Treescape typology at 1km resolution, Great Britain, 2018

This dataset consists of a Treescape typology for Great Britain (1km resolution). The dataset brings together data reflecting quantity, quality, configuration, productivity and management of woodlands and other woody features in the landscape along with additional geo-physical variables to provide environmental context. The typology was derived by data-driven machine learning, through Self-Organised Maps and this dataset presents the optimum number of stable clusters from the typology analysis. The typology represents the situation in 2018; this was the most recent year for which all key woody-feature datasets were consistently available across Great Britain.

This dataset was generated to provide the first consistent, data‑driven classification of treescapes across Great Britain. Treescapes comprise the full range of woody features in rural and urban landscapes - including ancient or naturalised woodlands, plantations, hedgerows, lines of trees, orchards, wood pasture, agroforestry, woodlots and individual trees. Treescapes describe not only tree cover but reflect the visual and ecological arrangement of all trees in a landscape; the spatial configuration, density, species mix, aesthetic value, cultural and historic interactions. Existing products map woodland extent or tree cover, but currently we lack a consistent way of describing and classifying these treescapes, limiting our ability to understand how different woody features combine to shape ecosystem functions and benefits; this dataset was created to address this issue.