Terrestrial Priority Habitat Surveys
This dataset contains Priority Habitat Surveys of individual sites (not Wales-wide coverage), focusing on terrestrial habitats listed under Section 7 of the Environment (Wales) Act 2016, known as Priority Habitats. It consists of detailed surveys of plant communities in mixed habitat context at a coarser scale than Phase 2 (National Vegetation Classification) habitat surveys.
The primary objective of these surveys is to identify and map areas of Priority Habitat of nature conservation importance, which can then feed into existing Wales-wide Priority Habitat extent and distribution data. The survey data can be used to identify areas of important habitat to inform schemes and projects such as woodland creation schemes, developments, or agricultural improvement, and can inform conservation management and restoration work to improve habitat condition and connectivity, and enhance biodiversity.
The dataset is not the product of a co-ordinated Survey Programme like the Lowland Peatland and Lowland Grassland Surveys of Wales, but is instead designed to be a single place to store ad-hoc site surveys of mixed Priority Habitat, under a common data structure, so they can be easily analysed and shared. Only surveys that have been extensively validated and verified by NRW vegetation and cartographic specialists will be added to the dataset.
This dataset is not to be confused with layer files derived from the ‘Environment (Wales) Act Section 7 Terrestrial Habitats of Principal Importance’ dataset, which is largely based on the Phase 1 Terrestrial Habitat Survey (1987-1997). These layer files are split into Wales-wide coverage for individual habitats, for example ‘Priority Habitat Blanket Bog.lyr.' See metadata NRW_DS122418 for more information.
Habitat composition may change over time, for example due to successional trends, land management or even planned developments. A record of a vegetation type or species in the digital data is therefore no guarantee of it still being extant on the ground. Individual site reports for most sites surveyed are also available upon request.
- Identification
- Extent
- Distribution
- Quality
- Keywords
- Spatial Reference System
- Content
- Constraints
- Maintenance
- Metadata
Identification
- Identifier
- NRW_DS125436
- Alternative Title
-
- Priority Habitat Mapping Vegetation.lyr
- Priority Habitat Mapping Mospoly.lyr
- Priority Habitat Mapping Notes.lyr
- Priority Habitat Mapping photos.lyr
- Priority Habitat Mapping Quadrats.lyr
- Priority Habitat Mapping Sites.lyr
- Metadata Language
- English
- Lineage
-
This dataset contains spatial sites data (ArcGIS Feature class) and non-spatial Excel spreadsheet, photographs and accompanying reports.
- Dataset Reference Date (Creation)
- 2023-01-12
- Dataset Reference Date (Publication)
- 2025-10-30
Temporal Extent
- Begin date
- 2021-06-24
- Topic category
-
- Biota
Extent
Extent
- Geographic Extent
- Wales (WLS)
))
Distribution
- Format Type and Description
-
-
Geographic Information System
(
Unknown
)
- Specification
-
This dataset contains spatial sites data (ArcGIS Feature class) and non-spatial Excel spreadsheet, photographs and accompanying reports.
-
Geographic Information System
(
Unknown
)
Quality
Data quality
- Quality Scope
- Dataset
- Conformity
- Commission Regulation (EU) No 1089/2010 of 23 November 2010 implementing Directive 2007/2/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards interoperability of spatial data sets and services
- Explanation
-
This dataset has not been assessed for conformance to the referenced INSPIRE regulation.
- Degree
- false
- Lineage
-
This dataset contains spatial sites data (ArcGIS Feature class) and non-spatial Excel spreadsheet, photographs and accompanying reports.
Keywords
Keywords
- Type
- Theme
Citation
- Date (Publication)
- 2008-06-01
Keywords
-
NRW Thesaurus
-
- habitat mapping
- Type
- Theme
Citation
- Date (Publication)
- 2025-01-08
Spatial Reference System
Content
Content Information
NRW Profile
Custom Elements
Constraints
Constraints
Limitations on Public Access and Use
- Restriction type
- Other restrictions
Access Constraints Directive
- Limitations
- no limitations
Access Constraints Text
- Other constraints
-
Part of this dataset is sensitive, and access may be restricted under relevant legislation. NRW may NOT publish or disseminate the sensitive data. Requests should be referred to NRW's Access to Information Officer. However, there are no access restrictions on non-sensitive data. NRW may release, publish or disseminate a redacted version of the data freely.
Use Constraints
- Use constraints type
- Other restrictions
- Other constraints
-
© CNC/NRW All rights Reserved. Contains Ordnance Survey Data. Ordnance Survey Licence number AC0000849444. Crown Copyright and Database Right NRW does NOT grant permission to third parties to re-use or disseminate the full dataset. A redacted version of the data may be re-used under the terms of the Open Government Licence providing it is done so, acknowledging both the source and NRW's copyright. It is the recipient's responsibility to ensure the data is fit for the intended purpose.
Attribution Statement
- Other constraints
-
Contains Natural Resources Wales information © Natural Resources Wales and Database Right. All rights Reserved. Contains Ordnance Survey Data. Ordnance Survey Licence number AC0000849444. Crown Copyright and Database Right.
Licence
- Other constraints
- NRW Conditional
Metadata
Metadata
- File Identifier
- 4f4c4942-4343-5764-6473-313235343336 XML
- Metadata Language
- English
- Resource type
- Dataset
- Metadata Date
- 2025-11-03T13:01:38.342Z
- Metadata Standard Name
- NRW
- Metadata Standard Version
-
1.0