MAPALP: a vegetation map of the north-western European Alps

The objective of the MAPALP map is to propose a map that i) aggregates and combines different types of spatial data in a single tool to obtain a homogenised map that provides knowledge of the regional composition and distribution of the vegetation cover in the north-western Alps area (50 km of radius), ii) provides for each of these categories of vegetation cover, an average botanical composition with the abundances of taxa, and finally iii) that provides proportions of the selected taxa for the whole area. Although this map has been produced in the context of a palaeoecological study, the methodology developed and the final map dataset can be respectively applied and used for other types of environmental studies (soil erosion, risks, ecosystem monitoring, etc...) from land cover to habitat scales and even taxa scale.