The Habitat Inventory for Wales is a series of habitat maps, rich in information and ideally suited for use in policy, land management and monitoring for nature conservation, biodiversity, land use/land cover and ecosystem services. The structure of the mapping system means it can be easily updated as new satellite or aerial imagery become available.
The Inventory was previewed by Professor John Harries, Chief Scientist for Wales, on 2nd November at the National Museum of Wales in Cardiff.
The new habitat inventory of Wales provides;
- an update to the Phase I Habitat map of Wales,
- detailed map data of over 100 semi-natural vegetation communities across Wales,
- a database of habitat information, including fuzzy membership data which supports the mapping of ecotones and habitat mosaics.
Data produced to date has been used to;
- support catchment-based carbon assessments in mid Wales
- support local authorities in designating Sites of Importance for Nature Conservation (SINCs)
- landscape change analysis for LANDMAP
- deliver fuzzy membership maps in support of change analysis
- support the development of Biodiversity Action Plans in local authorities
- target field survey resources
The maps and database have been produced by;
- coupling ecological knowledge with information from a time series of satellite imagery, aerial photography and other map-based information,
- utilising the spectral information of the near infrared and shortwave infrared bands provided in earth observation imagery,
- the targeting of field surveys for the collection of contextual data and survey data for accuracy assessment,
- the development of a complex but transparent rule base together with its implementation in eCognition software.
Currently over 50% of Wales has been completed, with a commitment to complete the remainder of Wales by the end of 2012. It is a project led by the Countryside Council for Wales and delivered in partnership by Environment Systems and Aberystwyth University.
Samples of the data can be downloaded using the button above. Until the map coverage is complete, other areas of data are only available by bespoke agreement.