Accounting for Nature: Assessing habitats in the UK countryside
1.   Countryside Survey

The CS2000 and NICS2000 databases

1.31 The information collected as part of CS2000 and NICS2000 represents a rich resource for those interested in the habitats and landscape features associated with the countryside. In order that the information can be used widely, flexible databases have been created.

1.32 The CS2000 web site¹⁰provides details of the survey itself, the on-going programme of research, and information about how to obtain CS2000 data. Access to information will be possible in a number of different ways and at several different levels of generalisation. A link to NICS web pages will be available through the CS2000 site. Access to the data for Northern Ireland will be arranged though the Environment and Heritage Service and the University of Ulster.

1.33 At the most general level, national and regional statistics from CS2000 can be downloaded from the web site. This service provides tables, graphical material and map data for the UK, by country and by Environmental Zone, for each of the main themes covered by this report. Technical reports and other documents relating to these will be provided as they become available.

1.34 More detailed data from CS2000 will also be accessible through the Countryside Information System (CIS)¹¹(Box 1.2). This provides the capability to map field and satellite land cover data, at the 1km square level, and to derive statistics for any geographical area defined by the user. These include Environmental Zones, landscape character areas, administrative regions, and designated areas such as National Parks, Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, Sites of Special Scientific Interest, and Environmentally Sensitive Areas. CIS also enables CS2000 data to be combined with other geographic data that can be summarised at the 1km x 1km grid square level. Datasets already available include information from Ordnance Survey, such as altitude, slope, roads, rivers and other specially constructed data sets relating, for example, to soils and climate. A version of the CIS is also available for Northern Ireland.

1.35 For most applications, especially those at the national or regional scale, the web site and CIS will be sufficient for the majority of users. In some cases, however, more detailed analyses or data may be necessary, to address complex problems. The CS2000 Support Service provided by CEH will help to meet this type of requirement. This Service provides the third way to gain access to CS2000 data.

1.36 The CS2000 Support Service offers the facility for customised analyses of data on behalf of users, or the provision of detailed information for incorporation into a users’ own GIS. Information about how to contact the Service is also available on the CS2000 web site.

Taking stock and assessing change

1.37 Chapter 2 of this report provides an overview of the results of CS2000 and NICS2000 at national scales. It also describes some of the scientific tools and methods used to interpret the survey data. In the chapters that follow, the results for the individual BAP Broad Habitats are considered in more detail. The report concludes by considering the key trends that emerge from the study in different parts of the UK and the implications for future scientific work.

1.38 Throughout the report, the field survey results are presented for England and Wales together, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Where appropriate, they have also been aggregated to provide estimates for Great Britain or the UK. Important differences in trends between Environmental Zones are highlighted in the text. The results from Northern Ireland will be presented in more detail in a report to be published in 2001. Data on the distribution of habitats at country, regional and more local levels will be provided by LCM2000, which will also become available in 2001.

10 www.cs2000.org.uk
11 www.cis-web.org.uk