This is a spatial dataset that describes the geographic extent and location of ancient woodland habitat in England (excluding the Isles of Scilly). Ancient woodland is an area that has been wooded continuously since at least 1600AD
This dataset is one of two resources used to identify the location and extent of ancient woodland in England. The Ancient Woodland Inventory (AWI) is currently undergoing revision. Updated AWI data can be accessed at Ancient Woodland - Revised (England) - Completed Counties. Where a county has been updated and is included in that dataset, the revised information takes precedence. If a county has not yet been updated and so does not appear in the Ancient Woodland - Revised (England) - Completed Counties dataset, the Ancient Woodland Inventory (AWI) dataset should be used as the primary reference.
Ancient woodland includes Ancient Semi-Natural Woodland (ASNW), which retains a native tree and shrub cover, Plantation on Ancient Woodland Sites (PAWS) where the original tree cover has been felled and replaced by planting, often with conifers, Ancient Wood Pasture and Parkland (AWPP) where the trees are managed in tandem with a long established tradition of grazing, characteristically with at least some veteran trees or shrubs and Infilled Ancient Wood Pasture and Parkland where the open habitat between open grown or veteran trees in AWPP has infilled, either through natural regeneration or planting, resulting in closed canopy woodland. In total 53,637 polygons were captured, covering approximately 364971.81 Ha.
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Attribution statement: © Natural England [Year]; © Crown Copyright and database rights [year]. Ordnance Survey AC0000851168; © 2015 Getmapping plc and Bluesky International Ltd; © Woodland Trust; © Forest Commission; Contains, or is based on, information supplied by the Forestry Commission. © Crown copyright and database right [Year] Ordnance Survey [100021242]; © and database right Crown copyright and Landmark Information Group Ltd. All rights reserved [year]; © Ancient Tree Hunt
