Case Study: National Botanical Conservatory of Brest achieves Brittany's first regional vegetation map with Trimble eCognition

How eCognition is helping put nature at the root of urban and environmental planning

The National Botanical Conservatory of Brest (CBN) partnered with Trimble to solve a persistent planning problem in Brittany: stakeholders lacked a comprehensive, regional vegetation map to balance urban development with environmental protection. Localized, single-purpose maps made it hard for regional managers to see biodiversity patterns across departments, so CBN set out to create Brittany’s first-ever unified vegetation map.

CBN project manager Vanessa Sellin developed a semi-automated workflow using Trimble eCognition object-based image analysis on orthomosaics with NDVI, texture and ancillary data to classify landscapes at 1:25,000 scale. The system delineated 27 classes, exported results to ArcGIS, and produced department maps (Finistère, Ille-et-Vilaine, Côtes-d’Armor and Morbihan) that are being combined into a seamless 680,656-ha regional map. The published maps give planners a holistic, accurate view of vegetation distribution, speeding decision-making and conservation planning.