NATIONAL FOREST INVENTORY WOODLAND ENGLAND 2015

annually

All woodland (both urban and rural, regardless of ownership) which is 0.5ha or greater in extent, with the exception of Assumed woodland, Low density, Failed or Windthrow/Windblow areas that can be 0.1 ha or greater in extent, as been mapped Woodland that is less than 0.5ha in extent will not be described within the dataset but will be included in a separate sample survey of small woodland and tree features. Attributes The structure of the schema has been changed since the 2011 woodland map release, to maintain compatibility with the new NFI update and reporting tool. Category: Woodland. The woodland polygons represent the extent of mapped woodland >= 0.5 ha; Non woodland. The 'non-woodland' polygons represent open areas completely surrounded by woodland also >= 0.5 ha; Descriptions of Interpreted Forest Types (IFTs) Conifer. Coniferous woodland often occurs as large plantations with trees in regular rows and the stand edges may be regular and sharply defined. Some broadleaved trees may also be present but greater than 80% of the area will consist of conifers. Broadleaved. The canopy of broadleaved woodland is generally more uneven than that of coniferous woodland being made up of rounded crowns but with variations according to species, age, height, and season. Boundaries with adjacent internal polygons are generally less clearly defined than with conifers and naturally occurring stands may grade into adjacent ones with no sharp division. Some coniferous trees may be present but greater than 80% of the area will consist of broadleaved trees. Mixed Predominantly conifer The interpretation of Mixed woodland can be very difficult as it exhibits intermediate characteristics between Conifer and Broadleaved woodland. There can be several types of mixed woodland. A plantation of alternate rows of conifer and broadleaves may produce a 'striped' appearance. You may see conifer and broadleaves planted in blocks, and there may be general intersperse woodland. The proportion of the Conifer will be more than 50% of the area and less than 80%. Mixed Predominantly broadleaved The interpretation of Mixed woodland can be very difficult as it exhibits intermediate characteristics between Conifer and Broadleaved woodland. There can be several types of mixed woodland. A plantation of alternate rows of conifer and broadleaves may produce a 'striped' appearance. You may see conifer and broadleaves planted in blocks, and there may be general intersperse woodland. The proportion of the Broadleaves will be more than 50% of the area and less than 80%. Coppice. The most important characteristic of coppice areas on aerial photographs is its very even, smooth appearance. The coppice area may be made up of a patchwork of different ages (heights) but all show this very even character. Areas recently cut may appear to have a very clear floor with little felling debris. Coppice-with-Standards. Some areas of coppice also include larger broadleaved trees set in the coppice matrix. These broadleaved trees, often oak, are known as standards and show very clearly over the even coppice as large rounded crowns. The distribution of the standards may also be fairly scattered with approximately 25 per ha. Shrub Land. This category is intended to include areas that may possibly be woodland, where the growth is close to the ground and shows a rough character but no clear differentiation between Conifer and Broadleaved can yet be made. Areas being colonised by woody species may fall into this category. The cover will be at least 20%. Young Trees. Areas where planting is clearly visible but the trees cannot yet be allocated between Conifer and Broadleaved due to their immaturity. These areas can be on either land new to woodland or where a felled crop has been replaced. Felled Woodland. Areas of woodland where the trees have been harvested or felled. Stumps or felled trees may be visible and there may be long heaps of felling debris ('windrows'). Some standing trees within this limit may also be present but should be disregarded. This category should not be confused with Coppice. The areas concerned may also have been re-stocked but the new trees are not yet visible. Ground Prepared for New Planting. Land in this category is area recently converted from some other land use to woodland and will show plough furrows or mounding but the new planting (if present) cannot Cloud or Shadow Areas. If cloud or shadow areas obscure woodland detail and it is difficult to allocate one of the above IFTs, then digitise a new boundary line feature around the area of uncertain forest type. Uncertain Areas. Where the interpreter is uncertain of the IFT/IOA to be used X will be designated. The rate of use of this category should decline over time as operators become more proficient and better at recognising IFT/IOAs. As part of the QA procedures X's will be checked and operators found using this code frequently will be subject to more intensive QA procedures and possibly more training. Low density. This category intended to include areas that have less than 20% canopy cover that might have potential to achieve woodland in the future. These areas will be monitored in future updates and either updated to reflect forest type or removed from the dataset. Assumed woodland. The supplied grant scheme and FC new planting polygons have been attributed as 'assumed woodland' as these areas have not been checked against the latest images and will be monitored in future updates and either updated to reflect forest type or removed from the dataset. Failed. Areas that show evidence of ground prep over several years and still exhibit no evidence of tress, based on the latest available imagery. Windthrow/Windblow. Areas of woodland where the trees have been uprooting or broken by the wind and which remain uncleared and not regenerated based on the latest avaialble imagery. Descriptions of Interpreted Open Areas (IOAs) Open water. Normally labelled within OSMM, areas of even colour Grass. A predominantly grassy area - may be agricultural or not. Agricultural land. May contain a cereal crop or pasture. Urban/Building. Buildings within woodland areas, may include gardens surrounding the building Forest road, track. Linear feature, often fairly straight with gentle bends or turning circles. River. Linear feature, depending on location can be fairly straight or meander through woodland. Powerline. Possible shadow evidence of poles, pylons or even the cable/lines. Quarry. Show change in vegetation to geology, sand, slate, rock etc. Active quarries could have buildings, heavy plant tracks leading into the quarry. Bare. Bare ground/rock Windfarm. Possible shadow evidence of turbines, normally in groups Other vegetation. Not covered by the above, e.g. Gorse, Rhododendron, Bracken, Heather etc. Notes: Species such as Gorse and Rhododendron are not regarded as woodland and have therefore been excluded. Orchards are not regarded as woodland but have been mapped for carbon accounting purposes. Details can be provided on request. Interpreted Forest Types are only used to classify polygons in the NFI digital woodland map. IFTs are useful when using the map without the sample data, and for smaller geographic areas where the sample data would be inappropriate. However, for larger geographic areas data on forest types collected in the field is considered to be more accurate, and hence is used for reporting purposes.