UKCEH were commissioned by the OEP to analyse recent land cover change in England and assess how land cover data can support monitoring of environmental targets under the Environment Act 2021 and the Environmental Improvement Plan (EIP).
The report provides long term land cover statistics from the UKCEH Land Cover Map (LCM) series (1990–2021), compares LCM outputs with other national datasets such as Living England and Countryside Survey, and evaluates how land cover information can be used to track wildlife rich habitat creation and restoration.
It also examines the role of land cover data in the development of England’s Land Use Framework.
This report supported the OEP's independent assessment of the Progress in improving the natural environment in England 2022/2023.
Disclaimer
This report was compiled by the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH) in January 2024 on behalf of the OEP. The views provided in this report are those of UKCEH and do not represent the opinion or position of the OEP. Some of the analysis in this report was used to inform the OEP’s work.