Countryside Survey logoCountryside Survey data capture

 

 

 

 

 

Countryside Survey: a world-leading study of change in the countryside

Countryside Survey is a unique study or "audit" of the natural resources of the UK’s countryside. The Survey has been carried out at regular intervals since 1978 and is a major project for CEH and its partners. The results of the latest in this UK-wide series of Surveys have now been published, making the whole series even more valuable.

CEH was contracted to carry out the 2007 Survey on behalf of a partnership of funding bodies led by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra).

In this Survey the countryside is sampled and studied using rigorous scientific methods, allowing us to compare this year’s results with those from previous surveys. In this way we can detect the gradual and subtle changes that occur in the UK’s countryside over time. Countryside Survey has two main components, the Field Survey and the Land Cover Map.

Latest information

See the Countryside Survey website which contains a wealth of information and detail on the 2007 and previous Surveys. It provides access to the findings, reports, data and analyses from the earlier Surveys, and provides access to the latest findings and data, including:

Work is progressing well on the Land Cover Map, a digital map of land cover and broad habitats derived from satellite imagery and combined with Ordnance Survey’s MasterMap®.