What does LUCAS stand for?

A. Local Unoccupied Crude Areas Statistics
B. Land Use / Cultivated Areas Statistics
C. Land Use/Cover Area frame statistical Survey
D. Local Updated Current Agricultural Status

the correct answer is…

C. Land Use/Cover Area frame statistical Survey (LUCAS)

LUCAS is a series of harmonised surveys across all Member States organised regularly by the Joint Research Centre to gather information on land cover and land use. The name reflects the methodology used to collect the information. Estimates of the area occupied by different land use or land cover types are computed on the basis of observations taken at more than 250,000 sample points throughout the EU rather than mapping the entire area under investigation. By repeating the survey every few years, changes to land use can be identified.

SOURCE: Joint Research Centre, European Soil Data Centre (2020), LUCAS