Landscape area data 1998 [Countryside Survey]

This dataset consists of stock (area) data for landscape features across Great Britain in 1998. Data are presented as areas of Broad (or Priority) Habitats, with associated landscape attributes (such as plant species and land use), within a set of 569 1km squares across Great Britain. The Countryside Survey is a unique study or 'audit' of the natural resources of the UK's countryside. The sample sites are chosen from a stratified random sample, based on a 15 by 15 km grid of GB. Surveys have been carried out in 1978, 1984, 1990, 1998 and 2007 by the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, with repeated visits to the majority of squares. 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. In addition to habitat areas, vegetation species data, soil data, linear habitat data, and freshwater habitat data are also gathered by Countryside Survey.