Waldinfo.NRW | Forest information system of NRW, Germany
The internet portal Waldinfo.NRW offers comprehensive public information on the forests in North Rhine-Westphalia, their diverse functions and sustainable management. This primarily includes digital maps on various aspects of forests, forest management and the use of forests by the public. The topics covered by the various maps range from forest cover and forest ecology, forest management and forest nature conservation to recreational use, danger prevention and forest administration. The information provided is intended in particular to support forest owners in the adaptation of forest management to climate change. This also includes forest regeneration on the current large damaged areas. The selection of maps and the design of the user interface provide user-friendly access to the specialist information. The portal also refers to selected important specialist publications of the State Forestry Administration and further websites of the State Administration. The internet portal Waldinfo.NRW is an important component of the NRW Forest Information System and the NRW Forest Climate Adaptation Strategy. The digital offer of public forest information also corresponds to the Open Data process in North Rhine-Westphalia (Open.NRW).
The included map-based information on soil conditions, meteorological data, climate scenarios have been interlinked with the Reforestation Concept and the Forest Management Concept of the state NRW. Increasing biodiversity and forest resilience by introducing mixed, multi-cohort forest stands is at the core of these concepts which are based on specific, locally site-adapted "forest development types". The platform is public, available also on mobile devices and user friendly. The usability is constantly tested and improved.
Cost-free public service
The platform is based on the Open Data NRW strategy and draws significantly on the broad availability of geological data provided by the Geological Service North-Rhine Westphalia. The promotion of geoinformation data and their public availability in NRW has a longstanding tradition. In addition, the collboration of these public stakeholders (IT NRW, Geological Service NRW, State Enterprise Forest and Timber NRW) has been actively developed over many years.