Long-term vegetation monitoring in Great Britain – the Countryside Survey 1978–2007 and beyond

Abstract

Abstract. The Countryside Survey (CS) of Great Britain provides a globally unique series of datasets, consisting of an extensive set of repeated ecological measurements at a national scale, covering a time span of 29 years. CS was first undertaken in 1978 to monitor ecological and land use change in Britain using standardised procedures for recording ecological data from representative 1 km squares throughout the country. The same sites, with some additional squares, were used for subsequent surveys of vegetation undertaken in 1990, 1998 and 2007, with the intention of future surveys. Other data records include soils, freshwater habitats and invertebrates, and land cover and landscape feature diversity and extents. These data have been recorded in the same locations on analogous dates. However, the present paper describes only the details of the vegetation surveys.The survey design is a series of gridded, stratified, randomly selected 1 km squares taken as representative of classes derived from a statistical environmental classification of Britain. In the 1978 survey, 256 one-kilometre sample squares were recorded, increasing to 506 in 1990, 569 in 1998 and 591 in 2007. Initially each square contained up to 11 dispersed vegetation plots but additional plots were later placed in different features so that eventually up to 36 additional sampling plots were recorded, all of which can be relocated where possible (unless the plot has been lost, for example as a consequence of building work), providing a total of 16 992 plots by 2007. Plots are estimated to have a precise relocation accuracy of 85 %. A range of plots located in different land cover types and landscape features (for example, field boundaries) are included.Although a range of analyses have already been carried out, with changes in the vegetation being related to a range of drivers at local and national scales, there is major potential for further analyses, for example in relation to climate change. Although the precise locations of the plots are restricted, largely for reasons of landowner confidentiality, sample sites are intended to be representative of larger areas, and many potential opportunities for further analyses remain.

Estimation of gross land-use change and its uncertainty using a Bayesian data assimilation approach

“…This follows the way in which the data became available chronologically; these were the only data available with which we could estimate land-use change in the UK when an inventory of carbon emissions was first attempted (Cannell et al, 1999). The uncertainty in the prior distribution of B can be relatively well quantified, because considerable effort has gone into quantifying the likely level of error in the national-scale estimates of land use (Scott, 2008;Wood et al, 2017 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 1970 1980 1990 deviation σ of the prior distribution was most easily estimated by applying a bootstrapping approach to the CS data, but more advanced approaches have been investigated (Henrys et al, 2015). Alternative options for the prior are possible, and would be worth exploring further to examine sensitivity to the specification of the prior.…”

“…-From repeat ground-based surveys, the CEH Countryside Survey (CS) (Norton et al, 2012;Wood et al, 2017) provides direct observations of B for approximately 150 1 km 2 survey squares in Scotland. Whilst the coverage is not large compared to the total area of Scotland, the sample squares were chosen on a stratified design, and the observations are valuable in having consistent recording methods over a long time period.…”

Ecological landscape elements: long-term monitoring in Great Britain, the Countryside Survey 1978–2007 and beyond

“…Known as the "Institute of Terrestrial Ecology (ITE) Land Classification of Great Britain" (Bunce et al, , 1996a, it has evolved over the 30-year period 45 strata (or "land classes"). Further details are provided in Wood et al (2017) and Barr and Wood (2011). This successful method of the consistent classification of land into relatively homogenous strata has been proven to provide a valuable spatial framework as the basis for monitoring ecological indicators across large areas.…”

“…With the inclusion of the vegetation data (as described in Wood et al, 2017), soils and freshwater data Dunbar et al, 2010;Williams et al, 2010;Carey et al, 2008), the survey as a whole provides a wide range of nationally significant ecological datasets, globally unique in their geographical coverage and time span. The co-registration of all the data, in both time and space, along with the flexibility in coding make the datasets unique in describing and interpreting the drivers of change in the British landscape.…”

Ecological landscape elements: long-term monitoring in Great Britain, the Countryside Survey 1978–2007 and beyond

“…With the inclusion of the vegetation data (as described in Wood et al (2017)), soils and freshwater data (Emmett et al, 25 2010;Dunbar et al, 2010;Williams et al, 2010;Carey et al, 2008), the survey as a whole provides a wide range of nationally significant ecological datasets, globally unique in their geographical coverage and time span. The co-registration of all the data, in both time and space, along with the flexibility in coding make the datasets unique in describing and interpreting the drivers of change in the British landscape.…”