Unproductive area
The Great Aletsch Glacier , an unproductive area
The unproductive area is a term from area statistics, an area of spatial planning . It includes all areas that are neither used for agriculture, forestry nor for settlement purposes (mainly mountains and water).
The Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO) uses the term as one of four main categories in land use statistics. The other main categories are settlement area , agricultural area and wooded area .
The FSO further subdivides unproductive areas into:
- Standing waters
- Flowing waters
- Unproductive vegetation ( shrub , grass and herb vegetation, avalanche and rockfall barriers, wetlands and alpine sports infrastructure)
- Areas without vegetation ( rock , scree , sand and landscape changes)
- Glacier , firn
This definition is therefore more comprehensive than that for the term wasteland , which does not include bodies of water.