Habitat surveys

The Habitat Survey of Wales was carried out between 1979 and 1997 to gather information on the extent and location of all the different habitats in Wales. This information is now used to help care for the natural environment throughout the country.

How the survey was done

Trained surveyors went out into the field to record habitats onto large-scale Ordnance Survey maps.

More than 99% of Wales was mapped. Habitat patches as small as either 0.1 ha or 0.25 ha were recorded, although smaller patches were frequently mapped.

 

^{Section of hand-coloured habitat map and corresponding digital map showing a mixture of semi-natural habitats,improved grassland and arable land.}

 

 

 

^{© Crown copyright. All rights reserved. Countryside Council for Wales, 100018813 [1979 - 1997]}

 

How the information is used

The area of each habitat in every square kilometre in Wales is held in a table and electronic versions of the maps can be viewed and analysed in a Geographic Information System.

Examples of how we use the findings include:

• Setting targets for habitats in Biodiversity Action Plans.
• Responding to planning applications
• Spotting opportunities to restore habitats.

Ask for data

You may ask for a digital version of the data for conservation related studies. CD Rom copies are available free of charge. Contact Jonathan Rothwell (j.rothwell@ccw.gov.uk).

Useful Resources:

Publications

Priority Habitats of Wales: a technical guide (Jones, P.S., Stevens, D.P., Blackstock, T.H., Burrows, C.R., Howe, E.A. (Eds), 2003. Countryside Council for Wales, Bangor).

See this publication for maps and area estimates for 27 terrestrial and freshwater habitats that have priority status under the UK Biodiversity Action Plan. There is also more detail on the Habitat Survey of Wales because much of the information was derived from this survey.

Scientific papers

Blackstock, T.H., Burrows, C.R., Howe, E.A., Stevens, D.P., Stevens, J.P., 2007. Habitat inventory at a regional scale: a comparison of estimates of terrestrial Broad Habitat cover from stratified sample field survey and full census field survey for Wales, U.K. Journal of Environmental Management, 85, 224-231; 86, 769.

Blackstock, T.H., Stevens, J.P., Howe, E.A., Stevens, D.P., 1995. Changes in the extent and fragmentation of heathland and other semi-natural habitats between 1920-22 and 1987-88 in the Llŷn Peninsula, Wales, UK. Biological Conservation 72, 33-44.

Howe, L., Blackstock, T., Burrows, C., Stevens, J., 2005. The Habitat Survey of Wales. British Wildlife 16, 153-162.

Stevens, J.P., Blackstock, T.H., Howe, E.A., Stevens, D.P., 2004. Repeatability of Phase 1 habitat survey. Journal of Environmental Management 73, 53-59.

Yeo, M.J.M., Blackstock, T.H., 2002. A vegetation analysis of the pastoral landscapes of upland Wales, UK. Journal of Vegetation Science 13, 803-816.

See these papers for more information about different aspects of the Habitat Survey of Wales including

• Comparison with Countryside Survey 2000 (Blackstock et al. in press)
• Survey methods and how we use the findings (Howe at al. 2005)
• Survey accuracy (Stevens et al. 2004)
• Survey of the major upland blocks (Yeo and Blackstock 2002)
• Estimation of habitat change during the twentieth century (Blackstock et al. 1995)

Handbook for Phase 1 habitat survey

The Phase 1 habitat classification and survey procedure are described in the Handbook for Phase 1 habitat survey – a technique for environmental audit (Joint Nature Conservation Committee, 2003).