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

Our countryside is both an important natural asset and a source of well being for us all. It is a place where people live and work, and a space where many of us go to escape the pressures of city life. It is also important for biodiversity, because it is the home of a wide range of plant and animal species, and contains many different types of habitat. Thus we are all keenly interested in the state of our countryside and the way it is changing.

Contents of chapter 1 The value of information about the countryside Building up a national picture The CS2000 field survey Northern Ireland Countryside Survey (NICS) Environmental Zones An on-going programme of work Land Cover Map 2000 Survey of breeding birds The CS2000 and NICS2000 databases Taking stock and assessing change