Accounting for Nature: Assessing habitats in the UK countryside
10.   Countryside Survey - Where Next?

The next Countryside Survey?

10.12 The results of Countryside Survey 2000 and the Northern Ireland Countryside Survey 2000 clearly show that some of the negative trends of habitat loss evident in the countryside before 1990 have been slowed, halted or reversed. These gains partly result from policy measures implemented over the last decade, such as incentives for hedgerow management and farm woodland schemes. However, it may be too early to see the benefits of more recent policy changes, and so the results of the Countryside Surveys represent a base line to help assess the effectiveness of these new measures.

10.13 The results of the Countryside Surveys also allow us to put the gains that have been observed in a broader context. For while there have been some successes, there is evidence that the condition of many habitats has declined since 1990, continuing trends that were apparent in the 1980s. This is especially so in the less improved agricultural grasslands and semi-natural upland habitats of Heath, Bog and Acid Grassland. There is some evidence for widespread nutrient enrichment, or eutrophication. Such changes may reflect wider environmental, social and economic pressures. Further work is required to understand the patterns of change that have been detected and to understand their policy implications.

10.14 It is clear that if we are to manage this dynamic situation so that it delivers the many things that we want from the countryside, then we will need to periodically update our information base. As in the past, it is likely that new information needs will be identified, and new methods of survey developed, see Box 10.1. However continuity with previous work is essential for the detection and assessment of long term trends. The results of Countryside Survey 2000 and the Northern Ireland Countryside Survey 2000 need to be fully and critically evaluated, so that we can learn from them and be well prepared to meet the demand for future assessments of the condition of the countryside.