Going local – Providing a highly detailed Green Infrastructure geodata set for assessing connectivity and functionality

Green Infrastructure (GI) defined as a strategically planned network of natural and semi-natural areas is a key strategy in the European biodiversity strategy and the landscape connectivity agenda. To implement this approach in Central Europe’s (CE) landscape planning policies the Interreg project MaGICLandscapes (ML) tried to operationalise the GI concept in CE as well as in nine case studies, to provide land-managers, policy makers and communities with tools and knowledge, at different spatial levels. Based on the example of the Austrian case study area, the aim of this paper is to present an easy to use approach, as implemented in ML, for producing a highly-detailed regional GI database to overcome the difficulty of realising comprehensive biotope mapping surveys as well as the rather coarse resolution of CORINE Land Cover (CLC). By compiling regional cadastral and agricultural information, highly detailed data on the water network as well as Pan-European High Resolution Layers (HRL), this detailed representation of the regional GI network allows to enhance the regional applicability and acceptance of GI initiatives and provides a crucial foundation for assessing GI connectivity and functionality to develop evidence-based strategies and action plans through stakeholder involvement to direct future actions and investment in GI.