Here is a comprehensive English summary of the presentation **"Integration of External Data into QGIS"** by Thomas Bauer and Franz Suppan from the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna

This is Part 2.2 of the Geodata Management Course.

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### **1. Objective**

The presentation explains how to integrate geospatial data from various external sources into a QGIS project. These sources include:

* **Local level**: Open Government Data
* **European level**: INSPIRE directive
* **Global level**: FAO, ESA, NASA, Copernicus

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### **2. Metadata**

* **Definition**: Metadata is "data about (geo)data."
* **Purpose**: Provides information on the quality, projection, access, and legal aspects of datasets.
* **Importance**: Essential for documenting and evaluating geospatial data.

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### **3. External Data Sources**

* **Open Government Data** (e.g., Austria): Offers datasets in various geodata formats (e.g., shapefiles, WMS, WFS).
* **INSPIRE Initiative**: An EU policy to standardize spatial data infrastructures supporting environmental policies.
* **Copernicus Land Monitoring Service**:

  * **European Level**: [https://land.copernicus.eu/](https://land.copernicus.eu/)
  * **Global Level**: [https://land.copernicus.eu/global/](https://land.copernicus.eu/global/) (requires registration)

#### **Global Data Examples**:

* **FAO**
* **ISRIC – World Soil Information**: [https://data.isric.org](https://data.isric.org)
* **ESA Earth Online**: [https://earth.esa.int](https://earth.esa.int) (registration required)
* **NASA Earthdata**

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### **4. OGC Services (Open Geospatial Consortium)**

OGC defines standard interfaces for web-based geospatial services:

* **WMTS (Web Map Tile Service)**: Raster images served as base maps (no analysis possible)
* **WFS (Web Feature Service)**: Vector data (download and analysis possible)
* **WCS (Web Coverage Service)**: Raster data (e.g., satellite imagery)

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### **5. Integration into QGIS**

#### **WMTS in QGIS**

* Example: Orthophotos from basemap.at
* Steps:

  1. Open Data Source Manager
  2. Add a new WMTS connection using the service URL
  3. Load selected layers (e.g., RGB images)
  4. QGIS handles coordinate transformation automatically

#### **WFS in QGIS**

* Example: Vienna WFS providing over 280 spatial data layers
* Allows analysis and saving data locally
* Steps:

  1. Add new WFS connection with service URL
  2. Select and load layers
  3. Coordinate system may need to be set manually (e.g., EPSG:31256)

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### **6. XYZ Tiles Integration**

* Useful for adding base maps like:

  * OpenStreetMap
  * Google Hybrid, Satellite, Road
  * Bing Aerial
* Add via **Browser panel > XYZ Tiles > New Connection**
* Example CRS: EPSG 3857 (Web Mercator)

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### **7. Vector Tiles Integration**

* Requires QGIS plugin (e.g., Ebod2)
* Example:

  * TileJSON URL: [https://bodenkarte.at/data/bodenkarte-tiles.json](https://bodenkarte.at/data/bodenkarte-tiles.json)
  * GL Style URL: [https://bodenkarte.at/styles/typengruppe.json](https://bodenkarte.at/styles/typengruppe.json)

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### **8. GNSS Data Integration (GPS)**

* Use **GPX files** (HTML encoded, EPSG 4326)
* Plugin needed: **GPS Tools**
* Points can include attributes like "name" for identification

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### **9. Tabular Data Integration**

* Text files (\*.txt or \*.csv) can be imported
* Pay attention to:

  * Decimal sign settings (comma or dot)
  * Coordinate system

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### **Contact**

**Institute of Geomatics**
Department of Landscape, Spatial and Infrastructure Sciences
BOKU, Vienna
Website: [http://www.rali.boku.ac.at/geomatics.html](http://www.rali.boku.ac.at/geomatics.html)

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Let me know if you want this turned into a study sheet, visual summary, or translated back into German.
