"Major changes" mean changes that dominate in terms of area, their impact on the landscape or their irreversible nature.
Major changes include:
- The felling of conifers
- The loss of agricultural land to building developments, like roads and residential areas
- Tree planting on agricultural land
More detailed mapping of a sample of 1 km squares will record those categories of landcover change which may be frequent and possibly of conservation importance, but in a small area.
The changes include:
- Hedgerow loss
- Pond creation
- The loss of individual trees or small copses to agricultural land
ERCCIS has carried out a preliminary analysis of the nature of landcover change in North Cornwall. The knowledge gathered from that work will guide ERCCIS in this Project. In particular, ERCCIS intends to pay attention to namely broadleaved trees, hedgerows and grasslands.
Changes to broadleaved trees will be classified according to their nature, for example, from an individual tree to a copse, perhaps a part of a woodland or even part of a Biodiversity Priority Habitat Woodland such as Upland Oakwood.
Boundary features will be analysed, not least because the loss of hedgerows affects the nature conservation of an area, but changes may also have significant effects on the landscape. For example. the loss of broadleaf woodland boundaries affects the area lost but also the length of the boundary, its age, structure and tree species need to be considered.
Changes to improved grasslands and semi-improved grasslands will be described. Changes that may be reversible as well as those that have been outright loss will be considered. Furthermore, indications to the degree of land management can be obtained by analysing wet or dry grassland, and whether a grassland contains bracken or scrub. Moreover, where the information is available, it would be useful to characterise semi-improved grasslands and unimproved grasslands more accurately.
The Project will give an up to date picture of habitat change in Cornwall and inform the planning process as well as guide nature conservation objectives.
