Superficie planimétrica versus superficie del paisaje en EspañaSuperficie 2D versus superficie 3D

Abstract

This work offers an estimation landscape surface of Spain, its Autonomous Communities, and provinces. The surface, as it is offered in the statistics, refers to the planimetric surface, that is, once the necessary adjustments are made in terms of the geodetic reference system and the projection used, a flat world is assumed, and it is calculated the corresponding surface on that plane. Therefore, the usual procedure does not consider the orography or roughness of the terrain. Common sense suggests that walking on undulating terrain involves more distance than walking on flat terrain. The same reasoning applies to the surface. The objectives of the paper are basically two. One of a methodological nature, related to the estimation procedure and the sensitivity of the results to the resolution of the basic information. In this sense, two estimation methods and four Digital Terrain Models with different information and resolution are tested. Another of a practical nature, related to estimates of the surface of the landscape at different levels of geographical resolution: Spain, Autonomous Communities, and provinces. This may be of interest to quantify the roughness of the terrain at this scale and as a quantitative measure of the orography.