Comparison between the nature management plan and current tree cover in North Brabant

The Province of North Brabant is continuously working on improving its provincial nature policy. For this purpose, the nature management plan is an essential instrument to provide direction for management and development, and to conduct discussions with other stakeholders such as land managers.

Meanwhile, the reality outdoors is constantly changing: vegetation develops, management has an effect, and conditions change. To steer effectively, insight is needed into how the nature management plan relates to the current situation in the field. Where are plans being realized, where do undesirable changes occur (such as scrub encroachment or natural regeneration), and where does nature development lag behind?

To make this comparison, existing maps, field knowledge, and periodic updates are currently mainly used. With traditional means, it is a challenge to keep the management plan up to date for the entire province; as a result, differences between plan and reality sometimes remain invisible for a long time.

Together with analysts from Spheer, the Province of North Brabant investigated how Spheer can be used to improve the timeliness of the nature management plan, starting with forests: using Spheer, an up-to-date map was generated of all areas in the province where trees are present. This tree map was then compared with the forest labels from the nature management plan. Specific attention was paid to locations where Spheer shows a clearly different outcome from the management plan. These are places where:

• according to the management plan, open nature is planned, while Spheer detects many trees;
• according to the management plan, forest should be present, but Spheer detects no trees.

These locations form a logical starting point for further research, input for constructive discussions with land managers and other area stakeholders, and possibly for updating the management plan

The comparison shows that the nature management plan and the current situation correspond well in many places. In this way, Spheer confirms that management and planning broadly align with reality.

At the same time, areas also become visible where plan and reality diverge. These differences do not imply that management is incorrect, but make it clear where developments are proceeding faster, slower, or differently than anticipated.

Spheer thus works as a complement to human field knowledge. It cannot explain the causes of deviations, but it does create an up-to-date, uniform, and reproducible overview with a speed and scalability that were not previously possible.

On the left, we see an area where the nature management plan states that heathland should be present; on the right, an area where it states that there should be trees. In both cases, we see a difference from reality.

With Spheer, the province gains:

• Informatie about the current situation;
• An additional source alongside traditional maps, offering insights in a way that was not previously systematically available;
• Data that can inform discussions about management and policy, without immediately drawing conclusions about right or wrong.

In short: our geo-AI helps to map spatial development and nature management in a more up-to-date, objective, and efficient way.