Stream 04: OpenStreetMap tagging, large-scale national topographic models, prior-art habitat symbology

Research date: 2026-09-30 · Scope: OSM tags and OSM Carto colours; NL BGT/IMGeo; CH amtliche Vermessung; AT DKM; UK habitat/metric systems; other European large-scale conventions · Purpose: crosswalks and colour lessons for the "Urban Landscape Graphics" element catalog (house style "UrbanSens – Ecological Vector Style").

How to read this file#

Evidence marks (every table carries one per row or one for the whole table):

Method limits. The session-wide web-search budget ran out during the prior-art part, so GeoDanmark, Finland, Berlin and the official UKHab palette could only be approached by direct URL guesses. Everything that could not be verified is listed in section 9 "Open points". No tag, code or colour in this file is invented; where a source contains an obvious misprint it is quoted as printed and flagged.

Key findings in brief#

1. OSM is sufficient for automatic styling if three keys are combined: cover from landuse/natural/leisure, material from surface (45 documented values, all mapped in 8.2), and object attributes (leaf_type, diameter_crown, wetland, water, meadow, basin, green_roof). Direct hooks for existing classes exist (meadow=wildflower, wetland=reedbed, surface=wood). landcover=* is marginal (largest value 292k uses vs 34 million natural=tree).
2. OSM Carto v6.1.0 colours are verified from the style files (section 2), including the Lch design comments; planted shrub beds (natural=shrubbery), landuse=greenery and surface materials are not rendered at all by the default map.
3. BGT/IMGeo offers the finest official material vocabulary (16 vegetated and 6 unvegetated classes, about 40 IMGeo "plus" sub-types) and three verified official colour sets: saturated standaard, grouped achtergrond, near-grey pastel (section 3.5).
4. Swiss AV has 26 land-cover values and published RGB values (2024 instruction); the convention is black/white first, colour for five things only, symbol rasters for the rest (section 4.2).
5. Austria's DKM has 26 use classes with stable numeric codes but no fills at all: line plus glyph at the polygon reference point (section 5).
6. England's statutory biodiversity metric supplies a complete scored urban element list (21 urban habitat types, tree size classes, hedgerow types); the official tool workbook was parsed (section 6.3). The official UKHab colour palette is licence-gated and could not be verified.
7. Published RGB prior art at 1:1,000–1:5,000: LBP-Musterlegendenkatalog (DE, section 6.5) and the OS MasterMap "Outdoor style" (GB, section 7.1); both are pastel and both use state/pattern modifiers.
8. The 16-class sheet lacks lines and points (hedge, tree row, wall, fence, furniture), planted-bed types, the private-garden mosaic, semi-sealed and water-bound surfaces, natural-stone sett and clinker, sports/play synthetics, SuDS elements, green roofs/walls, and an "unknown / in transition" element (section 8.3).

0. Versions checked (state 2026-09-30)#

1. OpenStreetMap tags for parcel-scale landscape features#

All rows in 1.1–1.15 are V (OSM wiki page named in each heading, fetched this session) unless a row says otherwise. Meanings are the wiki descriptions, shortened faithfully. "Carto" = rendered by OSM Carto v6.1 according to style/landcover.mss (section 2).

1.1 landuse=*: https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Key:landuse#

1.2 natural=*: https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Key:natural#

1.2b meadow=* (sub-key of landuse=meadow): https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Tag:landuse%3Dmeadow#

1.3 wetland=*: https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Key:wetland#

1.4 water=* (with natural=water): https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Key:water#

1.5 leisure=*: https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Key:leisure#

garden:type=* (https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Key:garden:type): residential, private, community, botanical, landscaping, roof_garden ("a garden on the roof of a building"), school, green_wall ("a vertical garden"), rock_garden, show_garden, street_side ("road verge with garden plants"), arboretum; castle, monastery (unclear). garden:style=* examples named on the leisure=garden page: kitchen, rosarium, french, english (full list only in taginfo, not verified).

leisure=pitch page (https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Tag:leisure%3Dpitch): sport= soccer, basketball, tennis, baseball, cricket, rugby_union, american_football, field_hockey, handball, volleyball, badminton, ice_hockey, table_tennis, equestrian, skateboard, chess, multi; surface= artificial_turf, paved, acrylic, sand, concrete, carpet, paving_stones, clay, grass.

1.6 landcover=*: https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Key:landcover#

Status on the wiki: "in use" (not approved; many values flagged "not yet rendered"; the page advises double-tagging trees with landuse=forest/natural=wood and grass with natural=grassland). OSM Carto does not render the key. Usage (taginfo API key/values?key=landcover, data 2026-09-29, 248 distinct values): trees 292,418 · mostly_rock 78,708 · grass 69,156 · scrub 11,940 · dry_swamp 4,353 · mostly_scree 4,149 · fell 4,079 · bare_ground 3,688 · greenery 1,345 · shrubbery 1,209 · water 983 · grassland 896 · gravel 791 · sand 754 · barren 657 · meadow 584 · reindeer_lichen 463 · bushes 398 · flowerbed 339 · concrete 338 · artificial_turf 322 · ground 282 · asphalt 277 · dirt 274 · forest 200 · heath 170 · hedge 152 · flowers 110 · woodchips 108. Values documented on the wiki page: trees, grass, water, gravel, sand ("very rarely used"), hedge, greenery, mostly_rock, scrub, dry_swamp, fell, bare_ground, shrubbery, flowerbed. Conclusion: support landcover=trees|grass|scrub|shrubbery|greenery|flowerbed|gravel|sand|bare_ground|water as low-priority aliases; do not rely on the key.

1.7 surface=*: https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Key:surface (all documented values) + taginfo counts#

Counts: taginfo API key/values?key=surface, data 2026-09-29 (8,539 distinct values in the database; only the documented ones and the most used undocumented ones matter).

Frequent undocumented values worth aliasing (taginfo, same call): stone 16,940 · dirt/sand 8,944 · soil 7,194 · trail 5,505 · cobblestone:flattened 4,406 · cement 2,684 · hard 2,276 · rocky 1,528 · bitmac 1,353 · bare_rock 1,238 · scrub 1,166 · interlock 1,135 · rocks 1,109 · brick_weave 873 · steel 871 · mulch 862 · concrete:tiles 844 · rubbercrumb 735 · moss 729 · bare_ground 669 · boardwalk 660 · turf 646 · natural 646 · decoturf 612 · mixed 599 · flagstone 585; semicolon lists such as ground;grass 907 exist and must be split.

Detail keys for paving (https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Tag:surface%3Dpaving_stones, V): paving_stones:shape = square, rectangle, hexagon, zigzag, double_t, squarish_octagon, s-shape, irregular · paving_stones:pattern = stack_bond, half_bond, quarter_bond, herringbone, basket_weave, tudor, linen, interleaved, random_course · paving_stones:direction (angle), paving_stones:orientation (angle, along, across) · paving_stones:length, paving_stones:width · paving_stones:material (stone, concrete, brick …) · surface:colour. Related keys on Key:surface: smoothness, tracktype, sidewalk:surface, cycleway:surface, crossing:surface.

1.8 barrier=*: https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Key:barrier#

1.9 waterway=*: https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Key:waterway#

river (wide natural watercourse) · stream (too narrow to be a river) · tidal_channel · flowline · canal (artificial open waterway for transport, power, irrigation) · drain (artificial, carries superfluous water e.g. storm water) · ditch (small artificial waterway for drainage/irrigation) · pressurised · link · fairway · fish_pass · canoe_pass · dock · boatyard · dam · weir · waterfall · rapids · lock_gate · sluice_gate · floodgate · debris_screen · security_lock · check_dam · turning_point · water_point · fuel.

1.10 man_made=* (selection): https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Key:man_made#

embankment ("an artificial steep slope") · dyke (embankment restricting water) · pier ("raised walkway over water, supported by widely spread piles or pillars") · quay · bridge ("the outline of a bridge") · breakwater · groyne · courtyard ("area usually enclosed by walls or buildings") · planter ("a structure for planting flowers or other ornamental plants") · cutline · clearcut · heap · spoil_heap · flagpole · street_cabinet · manhole · utility_pole · mast · tower · chimney · surveillance · water_tap · water_well · trough · insect_hotel ("a structure intended to provide shelter for insects") · nesting_site · beehive · wildlife_crossing · reservoir_covered · storage_tank · silo · pipeline · wastewater_plant · water_works · works.

1.11 amenity=* (street furniture / open space): https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Key:amenity#

bench · lounger · drinking_water · water_point · watering_place · fountain ("for cultural/decorational/recreational purposes") · toilets · shower · waste_basket · waste_disposal · recycling · grit_bin · parking · parking_space · parking_entrance · bicycle_parking · bicycle_rental · motorcycle_parking · charging_station · compressed_air · marketplace · public_bookcase · bbq · dog_toilet · kneipp_water_cure · give_box · shelter · clock · telephone · post_box · hunting_stand · grave_yard ("smaller place of burial, often near a church"). Not amenity: street lamps are highway=street_lamp; picnic tables are leisure=picnic_table. amenity=vending_machine: R (not returned by the extraction).

1.12 highway=*: https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Key:highway#

Line features carry the material in surface=* (1.7); polygons of pedestrian areas are highway=pedestrian + area=yes. (area:highway=* for carriageway polygons: R.)

1.13 building=*: https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Key:building#

Accommodation: apartments, barracks, bungalow, cabin, detached, annexe, dormitory, farm, ger, hotel, house, houseboat, residential, semidetached_house, static_caravan, stilt_house, terrace, tree_house, trullo · Commercial: commercial, industrial, kiosk, office, retail, supermarket, warehouse · Religious: religious, cathedral, chapel, church, kingdom_hall, monastery, mosque, presbytery, shrine, synagogue, temple · Civic: bakehouse, bridge, civic, clock_tower, college, fire_station, government, gatehouse, hospital, kindergarten, museum, public, school, toilets, train_station, transportation, university · Agricultural: barn, conservatory, cowshed, farm_auxiliary, greenhouse, slurry_tank, stable, sty, livestock · Sports: grandstand, pavilion, riding_hall, sports_hall, sports_centre, stadium · Storage: allotment_house, boathouse, hangar, hut, shed · Cars: carport, garage, garages, parking · Technical: digester, service, tech_cab, transformer_tower, water_tower, storage_tank, silo · Other: beach_hut, bunker, castle, construction, container, guardhouse, military, outbuilding, pagoda, quonset_hut, roof (roof with open sides), ruins, ship, tent, tower, triumphal_arch, windmill, yes. For the catalog three renderings suffice: building (generic), glasshouse (greenhouse, conservatory), open roof/shelter (roof, carport).

1.14 Roofs and green roofs#

Rule for the library: green roof if green_roof=yes OR roof:material ∈ {grass, plants, roof_greening} OR leisure=garden+garden:type=roof_garden; roof:material=gravel alone is not sufficient.

1.15 Tree attributes: https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Tag:natural%3Dtree (+ key pages)#

Library use: crown symbol radius = diameter_crown/2; fallback from circumference (DBH = circumference/π) via an allometric default; symbol variant from leaf_type; seasonal variant from leaf_cycle.

1.16 Usage counts for prioritising the crosswalk (V, taginfo API key/values, data until 2026-09-30T00:59Z)#

• landuse=*: farmland 11,746,878 · residential 10,726,843 · grass 7,655,761 · forest 5,944,202 · meadow 5,578,523 · orchard 1,878,542 · farmyard 1,636,446 · industrial 1,446,572 · vineyard 875,545 · cemetery 602,364 · commercial 599,906 · allotments 491,110 · retail 419,892 · basin 276,173 · construction 274,610 · quarry 254,030 · recreation_ground 196,808 · reservoir 187,482 · religious 161,987 · brownfield 160,466 · flowerbed 159,370 · greenhouse_horticulture 122,301 · aquaculture 102,489 · railway 99,992 · garages 98,303 · military 96,518 · greenfield 93,858 · village_green 91,553 · plant_nursery 78,722 · logging 76,621 · landfill 58,604 · education 44,512 · highway 30,456 · salt_pond 21,400 · greenery 13,697 · animal_keeping 11,222 · undocumented but present: plantation 6,342, traffic_island 4,039.
• natural=*: tree 34,278,415 · water 23,441,655 · wood 12,782,812 · scrub 5,740,277 · wetland 4,665,794 · grassland 2,410,258 · tree_row 2,116,647 · bare_rock 1,330,917 · cliff 1,044,079 · heath 679,115 · sand 599,320 · scree 399,233 · shrub 306,892 · spring 284,119 · beach 249,893 · rock 249,549 · glacier 117,838 · shrubbery 102,705 · stone 93,485 · shingle 88,111 · fell 28,585 · mud 28,526 · earth_bank 23,178 · tree_group 18,028 (undocumented on the key page) · tree_stump 13,401.
• Reading: single trees are by far the most mapped landscape object; landuse=grass outnumbers landuse=meadow; planted-shrub and flower-bed tags are already six-figure; landuse=greenery and landcover=* are marginal.

2. OSM Carto default colours (v6.1.0 master, fetched 2026-09-30)#

Files: style/landcover.mss, style/style.mss, style/water.mss, style/water-features.mss, style/buildings.mss, style/roads.mss, style/road-colors-generated.mss, style/amenity-points.mss, style/golf.mss under https://github.com/openstreetmap-carto/openstreetmap-carto/tree/master/style (raw: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/gravitystorm/openstreetmap-carto/master/style/<file>). All rows V; the Lch comments are in the source file and document the design intent.

2.1 Land-cover and land-use fills (landcover.mss, style.mss)#

Complete list of area/line features styled in landcover.mss (V, second targeted read of the file): leisure_swimming_pool, landuse_recreation_ground, leisure_playground, leisure_fitness_station, tourism_camp_site, tourism_caravan_site, tourism_picnic_site, landuse_quarry, landuse_vineyard, landuse_orchard, leisure_garden, landuse_flowerbed, landuse_plant_nursery, landuse_cemetery, amenity_grave_yard, amenity_place_of_worship, landuse_religious, amenity_prison, landuse_residential, landuse_garages, leisure_park, leisure_ice_rink, leisure_dog_park, leisure_golf_course, leisure_miniature_golf, landuse_allotments, landuse_forest, natural_wood, landuse_farmyard, landuse_farmland, landuse_greenhouse_horticulture, natural_grassland, landuse_meadow, landuse_grass, landuse_village_green, landuse_retail, shop_mall, amenity_marketplace, landuse_industrial, man_made_works, man_made_wastewater_plant, man_made_water_works, landuse_railway, power_plant, power_generator, power_substation, landuse_commercial, landuse_brownfield, landuse_construction, landuse_landfill, landuse_salt_pond, natural_bare_rock, natural_scree, natural_shingle, natural_sand, natural_heath, natural_scrub, wetland_swamp, wetland_mangrove, wetland_reedbed, wetland_bog, wetland_string_bog, wetland_wet_meadow, wetland_fen, wetland_saltmarsh, wetland_marsh, amenity_hospital, amenity_clinic, amenity_university, amenity_college, amenity_school, amenity_kindergarten, amenity_community_centre, amenity_social_facility, amenity_arts_centre, amenity_fire_station, amenity_police, amenity_parking, amenity_bicycle_parking, amenity_motorcycle_parking, amenity_taxi, amenity_parking_space, aeroway_apron, aeroway_aerodrome, amenity_ferry_terminal, amenity_bus_station, natural_beach, natural_shoal, highway_services, highway_rest_area, railway_station, leisure_sports_centre, leisure_water_park, leisure_stadium, leisure_track, leisure_pitch, historic_citywalls, barrier_city_wall, barrier_hedge, natural_arete, natural_cliff, natural_ridge, man_made_embankment (plus natural=mud and the wetland=* patterns in the area-symbol layer).

Not styled in landcover.mss (V: the strings do not occur in the file): natural=shrubbery, landuse=greenery, any landcover=*; also absent from the list above: landuse=greenfield, logging, education, animal_keeping, aquaculture, natural=fell/moor/tundra/dune, leisure=common, and surface=* on areas. The default OSM map therefore shows nothing for planted shrub beds and generic greenery, a gap the library can fill.

2.2 Pattern and symbol images used for land cover#

Complete listing of patterns/ (13 files, V): allotments, danger_red_hatch, dog_park, grave_yard_christian/generic/jewish/muslim, grey_vertical_hatch, intermittent_water, military_red_hatch, orchard, plant_nursery, vineyard.

2.3 Trees, hedges, buildings, paths#

3. Netherlands: BGT / IMGeo (Basisregistratie Grootschalige Topografie)#

Structure: the BGT part is mandatory and nationwide (scale ≈ 1:500–1:5,000); IMGeo adds optional "plus" attributes (plus-fysiekVoorkomen, plus-type, plus-functie) and optional object types (trees, hedges, street furniture). Terrain is partitioned without gaps into wegdeel, ondersteunend wegdeel, begroeid terreindeel, onbegroeid terreindeel, waterdeel, ondersteunend waterdeel, pand and others. Class lists below: IMGeo objectenhandboek (Geonovum), V.

3.1 Begroeid terreindeel: fysiekVoorkomen: https://geonovum.github.io/IMGeo-objectenhandboek/begroeidterreindeel#

Further attributes: begroeid terreindeel op talud (on slope), kruinlijn (crest line, when slope ≥ 1:4 and height difference > 1 m), relatieve hoogteligging. A haag value under groenvoorziening has been requested (Geonovum/IMGeo-dev issue #173, S) but hedges are currently the separate IMGeo object VegetatieObject.

3.2 Onbegroeid terreindeel: fysiekVoorkomen: https://geonovum.github.io/IMGeo-objectenhandboek/onbegroeidterreindeel#

Translation trap: Dutch gravel = red crushed-brick court surface (OSM surface=clay); Dutch grind = English gravel.

3.3 Wegdeel and ondersteunend wegdeel: https://geonovum.github.io/IMGeo-objectenhandboek/wegdeel · …/ondersteunendwegdeel#

3.4 Water and vegetation objects: …/waterdeel · …/ondersteunendwaterdeel · …/vegetatieobject#

3.5 Official visualisation rules (colours)#

Source documents: BGT|IMGeo Visualisatieregels 2.3 (https://docs.geostandaarden.nl/bgt/visualisatie/) define seven visualisations: standaard (BGT as main theme, aligned with the BRT), achtergrond (background map), icoon, lijngericht, omtrekgericht, pastel (background for civil-engineering use), plan. The document itself contains no colour values; they are in the implementation files at https://github.com/Geonovum/IMGeo/tree/master/visualisatie/2.3 (Excel rule sheets, SLD files, SVG/PNG patterns, SVG/TTF symbols). Rules of the text (V): terreindelen are styled by bgt-fysiekvoorkomen, wegdelen by bgt-functie, waterdelen by bgt-type; every polygon also gets an outline in the fill colour "om te voorkomen, dat er dunne, witte lijnen tussen de objecten blijven"; roads are drawn twice (casing, then fill) so carriageway parts are not separated by hard lines; vegetation objects (trees, hedges) only in the standaardvisualisatie; drawing order: unclassified → water → onbegroeid → begroeid → tunnel/bridge → ondersteunend wegdeel → wegdeel → spoor → pand → other structures → scheiding → vegetatieobject → labels.

(a) Standaardvisualisatie: V, Geonovum SLD 2.3 (…/implementatiebestanden (SLD)/standaardvisualisatie/sld-0010-begroeidterreindeel.xml, sld-0011-…, sld-0021-wegdeel.xml, sld-0022-…, sld-0030-waterdeel.xml, sld-0044-pand.xml), cross-checked against PDOK's Mapbox-GL implementation bgt_standaardvisualisatie (https://api.pdok.nl/lv/bgt/ogc/v1/styles/bgt_standaardvisualisatie__webmercatorquad?f=mapbox), identical values.

(b) Pastelvisualisatie: V, Geonovum SLD 2.3 (…/pastelvisualisatie/pastel-*.sld; all rules MaxScaleDenominator 5000, i.e. large scale only). Key XML rules were re-read verbatim.

(c) Achtergrondvisualisatie: V: Geonovum SLD 2.3 (…/achtergrondvisualisatie/achtergrond_landuse_polygon.sld, achtergrond_urban_polygon.sld, achtergrond_water_polygon.sld; all rules have MaxScaleDenominator 5000) and PDOK's Mapbox implementation (https://api.pdok.nl/lv/bgt/ogc/v1/styles/bgt_achtergrondvisualisatie__webmercatorquad?f=mapbox) carry identical values for land use, buildings and water. Road rows below come from the PDOK style only.

Notes: bosplantsoen and zand are matched on plus_fysiekvoorkomen; all fills carry a 0.25 outline in the fill colour except the human-made and erf groups (outline #d1c1be). The grouping itself is the lesson: sixteen vegetation classes collapse to high vegetation / low vegetation / heather / sand-and-wet / human-made for background use.

4. Switzerland: amtliche Vermessung (AV), Bodenbedeckung#

4.1 Land-cover categories: DM.01-AV-CH, domain BBArt (V, INTERLIS model file https://models.geo.admin.ch/V_D/DM.01-AV-CH_LV95_24d_ili1.ili)#

Single objects, domain EOArt (V, same file): Mauer, unterirdisches_Gebaeude, uebriger_Gebaeudeteil, eingedoltes_oeffentliches_Gewaesser, wichtige_Treppe, Tunnel_Unterfuehrung_Galerie, Bruecke_Passerelle, Bahnsteig, Brunnen, Reservoir, Pfeiler, Unterstand, Silo_Turm_Gasometer, Hochkamin, Denkmal, Mast_Antenne, Aussichtsturm, Uferverbauung, Schwelle, Lawinenverbauung, massiver_Sockel, Ruine_archaeologisches_Objekt, Landungssteg, einzelner_Fels, schmale_bestockte_Flaeche, Rinnsal, schmaler_Weg, Hochspannungsfreileitung, Druckleitung, Bahngeleise, Luftseilbahn, Gondelbahn_Sesselbahn, Materialseilbahn, Skilift, Faehre, Grotte_Hoehleneingang, Achse, wichtiger_Einzelbaum, Bildstock_Kruzifix, Quelle, Bezugspunkt, weitere.

DMAV Version 1.0 (successor model): value names seen in the 2024 drafting instruction are the same except fliessendes_Gewaesser, stehendes_Gewaesser (instead of fliessendes, stehendes) and an additional single object Jauchengrube_Mistlege (V-img). The DMAV INTERLIS files themselves could not be fetched (guessed URLs returned 404), see Open points.

4.2 Official colours in the three federal drafting instructions (all V-img)#

Sources: GB = Weisung "Amtliche Vermessung – Darstellung des Planes für das Grundbuch", 9 Mar 2007, Stand 1 Feb 2014 (https://www.cadastre-manual.admin.ch/dam/de/sd-web/pysw2JgMIIer/Weisung-GB-de.pdf) · BP09 = Weisung "Darstellung des Basisplans der amtlichen Vermessung «BP-AV»", 22 Apr 2009 (https://www.cadastre-manual.admin.ch/dam/de/sd-web/Zi4MHUCeFgtz/Weisung-BP-AV-de.pdf; colours printed as CMYK only) · BP24 = Weisung "Darstellungsmodell für den Basisplan der amtlichen Vermessung gemäss Geodatenmodell DMAV Version 1.0", 1 Aug 2024 (https://www.cadastre-manual.admin.ch/dam/de/sd-web/hjNRml-W3Qoz/240801_Basisplan_DE.pdf; colours printed as RGB).

Further verified rules:

• Colour is optional. GB 1.5.6: "Die Darstellungsbeschreibung des Planes für das Grundbuch benutzt die schwarze Farbe, die Verwendung von eingefärbten Elementen … ist optional." In the colour option only buildings, sealed areas, water, forest and underground buildings are coloured; everything else stays black/white.
• Boundary line style encodes hardness (GB 3.3): solid for Gebaeude, Strasse_Weg, Trottoir, Verkehrsinsel, Flugplatz, Wasserbecken, stehendes, fliessendes; dashed (gestrichelt1, 1.5 mm / 0.5 mm, 0.20 mm wide at 1:1,000) for all soft land covers (Acker, Garten, Wald, Moor, Reben, Schilf, Fels, Geröll, übrige …).
• Scales. GB: 1:200, 1:250, 1:500, 1:1,000, 1:2,000, 1:2,500, 1:5,000, 1:10,000; symbol sizes defined at 1:1,000 and scaled. BP: 1:2,500, 1:5,000 (reference), optionally 1:10,000; factor 1.4 (BP09) resp. 1.2 (BP24) for 1:2,500 and 0.7 for 1:10,000.
• Font. All symbols are glyphs of the font "Cadastra" (open source, based on Bitstream; may be modified if renamed).
• Drawing priority (both BP versions): labels and boundaries on top, point/line single objects, then roads/pavements, buildings, humus classes, water, and at the bottom forest, glacier, wooded pasture (transparent fills so relief remained visible in BP09).
• D (my conversion): the BP24 RGB values are the BP09 CMYK values under the naive conversion R = 255·(1−C)(1−K), e.g. (70,60,0,0)→(77,102,255), (80,34,100,0)→(51,168,0), (25,0,45,0)→(191,255,140), (47,31,25,0)→(135,176,191), (15,50,50,0)→(217,128,128). Only the forest fill changed: (60,0,69,0) = (102,255,79) at 65 % transparency in 2009 → (156,255,156) at 50 % in 2024. Effective colours on white paper: forest 2024 ≈ #CEFFCE, forest 2009 ≈ #C9FFC1, wooded pasture ≈ #E9FFD7, glacier ≈ #D5E3E9.

4.3 swisstopo general palette#

• swisstopo Light Base Map vector-tile style (V, but read through the extraction model; filters simplified): style name lightbasemap_v1.19.0, https://vectortiles.geo.admin.ch/styles/ch.swisstopo.lightbasemap.vt/style.json, forest/wood rgb(186,210,172) · default land cover rgb(215,224,209) · glacier/ice rgb(205,232,244) · wetland rgb(204,229,245) · sand, landfill, quarry rgb(240,218,188) · pitch and grass runway rgb(224,234,221) · cemetery, zoo rgb(215,224,209) · parking rgb(255,255,255) · water rgb(209,228,240) → rgb(199,224,245) by zoom · buildings hsl(220,10%,82%) → hsl(220,10%,75%) · vineyard, orchard, swamp by pattern.
• RGB definitions of the printed national-map symbols (Zeichenerklärung): not found / not verified.

5. Austria: DKM (Digitale Katastralmappe), Benützungsarten and Nutzungen#

5.1 Code list (V-img; BEV "CSV-Datei – Grundstücksdaten", interface description v1.2 of 29.01.2025, https://www.bev.gv.at/dam/jcr:a0e89772-7b55-4889-a029-69d93311811c/BEV_S_KA_Grundstuecksdaten-csv_V1.2.pdf; DKM symbol numbers from "Katastralmappe SHP", interface description v2.9 of 04.12.2024, https://www.bev.gv.at/dam/jcr:a6342749-e2c2-4525-9cee-3b7531474599/BEV_S_KA_Katastralmappe_SHP_V2.9.pdf; definitions from BANU-V § 2, https://www.ris.bka.gv.at/Dokumente/Bundesnormen/NOR40117347/NOR40117347.html, V, shortened)#

History: the 2012 reform replaced the older, finer list (e.g. 49 Acker, 50 Wiese, 51 Hutweide, 89 Streuobstwiese, 52 "Baufläche begrünt", 83 "Baufläche befestigt", 96 "Erholungsfläche", 62 "Ödland"), old data may still carry these codes (V-img).

5.2 Data layers people actually have (V-img, SHP interface v2.9)#

GST parcels (polygon) · NFL Nutzungsflächen (polygon; attribute NS = symbol number above, NS_RECHT) · NSL use boundaries and other lines (NSL 1 Nutzungsgrenze, 2 Hausgrenze, 3 Hausgrenze aus Luftbild, 4 Sonstige Linie; TYP 1 = underground) · NSY use symbols (point; MST_NS 1 = half size, ROT_NS) · VGG administrative and parcel boundaries · GNR parcel numbers · FPT, SGG control/boundary points · SSB other symbols and labels. CRS EPSG:31254/31255/31256. Crosswalk key for the library: NFL.NS.

5.3 Official representation (V-img)#

• The DKM is a line-and-symbol map without area fills: land use is shown by a glyph at the polygon reference point plus green use boundaries. DXF layer colours (interface v2.6 of 16.12.2024, https://www.bev.gv.at/dam/jcr:3a92eaa4-9e9e-4ce3-af96-c1fa6e722548/BEV_S_KA_Katastralmappe_DXF_V2.5.2.pdf), given as AutoCAD colour index screen / plot: parcel boundary GG white-7 / black-7 · building outline HG red-1 · building outline from aerial imagery HL brown-9 / brown-8 · use boundary NG and use symbols NS green-3 · other lines and symbols SG/SS blue-5 · legal symbols orange-30 · municipal boundary yellow-51 / brown-8. "Das Nutzungssymbol FIG041 (Gebäude) wird rot dargestellt."
• BEV supplies a TrueType symbol font BEV_DKM_Symbole.ttf and ready projects BEV0.qgz / BEV0.mxd ("Katastralmappe-Symbole_SHP-INFO"), and states that the legal drawing key of the Vermessungsverordnung is "rechtlich nicht verbindlich" for DKM display (https://www.bev.gv.at/dam/jcr:be95ead9-0fff-4413-bc14-7eca52ffe6e6/BEV_B_KA_Katastralmappe_SHP_Symbolisierung_V1.0.pdf). No official RGB fill colours for Nutzungen exist in these documents.

6. Prior-art habitat / ecology symbology with published schemes#

6.1 UKHab (UK Habitat Classification)#

6.2 JNCC Phase 1 habitat survey colours (the classic UK scheme that UKHab replaces): S (community SLD implementing the JNCC handbook: https://github.com/QGIS-UK/Styles/blob/master/Phase 1 Habitat/phase_1_habitat.sld)#

Design principle visible in the scheme: hue = habitat family, solid fill = semi-natural/unimproved, hatch in the same hue = planted/modified/mosaic.

6.3 England's statutory biodiversity metric (Defra / Natural England): a habitat list tied to a score#

Sources: user guide June 2026, 89 pp (V-img: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6a1d98e9c7335e2ca6daadd5/The_Statutory_Biodiversity_Metric_-_User_Guide_-_June_2026.pdf) and small sites metric (SSM) user guide July 2025, 63 pp (V-img: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/686677acdd1a7e01559e6d45/The_Small_Sites_Metric__Statutory_Biodiversity_Metric__-_User_Guide_July_2025.pdf).

SSM "UKHab translation table" (Appendix 2, Table A2, pp. 58–63): written for landscape architects; this is the closest published prior art for the catalog's element names. Codes as printed.

Notes: (1) the numeric codes printed in this SSM guide table (1160, 1170, 1111 …) are not UKHab 2.x secondary codes; the statutory tool itself uses the UKHab codes (see next table). (2) The guide states that UKHab "is used under licence from UKHab Ltd. No onward licence implied or provided and, where applicable, the same shall be out of scope of the OGL v3.0", relevant for an open library. (3) Several SSM rows differ from the statutory tool (urban tree Low vs Medium; other green roof Medium vs Low; native hedgerow Medium vs Low), quoted as printed, cause not established.

Statutory metric calculation tool v1.0.4, sheet "G-1 All Habitats" ("All Habitats Based on UKHab"), V (parsed from the official workbook https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6867e62810d550c668de3b4e/The_Statutory_Metric_Macro_Disabled_1.0.4.xlsx; columns: label, "Definitive UKHAB / EUNIS / NE Code", distinctiveness category and score).

Reading for the catalog: the urban list is a complete, scored vocabulary of built-environment elements (sealed / unsealed artificial surface, walls, two garden types, planters, introduced shrub, three green-roof and two green-wall types, three SuDS types, bare/vacant land, allotments, cemetery, open mosaic habitat, urban tree). Every one of these should exist as a library element or modifier so a styled layer can be scored without re-classification.

6.4 Switzerland: TypoCH (Delarze, Gonseth, Eggenberg & Vust 2015), urban-relevant classes (V, https://www.infoflora.ch/en/habitats/typoch-(delarze-et-al.)/full-list-typoch.html)#

Decimal hierarchy, 9 level-1 groups: 1 Gewässer · 2 Ufer und Feuchtgebiete · 3 Gletscher, Fels, Schutt und Geröll · 4 Grünland · 5 Krautsäume, Hochstaudenfluren und Gebüsche · 6 Wälder · 7 Pioniervegetation gestörter Plätze · 8 Pflanzungen, Äcker und Kulturen · 9 Bauten, Anlagen. The scheme deliberately reserves ".0" codes for artificial variants:

No colour scheme is published with the typology on the InfoFlora pages (not found).

6.5 Germany: LBP-Musterlegendenkatalog (Bundesnetzagentur, 2nd version, Dec 2021): V-img, https://www.netzausbau.de/SharedDocs/Downloads/DE/Methodik/Eingriffsregelung/LBP-Musterlegendenkatalog.pdf?__blob=publicationFile#

A federal model legend for landscape conservation plans at 1:1,000–1:5,000, with RGB values per biotope "Obergruppe" (example codes use the Lower Saxony key of Drachenfels). Colours are mandatory ("Das Symbol selbst und die Farbe sind dabei beizubehalten"); over aerial imagery fills get "Transparenzwert … 35 %".

State modifiers (chapter 5): new planting/development = diagonal hatch in the colour of the target biotope (e.g. Grünland 220/255/200, Heiden 245/122/182, Gehölz 163/255/115); extensification/forest conversion = dot overlay 0/168/132 on the base colour; trees to be protected = red ring 255/0/0 around the green symbol; tree loss = red X; unsealing = cross-hatch 78/78/78; timing labels yellow 255/255/0 (advance), orange 255/170/0 (during construction), blue 115/178/255 (after completion). A GIS style file "kann auf Anfrage von der Bundesnetzagentur … zur Verfügung gestellt werden".

6.6 Germany: Hamburg "Kartieranleitung und Biotoptypenschlüssel", 7th ed., March 2025: V-img, https://www.hamburg.de/resource/blob/1036252/de53ab36043c5d658b46aa8d4337c97b/kartieranleitung-biotoptypenschluessel-maerz-2025-data.pdf#

City-wide, area-covering biotope and land-use key (451 types, modelled on the Lower Saxony key), digitised at ≥ 1:1,000; polygons for features wider than 5 m, lines up to 5 m, points for single trees and springs; legend is built from the first letter (GRUPPE). No RGB table in the pages read. Groups: A Gras-, Stauden- und Ruderalfluren · B Biotopkomplexe der Siedlungsflächen · E Biotopkomplexe der Freizeit-, Erholungs-, Grünanlagen · F Lineare und Fließgewässer · G Grünländer · H Gebüsche und Kleingehölze · K Küstenbiotope · L Biotope landwirtschaftlich genutzter Flächen · M Hoch- und Übergangsmoore · N Sümpfe und Niedermoore · O Offenbodenbiotope · S Stillgewässer · T Heiden, Borstgrasrasen, Magerrasen · V Verkehrsflächen · W Wälder · Y Biotope vegetationsarmer Flächen mit Spontanvegetation · Z Vegetationsbestimmte Habitatstrukturen besiedelter Bereiche.

The two urban element groups map almost one-to-one onto a parcel-scale element catalog:

Function complexes (overlay level): EP Park/Grünanlage (EPI intensiv gepflegt, EPA/EPK kleinteilig naturnah/naturfern, EPL alter Landschaftspark …), EH Hausgarten (EHZ Ziergarten, EHG Gemüsegarten, EHO Obstgarten, EHN Naturgarten …), EK Kleingartenanlage, EF Friedhof, ES Sportplatz, ET Spielplatz; B… building structure types. Tree size classes by DBH: 7–<13 cm, 13–<50 cm, 50–<70 cm, ≥ 70 cm.

Berlin (Umweltatlas 06.02 "Grün- und Freiflächenbestand", Biotoptypenliste): categories only from search snippets (Park/Grünfläche, Stadtplatz/Promenade, Friedhof, Kleingarten, Brachfläche, Sportnutzung, Baumschule/Gartenbau, Wald, Gewässer …), S; colour values not verified (pages returned navigation only).

7. Other de-facto European conventions (short notes)#

7.1 Ordnance Survey MasterMap Topography Layer (GB, 1:1,250–1:10,000)#

Features carry descriptiveGroup (Building, Buildings Or Structure, Built Environment, General Feature, General Surface, Glasshouse, Height Control, Historic Interest, Inland Water, Landform, Natural Environment, Network Or Polygon Closing Geometry, Path, Political Or Administrative, Rail, Road Or Track, Roadside, Structure, Terrain And Height, Tidal Water, Unclassified), descriptiveTerm and make (Manmade, Multiple, Natural, Unclassified, Unknown), S (OS documentation assistant answer on https://docs.os.uk/os-downloads/products/maps-and-imagery-portfolio/os-mastermap-topography-layer/os-mastermap-topography-layer-technical-specification/enumerations.md). Feature codes seen (V, feature-code lookup table of the same specification): 10021 Building · 10053 General Surface / Multi Surface · 10054 General Surface / Step · 10056 General Surface · 10062 Glasshouse · 10089 Inland Water · 10111 Natural Environment · 10123 Path / Step · 10172 Road Or Track · 10183 Roadside · 10185 Structure · 10096 Landform / Slope · 10099 Landform / Cliff · 10203 Tidal Water / Foreshore · points 10048 Positioned Nonconiferous Tree, 10050 Positioned Coniferous Tree, 10051 Positioned Boulder.

Official OS style, "Outdoor style" colour values: V (parsed from the OS workbook https://github.com/OrdnanceSurvey/OSMM-Topography-Layer-stylesheets → Schema version 9/Stylesheets/Colour Values/OSMM-Topography-Layer-Colour-Values.xlsx, Open Government Licence 3.0; assignment rules from Schema version 9/SQL/PostGIS/Array/topographicarea_createtable_array.sql):

7.2 OS MasterMap Greenspace Layer: V (https://docs.os.uk/os-downloads/products/land-and-terrain-portfolio/os-mastermap-greenspace-layer/os-mastermap-greenspace-layer-technical-specification/code-lists-and-enumerations/function.md and …/form.md)#

A two-axis typology worth copying: function (use) × form (cover).

• primaryFunction / secondaryFunction: Allotments Or Community Growing Spaces · Amenity – Residential or Business · Amenity – Transport · Bowling Green · Camping Or Caravan Park · Cemetery · Golf Course · Institutional Grounds · Land Use Changing · Natural · Other Sports Facility · Play Space · Playing Field · Private Garden · Public Park or Garden · Religious Grounds · School Grounds · Tennis Court.
• primaryForm / secondaryForm: Woodland ("trees with an area larger than 0.1 hectares and width greater than 5m") · Open Semi-Natural (scrub, heath, rough grassland) · Inland Water · Beach Or Foreshore · Manmade Surface · Multi Surface ("multiple surface types, such as grass, decking and hard standing making up a private garden polygon").

7.3 OS NGD land cover code lists: V (https://docs.os.uk/osngd/code-lists/code-lists-overview/landcovertieravalue.md, …/landcovertierbvalue.md)#

Tier A: Excavated Or Deposited · Made · Mineral · Multiple (residential gardens) · Open Vegetation · Open Vegetation And Mineral · Trees · Under Construction · Water. Tier B: Bare Earth Or Grass · Boulders · Coniferous Trees · Deposited · Excavated · Heath · Inter Tidal · Made Sealed ("solid material that is bonded") · Made Unsealed ("enhanced by the addition of a loose material") · Made Unknown · Marsh · Mud · Non-Coniferous Trees · Orchard · Peat · Reeds · Residential Garden · Rock · Rough Grassland · Saltmarsh · Sand · Scattered Boulders · Scattered Coniferous Trees · Scattered Non-Coniferous Trees · Scattered Rock · Scree · Scrub · Shingle · Solar Panels · Under Construction · Vineyard. Thresholds: trees "generally spaced not more than 30m apart" (else "scattered"); boulders > 0.2 m.

7.4 GeoDanmark (DK municipal/state base data): partly V#

Specification 6.0.2 (11.07.2024), 7.0 in consultation (V, https://www.geodanmark.dk/anvend-geodata/specifikation/). Object types named on that page: Plads, Hede, Skov, Sø, Dige, Vandløbskant, Brønddæksel, Nedløbsrist, Telemast (V). The full object catalogue (help-system frameset at https://www.geodanmark.nu/Spec6/…) could not be read; further object names (BYGNING, VÅDOMRÅDE, KRAT/BEVOKSNING, TRÆ, TRÆGRUPPE, LEVENDE HEGN, SAND/KLIT, RÅSTOFOMRÅDE, GARTNERI, BEGRAVELSESOMRÅDE, REKREATIVT OMRÅDE, VEJKANT, PARKERING …) are R.

7.5 Finland: partly V#

NLS Topographic Database (Maastotietokanta): nationwide, 1:10,000 (positional accuracy class 1:5,000–1:10,000), themes transport, buildings and structures, administrative borders, names, land use, waters, elevation; SHP/GML/GeoPackage, CC BY 4.0, object model as Excel (V, https://www.maanmittauslaitos.fi/kartat-ja-paikkatieto/asiantuntevalle-kayttajalle/tuotekuvaukset/maastotietokanta-0). Feature-class codes and the municipal conventions (city base map "kantakartta", Helsinki register of public areas, national green-area maintenance classification with classes R/A/M/S/E) are R: not verified.

7.6 Germany: ALKIS/ATKIS#

Not researched in this stream (presumably covered elsewhere). R: ALKIS "tatsächliche Nutzung" (object types 41001–44007, e.g. 43001 Landwirtschaft, 43002 Wald, 43003 Gehölz, 41008 Sport-, Freizeit- und Erholungsfläche, 41009 Friedhof) with the GeoInfoDok signature catalogue is the German counterpart of BGT / AV / DKM and must be in the crosswalk set.

8. Implications for the element catalog#

Element names below are my proposals (not taken from any source). "16" marks classes of the current style sheet.

8.1 (a) OSM tag → generic element#

8.2 (a) Complete surface=* → element table (all wiki-documented values; aliases from taginfo)#

8.3 (b) Elements present in BGT, Swiss AV and the UK metric list but missing from the 16-class sheet#

Structural consequences: (1) every national model separates cover/material from function/use (BGT fysiekVoorkomen vs functie; OS form vs function; Hamburg Z/Y elements vs E/B complexes; OSM surface vs landuse/leisure), the catalog needs both axes, with function drawn as overlay. (2) Every model has a "mixed garden / yard" class because gardens are not surveyed in detail; the library needs a deliberate mosaic element instead of pretending to know. (3) All need an "unknown / in transition" element. (4) The models at this scale carry lines and points (hedge, wall, fence, tree, steps, fountain) as first-class objects. (5) A score-linked catalog (UK metric) needs condition and size attributes (grass quality, tree DBH class, roof type), so elements should accept modifiers rather than multiply classes.

8.4 (c) Lessons from the colour systems#

1. Pastel is the established answer at parcel scale. OS "Outdoor style" uses near-white tints (building #dcd7c6, natural surface #e4efda, made surface #f2f2e9, trees #cee6bd, water #aadeef); BGT ships a dedicated pastel and an achtergrond set next to the saturated standard; the Swiss base plan colours only five things and applies 50–65 % transparency. OSM Carto documents its fills in Lch with L 80–99 and chroma up to 35 (vegetation 20–35, built-up land uses 0–16). A house palette with L ≈ 80–95 and low chroma is squarely inside the convention.
2. Few hues, many textures. OSM Carto reuses @grass for six wetland and garden types and distinguishes them by pattern; BGT standard uses two greens plus PNG tree/reed patterns; Swiss AV distinguishes forest, other wooded and wooded pasture only by dot spacing (2 / 4 / 8 / 16 mm at 1:1,000 in the Grundbuchplan); Phase 1 uses solid vs hatch in the same hue for semi-natural vs planted. This supports the library's "pastel fill + light hand-drawn texture" concept: hue for the family, texture for the type.
3. Conventional hue families are stable across countries: water light blue (#aad3df OSM, #B3E6FF CH, #bee8ff BGT, #aadeef OS); woodland a darker/yellower green than grass; heath pink-violet (BGT #fcb3fb, #e3dce7; LBP #F57AB6) or olive (OSM #d6d99f); sand pale yellow (#f5e9c6, #ffff99, #f4f0d3, #fdf6bb); arable pale cream (#eef0d5, #ffffcc, #FFFFDC); ruderal/tall herb violet (LBP #E8BEFF); buildings pink-red in cadastral tradition (CH #FFBFBF, LBP #FFC8C8, BGT #cc0000, AT red outline) versus neutral beige-grey in topographic web maps (OSM #d9d0c9, OS #dcd7c6, PDOK #d3d3d3). Offer both building conventions as themes.
4. Paved surfaces are almost never differentiated by colour in the official systems: BGT draws all paving classes white (roads by function), Swiss AV white/grey, OS two greys. Material appears only as pattern (BGT pastel: dot marks for open/half paving). The catalog's asphalt / concrete / light / dark paving split is therefore an addition to the conventions and should rest on texture plus a narrow grey-warm range, so base maps still read as "paved".
5. Outline rules matter as much as fills: BGT strokes each polygon in its fill colour to hide slivers and draws roads casing-then-fill so adjacent carriageway parts merge; Swiss AV encodes hard edges (solid) vs soft vegetation edges (dashed) and draws soft covers without outline in colour mode. Recommended default: no dark outline between soft vegetation elements, thin solid outline on built edges.
6. State modifiers instead of new classes: LBP uses diagonal hatch in the target colour for "to be planted", dot overlay for "extensified", red ring/X for protected/lost trees; the UKHab community style uses a lighter tint for "proposed". A generic state modifier (existing / proposed / removed / protected) fits the library better than duplicating elements.
7. Function as overlay: BGT "functioneel gebied" is drawn as boundary plus centre icon; Austria places a glyph at the polygon reference point; OSM Carto tints parks/cemeteries underneath. Provide icon-in-polygon and outline-only renderings for function classes, and a monochrome "cadastral" theme (line + glyph, no fills) for AT/CH-style plans.
8. Scale guards: BGT pastel rules stop at 1:5,000; Swiss symbol sizes are defined at a reference scale with fixed factors (1.4/1.2, 1.0, 0.7); OSM Carto grows tree markers by zoom because crown data are rarely mapped. Textures in the library should be specified in map units at a reference scale (1:500 or 1:1,000) with scale factors, and tree crowns should use diameter_crown when present.
9. Background use: LBP prescribes 35 % transparency over aerial imagery; BP-AV is explicitly "Planhintergrund … der mit zusätzlicher Thematik überlagert werden kann". Ship a semi-transparent "over orthophoto" variant of every fill.

9. Open points (not verified: do not treat as facts)#