Completing the picture: Countryside Survey is a comprehensive study of change in the UK's natural resources. It was established in 1978 and has since been carried out at regular intervals. The 2007/8 survey is now nearing completion.

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The project samples and studies the countryside using rigorous scientific methods, allowing comparison of recent results with those from previous surveys. In this way, the survey provides a unique means of detecting the gradual and subtle changes that occur in the UK's countryside over time.

Countryside Survey comprises two parts: the Field Survey and the Land Cover Map. The Field Survey involves an in-depth study of a sample of 1km squares in the countryside, recording information on Broad and Priority habitats; linear and point features; vegetation cover; freshwaters and soils. The Land Cover Map is a digital dataset, showing the stock and distribution of land cover and Broad Habitats across the UK at a 'field-by-field' scale (features larger than 0.5 ha, or 50m square). It is produced using a combination of Earth Observation data (ie satellite imagery), digital cartography and other information--including, for the first time, Ordnance Survey MasterMap[R].

The current round of the project (2007/08) is nearing completion, with the final results due for publication later this year. To date, this has been the biggest Countryside Survey ever completed, involving more than 9000 days of surveyor effort alone. Fieldwork was undertaken in 94% of all sites originally targeted--an outstanding achievement in light of the unforeseen challenges that arose during the summer of 2007; notably flooding and the outbreak of foot and mouth disease, which meant that some sites could not be accessed.

In total, 591 1km squares were surveyed across Great Britain, representing all major habitat types. The location of the study squares is kept confidential to avoid any deliberate influences that could affect them or the features within them--thereby providing a reliable reflection of changes in the wider countryside.

Fieldwork in England, Scotland and Wales was carried out by the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology (CEH), involving 90 field staff, supported by co-ordinators and data specialists. All of the surveyors underwent an intensive four-week training course to ensure the highest possible level of quality assurance. In addition, a team was responsible for visiting the survey squares and repeating aspects of the survey as a quality assurance check. This alone involved a total of roughly 350 days on site.

Facts and figures

Of the 591 1km sample squares, 289 were surveyed in England, 195 in Scotland and 107 in Wales. A complimentary study in Northern Ireland involved the surveying of approximately 270 sample squares.

The 9000 days of surveyor effort roughly translate into 25 years' worth of study in total!

One surveyor, based in Scotland, calculated that she walked 234km, involving over 12,000m of ascent, just getting to the squares.

The findings of Countryside Survey 2007 will be published in November and used to support a range of objectives--from monitoring climate change and Government policy, to improving scientific understanding of the countryside. The new Land Cover Map dataset is due for publication in 2009.

For more information visit the project website at www.countrysidesurvey. org.uk.

Countryside Survey history

Countryside Survey has evolved since 1978 to become a world-leader in the study of change in our natural resources. Today it represents the forefront of such research; yet the 2007 survey is only the most recent in a long history of study into how the countryside is changing.

Ever since the first vegetation maps at the turn of the 20th century, there have been many attempts to develop a system for measuring change in the countryside. Early approaches include the first UK land use survey, undertaken by Dudley Stamp in the early 1930s, which along with other studies formed the basis for the initial selection of national nature reserves from the 1940s onwards.

In 1948 the Nature Conservancy was created in Britain and charged with establishing and managing national nature reserves. Its first research station was opened at Merlewood in 1954, at a time of increasing awareness among ecologists of the need to place ecological science on a more exact or quantitative basis--ie involving analysis of statistical amounts, rather than relying on expert judgements alone.

1971: National Woodland Classification

The need for a National Woodland Classification provided opportunity to encourage a more quantitative approach to vegetation survey. A pilot study of some 200 woods in the Lake District proved sufficiently encouraging to prompt statistical analysis of data for the whole of England.

1975: The Cumbria Survey

In 1975 the Cumbria Survey was launched as the first major project in the UK to test the full methodology of environmental classification, as the basis for assessing the vegetation resources of a region. Following visits to a random sample of 1km squares, analysis showed that the vegetation classes were strongly and significantly correlated with the land classes. The high correlations meant it was possible to predict the vegetation composition of squares which had not been visited, but where the land class was known.

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1978: the first Countryside Survey

A visit to Merlewood by Martin Holdgate (Director of the Institute of Terrestrial Ecology, ITE) in May 1975 proved of pivotal importance in using the Cumbrian experience to embark upon an Ecological Survey of Great Britain.

A total of 256 1km square samples were taken at random across the UK. A field survey of land use, land cover type, landscape and linear features within each square was completed in 1978 (the first Countryside Survey). Statistical analysis of the data collected enabled the production of estimates for the whole of the UK.

The 1984 Survey

Despite considerable funding difficulties, the ITE concluded in March 1984 that a further Ecological Survey of Great Britain should be carried out. A comparative study of the scale and nature of change since the 1978 survey, and the establishment of a more comprehensive dataset with which to measure future change, were deemed of strategic importance.

The number of 1km sample squares was extended from 256 to 384, with the field survey undertaken by teams from each of the six ITE research stations. Not only did the survey largely confirm trends already recorded by the annual Agricultural Census, but also it further demonstrated how changes in such attributes as hedgerow length could be detected, even with such a small sample size.

1985: The ECOLUC Project--birth of the Countryside Information System (CIS)

The Ecological Consequences of Land Use Change (ECOLUC) project was established to help develop predictive models required by policymakers to better understand the implications of countryside change. A sketch of an 'ideal' landscape was published for each land class, providing policymakers with a visual representation of the landscape consequences of different land-use strategies.

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A further module of the project, focussing on expert systems and their application in ecology, concluded that information systems were more appropriate in the policy context. A further contract was awarded to ITE in order to develop a pilot information system, which quickly became known as the Countryside Information System (CIS).

1990 Survey

The UK government's first Environment White Paper included a commitment to provide a statistical report on the state of the environment. As part of the process, the 1990 Survey was intended to help monitor the impacts of policy initiatives. It would also contribute to the Biodiversity Action Plan being developed by the Department of Environment as part of the UK commitment to the Convention on Biological Diversity, signed at the Rio de Janiero Earth Summit in June 1992.

Drawing heavily on the insights gained from ECOLUC, the ITE were able to develop a Countryside Survey in the widest sense, which focused on those common features and habitats most likely to influence the public perception of rural Britain. The 1990 Survey represented a first attempt to integrate satellite mapping with a detailed field survey of vegetation, soils and freshwaters at a national scale. The Land Cover Map of Great Britain was itself the first to provide a national coverage.

The 1990 Survey involved a total of 509 sample squares. Results showed a continuation of habitat loss, but at a slower rate than previously. The most striking result was, however, the species loss of up to 20-30% recorded in some habitats, which provided the basis for an overall policy review of the results.

The 2000 Survey

Countryside Survey 2000 further extended the sample to 569 1km squares, so as to obtain sufficient samples to treat Scotland separately from England and Wales. For the first time the results from the Northern Ireland Countryside Survey (NICS) were included to provide a first estimate for the total extent of UK habitats. A land cover map was again included.

The results showed a further stabilisation of habitat decline, with improvement in some categories. The 2007 Survey and beyond ...

Recent work has demonstrated how principles established in the UK might be extended to a European scale: not only to examine the implications of climate change, but also to link them with land use. Several European countries have already undertaken programmes of work using comparable principles, with many further studies planned.

The findings of the survey will be used to support a range of objectives --from monitoring climate change and Government policy, to improving scientific understanding of the countryside.

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Reference

J Sheail & R G H Bunce (2003) The development and scientific principles of an environmental classification for strategic ecological survey in the United Kingdom. Centre for Ecology and Hydrology.