National Trees Outside Woodland Survey Example Data from England

Nine months of 2023-2024 field survey data from England, collected as a partial example subset for experimental use. The survey involves field data collection from over 1,000 stratified 1km² sample squares, with up to 60 TOW features like small woods, tree groups, lone trees, and hedgerows recorded per square. The Forestry Commission project applies National Forest Inventory methodology, but the data is not yet representative of the full target population.

Use Cases

• Analyze the distribution and frequency of up to 5 small woods, 15 tree groups, 35 lone trees, and 5 hedgerows per sample square.
• Apply National Forest Inventory field methodology to study TOW features for environmental monitoring and forest ecosystem assessment.
• Use the stratified subset of over 1,000 1km² sample squares for preliminary spatial analysis of trees outside woodlands in England.
• Compare data from the field survey exercise with the complementary office-based hand-mapping of 3000 1km² samples for methodological validation.

Strengths

• Field data collected from over 1,000 stratified 1km² sample squares across England.
• Records up to 60 distinct TOW features per sample square, including specific counts for small woods, tree groups, lone trees, and hedgerows.
• Survey methodology aligns with the established National Forest Inventory (NFI) field data protocols.
• Part of a five-year survey period, with this example covering nine months of initial data from 2023-2024.

Limitations

• Dataset is explicitly a partial, non-representative example subset intended only for experimental use, containing potential bias.
• Temporal coverage is limited to nine months from 2023-2024, with full multi-year data not yet published.
• Specific row counts, column details, and sample data are unavailable, limiting immediate analytical scope.

Provenance

Source

Forestry Commission, funded by the UK Government's Defra Natural Capital and Ecosystem Assessment (NCEA) programme.

Collection Method

Field survey exercise of a stratified subset of over 1,000 1km² sample squares, collecting data on up to 60 TOW features per square.

Time Range

Nine months during 2023-2024.

Freshness

Data last updated March 2026, but the underlying example data covers a collection period in 2023-2024.

Geography

England.