the present approach is compared with previous
estimates. Firstly, the feasibility of the present algorithm is
demonstrated. Secondly, it is shown that only ten band
combinations have good performance in four selected
Sentinel-2 tiles and that the bands 3, 5, 6, 12 appear in most
combinations. Thirdly, the accuracy is assessed to be high,
and lastly it is shown that the relative difference between the
tree cover of the present study and the tree cover of previous
studies is between -14% and 68%