The nine common mistakes in forest maps and how to correct them

The procedures for correcting nine errors in forest maps are determined by a decision of the Ministry of the Environment. Property owners will be able to submit their applications to the forestry services free of charge, without having to file an objection. Citizens who identify a problem on their land on a posted forest map should first contact the Forest Map Posting Support Points and then, if they wish, submit an objection.

Ethnos presents examples of the obvious errors in this ministerial decision:

Errors due to cartographic backgrounds. These include cases of deviation or incorrect technical rendering of boundaries observed on the 1945 and 2007 aerial photographs, which may arise from their comparison. A new photo interpretation follows, provided that there are no cases where the terrain has changed (forest or other cover, roads, streams, so that a comparison can be made).
Omission, by mistake, of clearly forest areas within a wider area of another type (agricultural, etc.) and vice versa, such as in cases where the boundaries of agricultural plots have been incorrectly recorded.
Depiction of clearly incorrect agricultural land as forest (due to incorrect assessment of vegetation type) and vice versa, which may have resulted from the use of aerial photographs from 1945, which in many cases contained indistinct boundaries. A typical example is that of old olive groves which, due to the steep slope of the terrain, were recorded as forest areas during the interpretation of the aerial photographs. In such cases, the forest map is supplemented and amended.
Errors due to omission or incorrect matching of data. Errors such as differences in land area are corrected and missing entries are completed. This category also includes typographical errors that may have been reproduced in forest maps.
Incorrect representation on the forest map, which shows classified areas, i.e. areas that should not be shown for security reasons, such as military camps, resulting in the map data differing from the actual situation. These are errors that originate from processed aerial photographs and it is now specified that they can be corrected at any stage from the posting to the ratification of the maps.
Appearance of lowland areas in a gently sloping region as grasslands. Grasslands are subject to forestry legislation and are protected, unlike lowlands, which is why it is particularly important for owners to correct this error. Both this and the next case fall under the categories in which, based on the recently passed law, interested parties can acquire ownership of the land they cultivate by purchasing it.
Display of areas recognized as private property vis-à-vis the State as grassland. Areas recognized as private property are exempt from the provisions of forestry legislation.
Appearance of areas that constitute artificial forest plantations as forests. These are cases of areas which, the may be recorded in the maps of the forestry service have been recorded on maps as forests, while the owners had created forest plantations (e.g. poplars) participating in the forestry sector of the country plantations (e.g. poplars) by participating in European subsidy programs. This case does not include of course the reforested areas of the forestry sector in the EU include of course the reforested areas.
In these categories, if the forest map has been approved but not posted, the correction is made ex officio by the Forest Mapping Department of the relevant Forest Directorate and the new map is considered valid again.