Forest condition survey (1987-2006)
Forest condition monitoring survey (1987-2006)
Assessment of tree condition (1987-2006)
The Forest Condition Survey has been carried out since 1984 and, in addition to providing comprehensive information on tree health in Britain, it contributes to an EU programme monitoring the health of a forest area of over 150 million hectares. As well as detecting, quantifying and determining the causes of short-term damage to trees, the presence of long-term trends in the condition of particular tree species can also be detected by the survey. The Forest Condition Survey therefore plays an important role not only in the immediate identification of particular tree health problems but provides information of relevance to studies of pollution effects, climate change and sustainable forest management. The Forestry Commission initiated the first survey of forest health in Britain in 1984, assessing the condition of Sitka spruce, Norway spruce and Scots pine. By 1987, the programme had been expanded to include oak and beech and the age range of the trees assessed in the survey had been widened to incorporate older crops of the coniferous species. Plots were also established on private land to increase the survey’s geographical coverage and to provide a more representative sample of British forests. Forest decline was linked with air pollution by certain scientists and foresters during the 1980s. Concern over atmospheric pollution had already given rise to the Convention on Long-Range Trans-boundary Air Pollution (CLRTAP) in 1979 and, under its auspices, an International Cooperative Programme on Assessment and Monitoring of Air-Pollution Effects on Forests (ICP-Forests) was set up in 1985. In co-operation with the European Commission (EC), which introduced legislation requiring member states to undertake forest health monitoring programmes in 1986 (Regulation EEC No. 3528/86), an extensive network of forest monitoring plots (the Level I network) was established. By 2002, 17 countries from outwith the EU and 15 EU member states including the United Kingdom were contributing to an ICPForests Level I network consisting of approximately 132 000 trees located in 5900 plots and representing a forest area of over 150 million hectares. The Forest Condition Survey, including its Level I component, provides a national overview of forest health in Great Britain. Focussing on a key selection of forest tree species over a wide geographical range, the survey continues to gather a unique time series of forest health data. This information not only fulfils the UK’s international obligations to provide data on forest condition and indicators of sustainable forestry but also supports national forestry policy, the UK Forestry Standard and the UK Woodland Assurance Scheme. Whilst originally established to address the potential effects of air pollution on forests, the Forest Condition Survey was responsive to changing requirements for data on tree health. See also Hendry (2004) “Monitoring of forest health in Britain: The Forest Condition Survey and Level I networks” Forest Research Annual Report and Accounts 2003-2004 Attribution statement:
dataset
protocol: WWW:LINK-1.0-http--link
name:
description:
57ebd6a8-08d0-46c6-9253-547c27854df6
eng
http://www.opengis.net/def/crs/EPSG/0/27700
environment
OpenData
UK
Environment
Research
Survey
Tree health
Tree condition
Damage
Pollution
plant health care
publication
2010-01-13
-7.425670000000001
2.55849
58.49729
49.81194
http://data.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/doc/country/england
1987-01-01
2007-08-01
creation
2007-02-23
publication
2016-03-09
notPlanned
The Forest Condition Survey is based upon the assessment of five tree species: Norway spruce, Sitka spruce, Scots pine, oak and beech. Each year, between late June and September, the condition of approximately 8400 trees distributed across a network of 350 permanent monitoring plots was determined. Plots consist of 24 trees located in four sub-plots of six trees and, depending upon the species assessed, between 29 and 33 features indicative of condition are scored for each tree. The feature of greatest interest is an assessment of crown density: an estimate of the degree of transparency of the crown which is used as an index of tree condition. Reductions in crown density are estimated in 5% classes by reference either to a standard set of photographs of ‘ideal’ trees or to ‘instant’ photographs of individual local reference trees. Data are collected on hand-held computers and are checked for consistency and departures from expected values both in the field and before analysis. The assessments are carried out by between 15 and 20 regionally based surveyors. Although all of the surveyors participating in the programme receive a week of training prior to the start of each year’s survey, between a quarter and a third of all plots are reassessed by one experienced supervisor to check the consistency of assessments. At the conclusion of the survey, the data from both the main and check survey are verified and loaded onto a dedicated Oracle database containing the results of all of the surveys conducted since 1987. Following analysis, the data are reported both nationally and internationally. Since 1995, the FCS connectivity survey has involved the re-assessment of between a quarter and a third of all survey plots by a single experienced assessor (the standard observer). Individual plots are assessed simultaneously but independently by both the standard observer and the surveyor being tested, thus ensuring that the appearance of the trees and the conditions under which they are viewed are the same for both assessors. Differences in the scores obtained by the standard observer and the surveyor therefore reflect differences only in their respective assessments of the condition of the trees.
Compressed format | Multi-resolution Seamless Image Database (MrSID)
2003
Contains Forestry Commission information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
There are no public access constraints to this data. Use of this data is subject to the licence identified.
Forestry Commission
mapping.geodata@forestry.gov.uk
description: Forestry Commission Website
pointOfContact
Forestry Commission
mapping.geodata@forestry.gov.uk
pointOfContact
2019-03-21