Countryside Survey mapped estimates of Broad Habitat area change in Great Britain between 1998 and 2007

This dataset consists of change data for areas of Broad Habitats across Great Britain between 1998 and 2007. The data are national estimates generated by analysing the sample data from up to 591 1km squares and scaling up to a national level. The data are summarized as percentage increase or decrease in habitat area per Land Class (areas of similar environmental characteristics) and are in a vector format. The sample sites are chosen from a stratified random sample, based on a 15 by 15 km grid of GB and using the 'ITE Land Classification' as a method of stratification. The data were collected as part of Countryside Survey, 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 by the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology. The countryside is sampled and surveyed using rigorous scientific methods, allowing us to compare new 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. Surveys have been carried out in 1978, 1984, 1990, 1998 and 2007 with repeated visits to the majority of squares. In addition to habitat areas, vegetation species data, soil data, linear habitat data, and freshwater habitat data are also gathered by Countryside Survey.