Bee Nectar Plant Diversity Model for Great Britain

The Environmental Information Data Centre provides a web map service showing modelled bee nectar plant richness across Great Britain. The model extrapolates from 2007 Countryside Survey plot data to produce estimates for 1km squares nationwide. It was last updated in April 2026.

Use Cases

• Analyze the relationship between the `plantCount` layer and environmental co-variables like Broad Habitat and nitrogen deposition.
• Assess model uncertainty for specific regions by examining the `SEM` (standard error of the mean) layer values.
• Map potential pollinator distribution by correlating modelled `plantCount` with known pollinator ranges.
• Study the impact of climate variables like air temperature and precipitation on the modelled bee nectar plant count.

Strengths

• Model provides nationwide coverage for all 1km squares in Great Britain.
• Incorporates multiple environmental co-variables: Broad Habitat, air temperature, nitrogen deposition, precipitation, and altitude.

Limitations

• Underlying field data is from a single year (2007), which may not reflect current conditions.
• Model outputs (`plantCount`, `SEM`) are estimates with inherent uncertainty, not direct measurements.

Provenance

Source

Environmental Information Data Centre.

Collection Method

Modelled estimates extrapolated from Countryside Survey area vegetation plot counts using a generalised additive mixed model.

Time Range

Source data from 2007.

Freshness

Last updated April 2026, but model is based on 2007 source data.

Geography

Great Britain.