National Forest Inventory: England Woodland Map and Forest Types

National Forest Inventory (NFI) data maps all forest and woodland in England meeting a 0.5-hectare minimum area, 20% canopy cover (or potential), and 20-meter minimum width. It classifies woodland areas greater than 0.5 hectares into interpreted forest types (IFT) using aerial photography and satellite imagery, and is updated annually with changes detected from Sentinel-2 imagery and planting records. The dataset includes areas of new planting, clearfell, windblow, and restock, while excluding major infrastructure gaps.

Use Cases

• Monitoring forest cover change based on annual updates from Sentinel-2 imagery and aerial photography.
• Classifying woodland composition using interpreted forest type (IFT) categories derived from satellite and aerial imagery.
• Planning forestry operations and grant allocations using data on new planting, clearfell, and restock areas.
• Assessing habitat connectivity by analyzing woodland boundaries and excluded features like roads and railways.
• Supporting national carbon stock and biodiversity assessments through a complete inventory of woodland over 0.5 hectares.

Strengths

• Annual update cycle incorporates latest satellite imagery (e.g., Sentinel-2 from spring/summer 2024) and official planting records.
• Comprehensive spatial criteria define inclusion (≥0.5 ha, ≥20% canopy cover, ≥20m width) for consistent national coverage.
• Integration of multiple authoritative sources, including Ordnance Survey MasterMap for boundaries and sub-compartment databases from forestry agencies.

Limitations

• Metadata completeness is low: specific column names, row counts, file size, and license information are not provided in any source.
• Woodland patches smaller than 0.5 hectares are excluded from the main map and relegated to a separate sample survey.
• A conflict exists in the temporal references: one source cites imagery from 2023 and planting data for 2022/2023, while others cite 2024 imagery and 2023/2024 planting data.

Provenance

Source

Government Digital Service (cited on one platform), with data inputs from Forestry England, Forestry and Land Scotland, and Natural Resources Wales.

Collection Method

Interpretation of aerial photography and satellite imagery (Sentinel-2), combined with administrative records from forestry grant schemes and sub-compartment databases.

Time Range

Annual series, with specific assessments for the 2023/2024 financial year and imagery from 2024.

Freshness

2026-04-07 (last updated date cited on two platforms); incorporates imagery from spring/summer 2024 and planting data for the 2023/2024 financial year.

Geography

England (primary focus), with notes on cross-border woodland areas; references to forestry estates in Scotland and Wales suggest UK-wide data collection.